GuelphToday asked candidates running for council in the Oct. 22 municipal election to provide brief biographies and an outline of their platform and/or why they are running.
THE PERSON: I'm Matt Saunders, and I'd like to be your next Ward 4 councillor.
I've been a Guelphite for thirty years now. I still remember the signs – “Welcome to Guelph, population 83,000.” We've grown a lot, but the original, unique Guelph qualities are still here.
I grew up in the east end, went to Ross (where I met my wife!), and after some traveling we settled down in Guelph. I took a job running machinery at Nestlé, where I was exposed firsthand to the complex problems that arise when the needs of industry and the needs of citizens conflict. I grew to truly understand the importance of protecting our water resources for future generations.
I couldn't work for a company that stood against my values, so I embarked on a second career: studying engineering at Guelph. I'm lucky enough to now have a job that benefits the community—teaching computer engineering concepts at the university – and I'm ready to put my detail-oriented problem-solving skills to use where they're sorely needed: to benefit the whole city.
I'm running for council because I believe the cities we live in strongly influence the people we become. I would not be who I am today without Guelph, its people, or the adventures I've had here. I think Guelph has a particular knack for creating passionate, active, caring and well-rounded citizens — and I want to make sure that, as we grow, we continue to provide opportunities for the children in our community to learn these values.
THE PLATFORM: Over the last four years I've watched city council lose its way.
Council lost its way in the south end, in the Clair-Maltby development. Instead of a community planning process, council and city staff have embraced a development approvals process – developers deciding what to build and caring only about profit. They've brought in a plan to build the kind of 20th century sprawl that we know doesn't work any more. We need to elect a council willing to stand up to staff, and stand up to the developers. We need community-supported policies, backed by hard evidence. We can do better.
Council lost its way with the downtown library. Fifteen years ago we had a chance to buy the old post office for pennies on the dollar – and council failed to act.The decision directly lost us over two million dollars, and the new library still hasn't been built. Two of the councillors responsible for that mistake are running again in Ward 4. We deserve better.
Council lost its way on the environment. We need to build systems – like effective transit, and effective alternative transportation routes – that let people choose to leave their cars at home. We need to encourage the right kind of developments – keeping high-density projects near transit routes and not buried deep in suburbs where car ownership is mandatory. We need a transit that people can trust, that runs where and when people need.
We need to protect our groundwater. Our fragile aquifers are under threat – from unconstrained development, and from quarrying. We need our council to take a strong stand against the Dolime Quarry – they've already breached into our aquifer – and we must also fight the developers that want to build on the groundwater recharge areas of the Paris-Galt Moraine.
We need to protect our parks. We found out recently that the parkland dedication bylaw update was delayed. A draft bylaw was ready, until developers asked to delay – and that delay took millions of dollars from the city and put it back in their pockets. The public wasn't even informed. We need a Council that works for all Guelph, and not just the developers!
Let's vote in a council that cares about people, cares about green space, cares about groundwater, and cares about Guelph. We don't need to cater to developers any more. We can do better!
