Building Community
I know that one of the things that makes our town so great is the level of volunteerism we experience. As an example, I have been on the board of the Acton Foodshare for the past eight years. The Foodshare does essential work for our community’s most vulnerable individuals and is completely volunteer-run. I want to protect and support those types of services. The Town is a crucial partner in allowing local charities and nonprofits the foundation they need to continue operations in our community. I want to advocate for these sorts of organizations and for the services they administer.
Community Services
We are living through challenging economic times. I want to ensure that municipal services are able to be maintained and supported in what could be a couple of tough years. I have worked in the Halton Hills Youth Centre for five-and-a-half years as a Youth Program Instructor. I have first-hand knowledge of the benefits these services provide to our residents, not just recreationally but through connecting young people to counselling and providing them with healthy food which some would bring home to their families. We need to be careful in planning for the future to ensure municipal services have the funding they need to be sustainable in challenging times.
Supporting Businesses
In my work as the Downtown Acton BIA Coordinator over the past three years, I worked to connect local businesses with local, Provincial and Federal supports. Something I have noticed is there are numerous government programs designed to help businesses, but they are sometimes confusing or tough to interpret for the businesses themselves. I want to work between our businesses and the Town to make sure businesses are able to best utilize these sorts of programs while also having the level of accountability the Town requires.
Road Safety
Some of our roads within our urban and rural communities regularly experience aggressive driving. In speaking to residents I know this makes it unsafe for families and other pedestrians. We need to be proactive to prevent any possible accidents from occurring. It will be important to engage residents living on high-risk roads through this process.
Being Accessible to Residents
We need representation that is present and available to connect. As a reporter with the Acton Tanner and later with the BIA, I made sure to be visible and present so residents and businesses could reach out to me at their convenience. We need councillors who are accessible to their residents.
Planning for the Future
We’re recovering from two years of unprecedented economic and social pressures with the pandemic and moving into new challenges with rising rates and energy prices. We are deciding how we manage growth and how we preserve the culture of our town and community. Talking with residents, the number one positive attribute we hear about our town is that it is a great place to live. It is friendly. People look out for one another. The small-town feel. We need to work to preserve that while also managing external pressures.
Alex Also Believes:
- Housing affordability is a major issue that is impacting our community, especially young families and seniors. We need more senior housing so those who downsize can stay in our community.
- That our libraries are important all around community places and providers of services. I am proud of the events and services offered at our Acton Branch and want to ensure they continue and grow.
- That the town should follow and keep up with technological trends including greater transparency of reports and studies on the Town’s website, more engaged social media and experimentation with emerging technologies as they develop.
- Elected representatives and the town need to be transparent and actively engaging with residents.
- Sustainability and climate change are issues that will continue to affect our community. We need to plan in ways that mitigate the challenges those present and set our town up for future generations.
- That tagging and graffiti on private property has become an issue in recent months. That we need to combat this in various ways including public art and increased surveillance.
- That we need to continue to work towards Truth and Reconciliation with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN).