Glenn Middleton’s commitment to you the resident is to:
  • Restore competent fiscal management at City Hall and reduce the waste
  • Cancel the $60 vehicle tax
  • Cancel the municipal land transfer tax
  • Maximize the use of all City resources
  • Focus on core services, not special interests
  • Develop a balanced Transportation Plan
  • Subways, not streetcars
  • Reduce gridlock
  • No bike lanes on main roads (University), use side streets and hydro corridors
  • Ensure councillors are truly accountable to residents
  • Reduce council to 22 from 44 councillors
  • Eliminate all councillor perks
  • Hold frequent "town hall" meetings, so residents have a voice



There is no debate about the fact that Toronto is facing some serious challenges, everything from social services, transportation, financial solvency to public education and the environment are issues that concern all of us.

The question is, what are we going to do to tackle them before they become a series of crises?

I believe that I have some common sense approaches to deal with these matters which demonstrate practical and achievable goals to continue to make Toronto a city we can all be proud of.

They include:

Finance

Unless significant changes in City Council’s spending habits are made soon, Toronto residents will have literally years of double digit property tax increases to endure. The magnitude of the spending increases under the David Miller regime are staggering.

When Mayor Miller came to office, Toronto's total budget was $6 Billion per year; seven years later it has reached a whopping $9.2 billion, a 50% increase!

Our share of this spending frenzy is an increase of about $1,200 per resident. The rate of spending is nearly 3 times the rate of inflation. Add to this the fact that Toronto’s debt has also tripled from about $1 billion to $3 billion (that’s $1,100 per person) in a short sighted plan to avoid the necessary tax increases which have simply been deferred, likely so David Miller could stay in office.

The interest carrying charges alone are limiting the city’s ability to deliver much needed services. This increase in debt was brought on us by Miller & his loyalists. Responsible fiscal management must be restored.

Toronto council must also ensure that the city focuses on core services, not secondary or special interest groups. Spending must be controlled and priorities must be clearly established.

I pledge to use my successful business skills to keep spending in check and look after your hard earned money. I will work to introduce a cost effective, streamlined mentality that stresses efficiency and accountability, while maintaining the critical services taxpayers need.

Maximizing all the Toronto’s resources is long overdue and is the core principle behind my campaign for City Council.


When planning major projects such as transit, long term planning strategies must be adopted, best practices must be used.


I pledge to use my significant business skills to keep spending in check and look after your hard earned money. I will work hard to introduce a cost reduction, efficiency mentality, while maintaining the services taxpayers need.
 Transit

Toronto’s Transit plans have fallen decades behind many other North American cities. Mayor Miller's Transit City plan will not deliver a truly modern solution, but was quickly approved in Council with little thought for future growth of the city or its changing demographics. Even more troubling, there was little focus placed on its considerable economic impact on a city struggling under its budgetary constraints. Current plans and construction of the Transit City plan need to be halted and reviewed.

Toronto cannot afford another St. Clair Avenue debacle.

When planning major projects such as transit, long term planning strategies must be adopted and realistic solutions must be tabled. Yet Mayor Miller allowed a contract for subway cars to be sole sourced to Bombardier in 2006, without even attempting to have other companies bid on the contract. The result? More costs incurred and another opportunity to save money lost.

Gridlock throughout the city of Toronto has emerged as a serious financial problem, as far too many work hours are literally spent stuck in traffic. The current council seems to have adopted a punitive style of getting drivers out of their cars and into public transit, but it doesn’t appear to me to be working. The answer is a more efficient and responsive public transit system.

Idling vehicles stuck in traffic are by far the most conspicuous contributors to environmental degradation. A lean and effective public transit system will attract more users and means less congestion and pollution to deal with.

Bicycle lanes on major streets will significantly reduce automobile capacity and will therefore sadly contribute to the problem. The Environment ministry’s own reports indicate that a plan to include bike lanes on Jarvis Street will actually increase pollution in the downtown core, but City Council did not make this report public.

Bike lanes planned along University Avenue will absolutely throttle traffic, causing even more gridlock. Surrendering 1/3 of the automobile capacity to be set aside for use by cyclists that amount to less than 1% of commuter traffic is just not a smart solution. Add to that the fact that University has no less than 4 major hospitals along its length which accommodate dozens of ambulances daily, and its difficult to imagine these vehicles accessing emergency zones with even less roadway, again leading to more gridlock.

Make no mistake; while bike lanes are needed in the city of Toronto, they are NOT feasible on major arteries.

Council needs to seriously consider the realities which affect transportation in this city; there are other alternatives for bicycles, including hydro corridors.

What is needed is a balanced system, with continuous planned investments in transit. The focus must be a Transportation Plan, rather than a Transit plan. The Toronto Party has a plan already published; www.gettorontomoving.ca/

Ward 38 will have two new transit lines with Miller's Transit City. But don't be fooled, these won't be the LRT, (Light Rail or Light Rapid Transit), but rather streetcars, technology that is 100 years old!

Under Miller’s ‘plan,’ Sheppard Avenue will get a dedicated streetcar lane similar to St. Clair Avenue where Toronto has already spent over $100 million to reduce travel time by a mere one minute!

Subway systems make a much better long term investment. Done correctly, they are affordable, efficient and necessary to a major city like Toronto. Subways will also significantly reduce congestion, increase transit use & reduce pollution, with economic growth & development will being added benefits.

I encourage you to look at The Toronto Party's transit plan and compare it with Mayor Miller’s Transit City to judge for yourself which one offers a modern, balanced and practical solution to the city’s transportation needs.

I’m confident you’ll see our plan as the right choice for Toronto’s future.



To learn more about The Toronto Party for a Better City, please visit:
www.thetorontoparty.com
or contact Glenn at:
416-438-5415
glenn@glennmiddleton.ca		 Councillors Budget and Perks

I firmly believe that the current Toronto councillor’s annual budget of $52,000 should be reduced to $30,000. Their budget should also limit all forms of self-promotion; we need to work for you, not enrich ourselves.

A councillor should not be allowed a pay increase while the city has a budget deficit; if this policy had been in place over the past seven years, I guarantee that councillors would have found a way to reduce spending.

Accountability and a more transparent system are desperately needed.

As for the many perks that councillors are given, such as golf memberships, TTC passes and free parking, I would get rid of them; councillors should not get any more than the average tax payer just because they have the power to vote it for themselves!

I promise you that I will NEVER accept these or any other similar perks when I am your Councilman.

I also strongly believe we need election reform or term limits for city council; the time for career politician at City Hall is over!

I pledge to not accept a single pay increase in my first term unless the Budget is balanced for two or more consecutive years as my commitment to leading fiscal responsibility by example, and challenge my opponents to do the same if they really believe in fiscal accountability in Toronto.

I won’t be holding my breath on that one.

Environment

We need to keep Toronto green, but that won’t happen by making impractical decisions such as bike lanes on major road or wind turbines that increase costs but generate little electricity. I will work to halt the wind turbine project as a Councilman because I don’t believe it offers the city a viable solution.

We can make Toronto more environmentally sound by adopting practical solutions that encourage an increased use of public transit, by expanding recycling and via other more environmentally friendly behaviour.

I will also push for changes to all City facilities to use new modern lighting systems that could save millions of tax payer dollars by reducing energy consumption.

Toronto’s natural beauty and environmental preservation will remain a foundation of my platform long after October 25.
Community Support

I have spent most of my adult life involved in one form of community support or another, volunteering with Scouts Canada, with our family church St. Marks United as well as little league baseball among others.

I intend to work for the residents of my community, to address the issues and concerns which affect all of us. I have heard too many complaints that the current incumbent does not return calls or follow up on issues with his constituents.

This is simply unacceptable to me.

Toronto City Councillors must be fully accountable to the residents who put them in office to meet their needs. I will commit to a measurement system, perhaps tied to the current 311 system that will let residents know what issues are being discussed and what the status is at any time so there is no uncertainty about what’s going on.

Your voice and issues matter to me; that’s what city council is for. Your councillor needs to be held to account for both his actions or inaction, and I vow to give you that accountability to honor your support.

The era of the self serving councillor must end.

A short history of the past eight years...
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TIME FOR A CHANGE? Contact Glenn at 416-438-5415 or glenn@glennmiddleton.ca to see how we can make a better Toronto.