ROBERT DEUTSCHMANN
Seeking to take the reins of Waterloo Region in this election is a former mayor of North Dumfries Township, Robert Deutschmann. A lifelong resident of the region currently living in Ayr, Deutschmann served as mayor of his township from 2010 to 2014 for a single-term before returning to his practice in personal injury law.
As mayor, Deutschmann also served as North Dumfries’ representative on regional council, and during his term sat on the Grand River Conservation Authority board, Energy Plus hydro board and the region’s library committee.
“One of the top issues in this campaign is affordable housing and homelessness, and how do we deal with that. And I think that is the number one issue for all municipal governments going forward, I really do,” said Deutschmann of the priorities for the regional government in rural Waterloo Region. “This is a crisis issue.”
In the townships, the challenge was specifically to spur on the development of more seniors’ housing, Deutschmann adds, which he said could be done through greater cooperation between the region and developers and community service groups. The region could offer incentives to build seniors’ housing, he suggested, while making use of federal and provincial funding for future projects.
The Kiwanis Transit bus project in Elmira offered an example of that type of collaboration when it comes to rural transit, noted Deutschmann.
“That’s the sort of innovative type approach that we have to take to these issues.
“When I talk about ‘we all have to get together,’ that’s what in affordable housing you have to do. You bring the social agencies together to see what you can do to supplement what’s being done by government. Local government can’t do it all.”
Managing growth represented another challenge for the region, says Deutschmann, and particularly in the townships.
“The roads have maybe not kept up with the growth. And particularly the access between Waterloo and Elmira and trying to add more lanes for that. Or sometimes some people talk about a bypass, but at a townhall that I held, there’s sort of mixed reviews about whether a bypass is necessary or not.”
Deutschmann began his law practice, Deutschmann Personal Injury and Disability, in 1995. He graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in business administration, and studied law at the University of Western Ontario.