In The Community. For The Community.

Hi, I’m Ron Evans. I’m running to be the next Councillor of Ward 4.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself, why I’m looking to be your Councillor, and my Campaign Platform.

I am a second-generation Haliburton County citizen. My parents, Robbie & Sharon Evans, moved here in the mid 1980s. They purchased 10 acres on North Shore Road – the property included the Scenic Lookout near the Stanhope Museum – and we built a home and small hobby farm on Mifflin Road. Our family comes from a long line of farmers here in Ontario. True to form, they had a little open shop where you could buy preserves, eggs, baked goods etc. – it was never locked, just leave the dollar or two in the box and take what you need, no questions asked. They also enjoyed volunteering at the Stanhope Community Centre – if you played euchre there or partook in the annual Thanksgiving/holiday dinners in the 1990s or early 2000s, you probably knew them.

My career took a slightly different path.

I graduated from the Print Journalism program at Centennial College, Scarborough in 1988. After a brief time working as a newspaper reporter, I naturally veered into being a rollercoaster operator, movie theatre General Manager and commercial banker before coming back to the Haliburton Highlands full-time in 2009. My career is now in the Art of dyeing yarn & fibre. If you’ve headed up to Kennisis or Redstone or one of the other lakes north of West Guilford in the past 12 years, you most likely drive by Indigodragonfly Studio – that’s where you’ll find me!

Why do I want to be Your Councillor??

When I was seventeen and then living in Keswick, I volunteered to help out a candidate in a Municipal Election run for Mayor. Still in high school, I was put in charge of organizing the other volunteers for their daily schedule of door knocking, phone calling and pamphlet mailing. Something about the whole process must’ve struck a chord within me – nearly forty years later, and with several more election cycles as a volunteer (Federal, Provincial, Municipal and a Leadership Campaign thrown in for good measure!), I have the experience to take everything I’ve learned and experienced and distill it into an Election Campaign and Good Governance template that I believe will be viewed as A New Way of Doing Business – engaging directly with the community, keeping an eye on the Nuts & Bolts issues we all deal with daily here in the Ward, and also setting forth both short- and long-term goals that encompass Ward 4, Dysart & Haliburton County to set us all up for success in the future. There’s so much I’ve dealt with on past Election Campaigns I am throwing out a lot of the negative, rigid constructs, taking only the positive elements and creating a new type of campaign I’m proud to stand with.

I grew up in small Ontario towns, and am a firm believer in the strength of community. In these small towns, everyone knew everyone, and you could count on your neighbours to help out if needed. To me, the beauty of a small community such as ours is that if an issue or problem arises, the smartest person in the room is the collective room itself.

I’m not running for Councillor because I have a personal or political agenda. I’m not running for Councillor because I have a massive ego or need to be the loudest person in the building. I’m not running for Councillor because of the title or perks. I’m not running for Councillor because of the Almighty Dollar for myself or my business buddies.

All my life – personal and business – my inclination has been to be a Helper. Deep down I always hoped that folks that entered into Government/Public Service positions had the best interests of their constituents at heart. I know that’s probably rather naive, but that’s where I am now – looking to Help. I’m not interested in the Politics of Governance; I’m interested in Good & Active Governance, and that’s why I believe I’m the Right Choice for Ward 4 Councillor.

Short-Term Goals & Objectives (first 12 months on Council)

In my first 12 months on Council, here’s a shopping list of issues and priorities that I will either tackle at the Ward level or bring forth to Dysart Council as a whole. Some items are bigger-ticket issues that need to be addressed:

1. Day-to-day Operations – roads, culverts, ditches, Hydro issues etc., regular review/feedback on snow removal results & contracts.
2. Connectivity – study current internet, cell & GPS service and alternatives.
3. Property/Building issues – personal & business needs/concerns/bylaw clarifications etc..
4. Community Engagement – regular community meetings, networking, consultations on large-impact issues, creation of a “social dry erase board” to help out others in the community (ie. help wanted, ride share etc.).
5. Creation of a shared Constituency Office for all five Ward Councillors.
6. Environment/Climate Change – push Dysart Council to make Environmental issues a top priority as the Land is our Life; investigate long-term solutions for current waste disposal services.
7. Housing – investigate the possibilities of increasing year-round rental & low-income housing; push Council to tackle short-term rental issues/policies; discuss potentials for additional Senior Homes, Long-Term Care Facilities and At-Home care; look at alternative housing models such as cooperatives & tiny homes; look at freeing up County-owned properties for housing partnerships.
8. Local Healthcare: push Council to confront & address the wholesale current Healthcare crisis in Haliburton County – medical, dental, mental, specialized fields etc.. How do we preserve and support our current system, as many here in Haliburton County would suffer under a two-tier system or private medicine scheme.
9. Employment – develop strategies for businesses to open & expand – increased seasonal open dates, accessing Government grants/programs for existing & new businesses, operational assistances for new businesses, Business Professional networking, assist seasonal businesses in transitioning to year-round operations, helping with moving sales online etc.; study & identify business areas that are either under-represented or absent that would be beneficial to the County; push Council to pressure Provincial & Federal Governments to forgive Covid-related loans.

Long-Term Goals & Objectives

1. Create a Water Bill Of Rights to protect Dysart/Haliburton County from large predatory water removal companies by preventing their setting up shop here. Current local businesses (ie. bag ice vendors) would not be subject to this Bill.
2. Investigate the potential creation of a Trades College in the County. A Trades College would bring the inherent employment & housing/tax revenue benefits, while helping out local construction & trade companies through partnerships, new hires, youth/young adult retention, business expansion etc.. The current Ontario Government is especially keen on training & employing tradespeople, so this would be a perfect time to start this initiative. The College could be run in a number of partnerships – Provincially, County, local trades businesses.
3. Look into potential ways to leverage local summer Tourism support & promotions in regards to the large number of bicyclists & runners – paths, tours, races etc.
4. Landscaping/Snow Removal – create a County-run (or partnered) Lease to Buy Snow Blade program, and work with local insurance companies to bring down the cost of truck insurance premiums. A similar program can be constructed for Spring/Summer/Fall landscaping equipment.
5. A Strong Central Focus on Expanded Senior Services – as our population gets older and more people retire to the Haliburton Highlands, the County needs to partner with and invest in more Senior Services – Retirement Homes, LTC Facilities, Stay-At-Home help resources (ie. professionals, home maintenance, snow removal etc.), healthcare travel assistances.
6. Negotiate with Blood Services Canada to reinstate Blood Donor Clinics in Dysart or Minden.

What Next??

In time, these Issues & Priorities will be brought forth both in Community conversations and at Council level. And as times and needs change, more items will be added to the What’s Needed section – and this is where you come in.

We’re all having these conversations already – some of us for years – but it’s time our Governments started doing the work. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves – are you??

I would hope that if you find this Platform to be reasonable and has possibilities, please reach out and let me know what you think. I would also suggest that you discuss amongst yourselves a frank discussion of what our communities really need to function properly, and look at the Whole of Dysart County – look for Election Candidates that have real ideas and platforms that are honest and look to the future – this all works and can be tried if the Whole of Dysart Council is pointing in the right direction. Have this conversation with your family, your neighbours, your fellow workers, people you know throughout the County. Let’s Vote for a Better Tomorrow.

Thank You & I’m looking forward to doing all this (and more) together!

Ron

You can contact me at: Ron4Ward4@gmail.com or (705) 306-0269. Email responses are generally faster as I’m usually close to a computer during most workdays.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ron.evans.564/

Twitter: @YarnLouie

Something to add: Over the past few weeks I’ve been seeing negative advertising being used that is pitting ‘cottager’ against ‘non-cottager’, implying that one group doesn’t have the best interests of the other. One of the main reasons I’m running is to put an end to the divisiveness, anger and misinformation that has sadly been force-fed to us all over the past several years – I’m sick of it. I don’t operate that way. I’m here for everyone in the County – whether you live in a house, cottage, trailer, rental unit, house-sitting, heck even a hole in the ground – we’re all in this together, and we should all be treating each other with dignity and respect.