Oakville Ontario News, Articles and Reviews

I would like thank the residents of northeast Oakville for the opportunity to represent them over the next four years. It is a privilege to be able to work with so many great citizens who want to see the best for their community.

On behalf of all the candidates who took part in the 2010 municipal campaign, I would like to thank our families. Every successful campaign needs the support of friends and volunteers, but it is often the families of the candidates who provide the greatest support during a campaign. In my case, I want to give an extra big thank you to my wife Stephanie who took on all of those extra parenting duties of our three great kids over the last couple of months. That dedication needs to be recognized and appreciated.

[Related: View the 2010 Oakville Election results]

I want to thank the many volunteers and donors who took part in the campaign. You gave up your free time and financial resources to help determine the future direction of our community. I believe it makes all the difference between a mediocre community and a great one.

Over the next four years, I will continue to work to engage with residents. I will continue my work to control growth, build the infrastructure our community needs to be successful into the future and run our community in a fiscally responsible manner.

The campaign has been a wonderful experience in renewing the direction for Oakville. It has served as a check with the residents to continue with many of the directions of our last term and an opportunity to reset or modify slightly our directions in a few others. In every case, I appreciate the feedback residents have given me.

Once again, thank you to the residents of northeast Oakville for the confidence you have shown in me. Thank you to the volunteers who made the campaigns possible. Finally, thank you to the families who supported the candidates throughout the campaign.

- Councillor Tom Adams, Ward 6

Tom Adams is a candidate for Ward 6 Town & Regional Councillor in The 2010 Oakville Municipal Elections.

Oakville.com: What are the platform issues that you are addressing?

Tom Adams:

I am asking northeast Oakville residents to re-elect me to:

1. Control growth by defending our new official plans that protect our stable neighbourhoods and direct growth to places where the community can accept it,

2. Control taxes by making developers, not taxpayers, cover the costs of infrastructure for new development,

3. Continue to manage tax dollars and debt responsibly and keep tax increases down close to inflation,

4. Support Oakville’s new hospital with non-tax revenue,

5. Clean our air by advocating for and defending regulations that reduce local air pollution and protect our health such as our new Health Protection Air Quality By-law for major emitters,

6. Preserve natural areas with land use designations and defend our new natural heritage systems,

7. Alleviate traffic congestion with a balance of roads and transit to respond to population growth and a plan for new roads that coincide with new development instead of coming after the fact,

8. Maintain our roads, sewers and water systems so that our infrastructure debt is reduced,

9. Work with the community and Halton Regional Police Services to fight vandalism, speeding and other criminal behaviour in our community,

10. Consult with the public with regular meetings as I have been doing for the last four years.

Oakville.com: What is your unique position in this election

Tom Adams: I am fully dedicated to representing the residents of northeast Oakville and managing tax dollars and debt responsibly to keep taxes under control. I do not accept donations from corporations for my campaigns. My record of standing up for residents is clear. This term, I led council to defeat the residential tower project on Oakville Place Drive, to stop the use of paid parking at the Trafalgar medical building and to preserve the school lands on Coronation Drive for an elementary school. Residents can expect the same leadership from me over the next term. I also supported the passing of the interim control bylaw and new rules and regulations for power generation facilities which ultimately gave us the time for the province to cancel the power plant proposal in Oakville.

I also have the confidence of my colleagues. They selected me to lead our budget process and Halton’s Planning and Public Works Committee for two years in a row. In 2010, my most recent year as Budget Chair, we brought in a total property tax increase of just 1.5%. I will continue to keep our taxes increases low into the next term at close to the level of inflation.

I will continue to champion the position that development pays for the costs of new infrastructure. We’ve raised development charges 60% in Oakville and I will continue to defend this policy so that taxpayers don’t get stuck with the costs while developers get huge profits.

I will support directing funds towards infrastructure maintenance and improvements to our transportation system. We need a balance of roads and transit to handle the pressures of the population growth in the region.

I currently participate on 15 committees and boards of directors and haven’t missed a single town council meeting in four years. I am experienced, skilled and dedicated.

I am also the only candidate who lives in ward 6. I have lived in northeast Oakville for 12 years with my family. I know the streets and neighbourhoods, because I live here with the residents of northeast Oakville.

Oakville.com: What do voters need to know that will compel them to vote for YOU?

Tom Adams: I am an energetic, dedicated professional. I live in northeast Oakville with my wife and three children. I won’t just be visiting from south Oakville. Residents can count on me to represent them.

My background includes a Masters in Business Administration from McMaster University, an engineering degree from the University of Ottawa and eight years of experience with BMO Financial Group where I was a senior risk manager before dedicating myself to full-time council duties.

I’ve represented northeast Oakville since 2003. If residents want an experienced, skilled and dedicated representative, they should re-elect me on October 25th.

The 2010 Oakville Municipal election will be held on October 25, 2010. Visit our special Oakville election 2010 section for the latest election news, candidate profiles and more.