Mayoral candidates outline election platforms, answer questions

Ernie Margetson, Brad Nieman and Terry Shortt

By Sharon Harrison
The three candidates vying for the top job around the council horseshoe in the upcoming Prince Edward County municipal election were at the Wellington and District Community Centre Tuesday evening to outline why they would make a good mayor.

Hosted by the Wellington Community Association and the Wellington on the Lake Residents’ Association, the mayoral debate included Ernie Margetson, Brad Nieman and Terry Shortt, each of whom is no stranger to the County or its municipal politics. All have held councillor roles here at some point, and come with a range of different experiences and expectations.

Along with a good in-person turnout, the one-hour debate could also be accessed virtually which saw a further two dozen people join the meeting.

“We have chosen not to go with an open mic follow-up format in light of some of the contentious and somewhat inappropriate comments and questions that have occurred at previous meetings of this kind,” noted John Whyte, WCA member and event emcee.

Instead, Whyte said they have allocated approximately 30 minutes at the end of the formal part of the evening for attendees to mingle with the candidates and chat with them.

After five-minute introductions and opening remarks from each candidate, they highlighted topics of focus and importance.

Four focused questions were presented with extra time available at the end, and something the candidates were not prepared for, each were then given two final minutes to summarize why they would be good for the job.

Of the many current issues and challenges facing the County and its residents, areas of concern mentioned included waterworks infrastructure, tourism, growth, debt and fiscal responsibility, lack of employment opportunities (especially for youth) and attracting new businesses, daycare space shortages, and affordable housing, among them.

Ernie Margetson
Having grown up in the County, Margetson has a civil engineering background, including water resources engineering, worked as a deputy engineer for the municipality, then as an independent consulting engineer for 25 years. He was councillor in Hillier (2019-2022).

“I feel with my breadth of experience in different aspects that could help the municipality, and with that in mind, my priorities are to lead with honesty and integrity and good communication, and try to have a good relationship between the constituents and the council. That’s very important to me, and I think I have the qualities to do that, to speak to people with understanding. I think I have the knowledge and background to be successful at that,” shared Margetson.

“I feel I could be a great head of council, I can lead and inspire us to be better and deal with the issues that we have, communicate with the public, with everyone working together. I think I could do that job quite adequately.”

Terry Shortt
A life-time County resident whose roots go back generations in the County, Shortt is a businessman who owned and operated an electrical services business for 33 years. He was also a four-term County councillor.

Here, he mentioned development and growth and the associated lack of water infrastructure, the province’s regionalization plans, the County’s debt, the shortage of daycare facilities, and how tourism, the County’s most thriving industry, must be further developed.

“The County is currently in a precipitous state. The threat of regionalization with Belleville and Trenton has reared its head, if that happens it will be bad for everyone,” stated Shortt.

He said, growth is necessary, but it must be managed growth.

“We have development going on, which if taken to the maximum level would see the County triple in size when predictions say growth of only 29,632 by 2033 is expected,” he said. “How they expect to fill these units is beyond me, it is a Toronto dream thrust upon the County”.

If elected, Shortt said he will put a moratorium on large-scale development.

He said, the County has low employment, closed schools, making the attraction for youth prohibitive, where he spoke to how bringing in small industry has been a dream of council since 2000, but has not been successful.

“My council experience also demonstrates my ability to lead. With your support, I intend to use my business experience, my council experience and my knowledge of the County to the best of my ability as your next mayor.“

Brad Nieman
Nieman was born in the County, has spent 33 years in municipal government, with the last 12 years as County councillor in Bloomfield/Hallowell ward. “I’m as County as it gets,” he said. “In short, I bring a depth of experience this County needs in its next mayor.”

In addressing why he is running for mayor, Nieman said, “Bottom line, it’s time to make fiscal responsibility our core focus and get the County a better shot at a brighter future”.

He went on to say the election is about three things for him: council needs to be accountable to the voters; we actually need to build attainable housing, attract new business and protect our farms; and the need for fiscal accountability and “how we need to get our house in order”.

“The County needs to ensure that affordable housing, economic diversity and protection of farmland is our plan, and one that integrates with every business and developer we work with,” added Nieman. Regarding affordable housing, he said, “We cannot sit at back and let developers dictate the rules. From now on, all housing development must include at least five per cent affordable units”.

He said if he is elected mayor, he will keep the focus on affordable housing, economic diversification, and protection for all farmland.

“But most of all, I will keep council consistently focused on saving taxpayers’ money. I am asking you to give me your vote, so we can chart a future that we enjoy and benefit, and most of all, one we can afford.”

Nieman said his training and experience and connections over the years had has been geared to a municipal setting and since retiring two years ago, he now has the time to devote to being mayor.

“I can provide the leadership needed to get us going in the right direction. I know I am going to be able to get council working together, as I have in the past.”

The County’s municipal election takes place Oct. 26. Internet voting begins Oct. 17, which is also advance voting day.

The four questions posed to each candidate, who had up to five minutes to respond to each, are noted below along with highlights of their answers. The questions surrounded the topics of strong mayor powers, affordable housing, emergency measures, and the waterworks infrastructure planning strategy.

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QUESTION 1:
IF ELECTED, DO YOU COMMIT TO RESPECTING THE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY DECISIONS OF COUNCIL OR WILL YOU USE YOUR STRONG MAYOR VETO POWERS TO PUSH YOUR AGENDA FORWARD WHEN DISAGREEMENTS ARISE?

All three candidates replied “no”, they would not use strong mayor powers.

Margetson: “No. I pledge that before this crowd not to use strong mayor powers, so you can hold me to it if I’m elected. I personally don’t feel we need it and I believe in the power of making decisions with a full body of council.”

Nieman: “The strong mayor powers takes away the democratic process. Government is an institution that should be respected, respected means a democratic process, and we have elections for a reason. I don’t believe using strong mayor powers should be used if it takes the voice away from you guys.”

Shortt: “Strong mayor powers take a democratic society and turn it into a dictatorship. I would not employ strong mayor powers. A decision made by council whether I like it or not is a decision.”

QUESTION 2:
FOLLOWING COUNCIL’S RECENT DECISION TO VOTE AGAINST SHIRE HALL’S SCENARIO 2B THAT CARRIED A $288 MILLION PRICE TAG, AND A POTENTIAL $55,000 BURDEN PER WATER SUBSCRIBER, THE FUTURE OF OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS CRITICAL.
IF ELECTED, WHAT CONCRETE STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO ENSURE THE NEXT PLAN IS FINANCIALLY AFFORDABLE, BOTH FOR THE INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIBERS AND FOR THE COUNTY’S OVERALL DEBT CAPACITY. ADDITIONALLY, HOW WILL YOU BALANCE THIS PLAN TO SUPPORT A SUSTAINED ONE PERCENT GROWTH RATE WHILE FINALLY RE-ASSESSING THE ENGINEERING RISKS OF BOTH THE ONE-PLANT AND TWO-PLANT SOLUTIONS?

Nieman:
He began with talking about debt level and said if the municipality doesn’t get up-front financing from the developers, for this project, the County will have a debt of 17.5 per cent of our own-sourced revenue (he reminded this is just for the waterworks project and does not include anything else, such as road work, new equipment, etc.).

He further stated the policy for the County is 15 per cent. The province has a statutory number of 25 per cent, at which point the province steps in and takes over the running of the municipality. “Going forward without that up-front financing from the developer, we have already surpassed our own policy.”

Nieman said, “we are sending the wrong message because the water and wastewater has been combined, something he said has to be separated.

“We know we need the new wastewater plant, we should be moving forward with wastewater plant, and putting that $20 million [provincial funding] where it has to be used,” explained Nieman. As far as the water is concerned, he said that has to be figured out, saying the housing being proposed is 30-40 years out.

“If you build that plant today, it is going to be worn out or obsolete, and you’ve just wasted $255 million, whether it’s used in about 30 years or not.”

Next, he addressed the one per cent growth rate where he stated that the most houses ever built in the best of times, in the boom years, is 100 a year. The projected one per cent growth rate will bring 150 houses per year.

“The economy right now is saying something different. There are no houses being built, no houses being sold and people don’t want to buy,” he continued. “They are not going to increase the way they say it is going to increase. I remember seeing a report just recently on council of the actual number that they want to use is 0.7 percent growth rate, not the one per cent.”

Shortt: He addressed the levels of debt and said he does not agree with taking 5,200 connected users and putting them $240 million in debt, suggesting there are alternatives.

“With the two-plant situation, Wellington can sit as it is as its on the lake. Picton can take the intake from the plant, extend it further out into the lake and do an upgrade to the plant,” said Shortt. “As far as the water quality goes, we have 10 years to deal with this, so more study is necessary.”

Margetson: He said he is worried as his biggest concern is the impact on existing ratepayers, which he said is significant.

“I was looking at the report on Wellington, and for $3.3 million, we can rehab that plant and get another 20-30 years, it gives us 725 units. Of those, 525 are committed to Kaitlin and the old Duke Dome, but we still have 125,” explained Margetson.

He said, the issue in Wellington is not water. Same thing in Picton where he said we’ve got 10 years and 1,000 uncommitted units. “We have 525 committed unused, we have 10 years in that plant and $10.3 million to do the rehab and optimization to make it last another 10 yeas.”

“So, think about those numbers: $3.3 million and $10 million versus $250 million.”

Next, he spoke about the water quality in Picton, what the risks are and can we deal with it as a municipality, or do we need the province’s help.

“We have a little time, and if we get some answers on this, this is my strategy to work this out step-by-step. We have to do what we have to do to keep our rates manageable, predicable and stable.”

In answering how he would you balance the one per cent growth rate, Margetson said, “We have some room for growth here in Wellington if we decide on using that plant without connecting it to Picton, we can double the capacity for another $17 million.”

QUESTION 3:
IF ELECTED, WHAT STEPS WOULD YOU TAKE TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE COUNTY TO ADDRESS OUR CURRENT LABOUR SHORTAGE, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN SERVICE INDUSTRIES, ENSURING THE COUNTY SUPPORTS YEAR-ROUND EMPLOYMENT AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE HERE?

Shortt: “The Affordable Housing Corporation is supposed to have taken care of this situation, but it clearly has failed to do so.” He said, he would have kept it under the County’s control, and created a land bank where he spoke to the possibility of modular homes and tiny homes, but homes that would take two years to build, not 10 years.

As far as work goes, he noted how tourism is the County’s largest industry. “If we develop tourism to a point that it needs more help, that will create more jobs, that will create more housing, that will create more workable time for the youth.”

Margetson: He spoke to advancing the housing projects that have already initiated, such as the Queen E School and the former arena in Wellington.

Margetson noted how he sat on the inaugural Affordable Housing Corporation committee when he was on council.

“It was frustrating. We are a small municipality, we are a small base to go into the housing market, and I’ll say it before you tonight, we should never be a landlord. Municipalities should never be a landlord,” shared Margetson. “We’ve got too many other things we need to do, we can’t be a landlord.”

Nieman: Referring to Queen Elizabeth School, Nieman said, “That developer has three projects now that has been approved in the County and nothing’s been started,” expressed Nieman, who said they can’t get the funding because they can’t make the numbers work.

“I have sat on the affordable housing this past term and they always come to council to say, we are doing a great job, and I always kept saying, show me what we’re doing, and there was nothing there,” he expressed. “Until we get something in the ground, we are not doing a great job.”

QUESTION 4:
OUR MUNICIPALITY MUST TAKE BOTH SHORT- AND LONG-TERM ACTIONS TO MITIGATE THE IMMEDIATE CLIMATE DANGERS, SUCH AS SMOKE, HEAT AND FLOODING, AS WELL AS INTRODUCING MEASURES TO CUT EMISSIONS DRIVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
IF ELECTED, WHAT STEPS WILL YOU TAKE TO UPGRADE OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS TO PROTECT RESIDENTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROVIDE FUNDING FOR THE PREVENTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

Nieman: He said those things are already in place, noting that the municipality has already started working on the FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) who have started those programs, with $50,000 in the budget as a starter fund set aside. He noted too that most of these things mentioned are mandated by upper levels of government anyway, but the County does have an emergency management team.

Shortt: “I would check that our emergency plan includes the items mentioned with an action plan for each… the municipality has already afforded us $50,000, so that funding would continue.”

Margetson: “I look at climate change as a long emergency; there are aspects of it that will affect us in the short-term or immediately or urgent circumstances.”

He said, one thing he asked when he was on council was whether the County has a post-disaster building or refuge.

“We only have two post-disaster structures: the new Consecon fire station and the fire station in Picton. So, what I proposed, and we have it approved in the budget, was to have back-up power at this community centre, so then we have a place people can come to [in a disaster] and it has a kitchen. That’s being pro-active in terms of emergency response.”