Ward 9 made the news after the blast at Sunrise Propane at 54 Murray Rd. The explosion claimed two casualties: Sunrise employee Parminder Singh Saini and firefighter Bob Leek. A particular outburst at the president of a local ratepayers' association, Tony Di Santo, during a press conference after the explosion cemented the image for some residents of their representative as uncaring. The Councillor once again recently made headlines when she said that suburban residents of Toronto were on a learning curve vis-à-vis 'progressive' downtown politics. Will her eternal presence in local politics and her foot-in-mouth lead voters to kick her out this coming election?
Councillor Augimeri was absent during the vote on Councillor pay raises for 2010, voted in favour of having taxpayers cover Sandra Bussin's legal costs, voted for the Jarvis St bike lanes, and voted in favour
of the pro-union deal ending the garbage strike.
The incumbent will be taking on 4 other candidates: Gianfrenco Amendola, Wilson Basantes, Gus Cusimano, Stefano Picone.
Mr Cusimano took the opportunity to answer my questions. He is a long-standing business owner and has been involved with community organizations.
1. Why are you running to become City Councillor of Ward 4?
I was asked by the residents of Ward 9 to bring proper representation to the Ward in addressing people’s needs, put a stop to wasteful spending and to put an end to the arrogant attitude of City Hall
2. What makes you stand out among the other candidates?
I have experience in running and owing a local business for over 30 years. I also have experience in community organizations having been a past President of Villa Colombo, on the Board of the Italian Canadian Benevolent Corporation as well as several committees of the Toronto Real Estate Board over the years. I am a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Commerce Degree. In my career I’ve been an advocate and know how to build consensus between stakeholders.
3. Councillor Augimeri recently got a "foot in mouth" moment. Do you think suburbanites are on a 'learning curve' when compared to people downtown?
I think that comment is ridiculous and again, is another example of the arrogance that long serving politicians have at City Hall and hence another reason for change. No we are just as intelligent as anyone else in the City.
4. How do you think Augimeri handled the aftermath of the Sunrise Propane explosion in 2008? Do you believe she followed through effectively with those affected over the past two years?
She divided the community by having a second meeting away from ground zero. Regardless of who she keeps trying to shift the blame to, the fact is she was the Councillor and I believe had a duty to protect the neighborhood from this hazard. Obviously she should have done whatever possible to make the site safe. I understand the people affected have been left to deal with their insurance companies on their own. Also, I believe that she abused her power by having passed at City Hall a motion to circumvent election laws purely for self promotion.
5. Tell me about the biggest challenge of running against a well-established incumbent.
The spending of the incumbent’s office expense budget to self promote herself leaves any new candidate at a huge disadvantage. In a fair and equal democracy this would not be the case. They also have access to the prior election voters list to campaign, again in order to be fair any voters list should be made available.
6. What are the greatest issues facing Toronto as a whole?
Wasteful spending is the biggest issue facing Toronto.
Thanks Gus and good luck on October 25th!
You can find more on Gus Cusimano at http://www.guscusimano.com/#about
No comments:
Post a Comment