Editor’s note: in advance of the Oct. 24 municipal election, the Napanee Beaver reached out to each of the candidates running for deputy mayor of Greater Napanee, asking the same questions to each candidate. Below are their responses in alphabetical order.
Brian Calver
What was your background before getting into municipal politics?
My background before throwing my hat into the municipal ring is long one: 36 years working for the same business – Davis & Davis, which I purchased with my wife Monique in 1999. This endeavor has provided me with so many useful and transferable skills, budgeting, marketing and most importantly customer service. During this time, I have worked with many employees from various departments of the Town of Greater Napanee and the County of Lennox & Addington. So, I am very familiar and have the background knowledge of ongoing projects that would allow me to jump right in with both feet.
I have spent the last 20 years as the President of the Napanee and District Rod & Gun Club, am and very proud to say that I have helped establish the local Fish Hatchery at Springside Park and through our fund-raising efforts have donated over $140,000 the past 12 years back into local charities and organizations.
I am a very proud Black Belt & Instructor at the Napanee Karate Club and have volunteered my time to many of their activities, I am active member of the Napanee Valley Cruisers. Both my wife and I are active supporters/volunteers of many local groups and organizations.
What made you decide to run for deputy mayor?
I have decided to run for Deputy Mayor because at this point in my life I believe that I am in the best position to take my volunteering one step further – municipal council. After attending several council meetings over the last eight years I have decided that my best fit would be deputy mayor, this would allow me to also sit on County Council as well. Because of my 36 years of employment experience in this town, I have a good working relationship with most department heads – Roads, Water & Sewer and Recreation.
Every day I help someone by directing them to the right department or finding out the answer to their questions. By becoming the next deputy mayor, I could do this just a little faster.
What are the three biggest issues as you see it facing the Town of Greater Napanee?
It’s hard to just pick three biggest issues facing our town at the current time, as we have many. So, I will start with:
- The shortage of family doctors
- Waste disposal fees
- Attraction of new industry to the area
What is the best way to address those issues?
Attracting new family doctors is always a hard one, we must provide a community that they want to raise their families in. We need to look at affordable housing, activities for children, transportation.
We need to look at our contract with Waste Management, and try and find a way to cut bag tag costs for the taxpayer. There are other waste disposal services out there that need to be contacted for a quote.
We have a beautiful community here, we have hotels, restaurants, health care services, a growing downtown core. Now we need attract and provide incentives to make business want to locate or re-locate into our industrial park. This will in turn give us more of a tax base to help keep residential tax increases to a minimum.
What would your biggest priority be if elected?
My biggest priority would be to bring more industry and jobs to our community.
We need to provide a community that families want to live in, work in and enjoy.
Our community needs to be more than just a town between Belleville and Kingston. It needs to be a place that residents are proud of and want to promote.
Why are you the right candidate to be Deputy Mayor?
I am confident that I can help the municipality grow and thrive. I believe that I have the skills and experience necessary to be an effective leader. I am eager to put my skills to work for the benefit of the community that I proudly live in.
Good governance, fiscal responsibility and leadership are all vital for the municipality for Greater Napanee. I will ensure that decisions are made in a transparent and accountable manner.
I am confident that I can make a positive difference as your new deputy mayor.
Eric DePoe
What was your background before getting into municipal politics?
I moved to the area in 1998 when I bought the Waterfall Tea Room in Yarker. My wife and I had a thriving restaurant business there for 17 years, and I was honoured by the Napanee Chamber of Commerce as business of the year in 2013. I have 30 years experience representing injured workers and I currently have a paralegal practice in downtown Napanee.
All my adult life has been dedicated to building community and to helping others. I have volunteered at the Morningstar Mission and at the Napanee Community Health Centre. I was a founding member and chair of the Yarker Colebrook Community Association.
I was involved in the creation of the Yarker Farmers Market and helped guide the market for nine successful seasons. I’m still an active board member and volunteer.
I am on the citizens committee that stopped the Richmond Dump expansion. We need to stay vigilant on this issue. More work needs to be done on the fight against the asphalt plant, which threatens our air quality, our ground water and our pristine Napanee River.
What made you decide to run for deputy mayor?
I believe that our Council needs dynamic new voices, and I want to engage more people in the political process.
I read with much interest the Town’s September 2017 document Our Home to Grow and Prosper – Strategic projects for 2018 and beyond”. Four hundred community members participated in this community process. Top priorities included a youth centre, a pool, and an arts and culture centre. I’m hearing the same issues at the door five years later. It’s time to make these projects a reality.
I am running for Deputy Mayor because I also want to play a strong role on County Council. The issues the county deals with are not only roads and bridges, but also affordable housing, public health, long-term care, ambulance and social services. These issues affect all of us, and we need a strong council that can advocate for our community with other levels of government.
What are the three biggest issues as you see it facing the Town of Greater Napanee? What is the best way to address these issues?
Affordable Housing:
I’ve had many conversations with voters about this issue. Napanee used to be a community where people could find reasonably priced apartments to rent or houses to buy. This is not the case now. The County Council elected four years ago made ‘facilitating safe and affordable housing’ its top priority for its term of office. Eight new affordable housing units are now being built in Tamworth. This is not enough.
We are one of the only counties in Eastern Ontario without a homeless shelter. In the past four years work has been done to provide financial support for warming centres. Morningstar Mission has done amazing work to support people in need. We need to do more.
Downtown Napanee, the Farmers Market, and Preserving our Historic Town Hall:
It was sad to see the end of our farmers market earlier this summer. We are the county seat of an agricultural area so having a market is important. We must reimagine and reinvent the farmers market over the winter and bring it back next year. Our downtown is the centrepiece of our tourism strategy and the economic development of our community. The farmers market is an integral part of building a vibrant downtown.
We must preserve our heritage, including our historic town hall. We may not all agree with moving municipal services from our town hall square at a cost of $5 million, but we now have an opportunity to reimagine the use the building and the square. I’ve talked with many residents who would like to see the space used as a centre for community groups, recreation and arts and culture. I look forward to many conversations as we move forward with this project.
The Environment:
The people of Napanee have spoken. We do not want the asphalt plant! I applaud the work done by community activists on the campaign to stop the plant.
Despite the public outcry and the lengthy council process leading to the decision that our town is an “unwilling host”, the company seems to be confident that they will get their plant built and has launched both an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal, and a proposal for an Environmental Compliance Approval. Our council must remain vigilant.
The recent Town of Greater Napanee Corporate Strategic Plan for the next five years talks about integrating climate and sustainability considerations into all council decision making, as well as the importance of Council’s role in advocating for environmental protection. This is a very important initiative which must be realized through concrete action.
What would be your biggest priority if elected?
I look forward to learning about the many and varied issues that are discussed and debated at both the Town and the County Councils. This election campaign has been a great opportunity to hear from our community members about their priorities and concerns.
People want to know that their elected officials listen to them and will do whatever they can to find solutions to their problems. Change will happen if we build community and engage new voices in our political process.
I will work diligently to make sure our Councils think creatively, build consensus and have the political will to act.
Why are you the right candidate to be deputy mayor?
I’m a good listener. I have strong advocacy skills. I’m energetic. I want to build community and I want to get things done.
John McCormack
What was your background before getting into municipal politics?
I spent 45 years in the automotive industry. Many of these years were as an executive in senior management.
What made you decide to run for deputy mayor?
Having been a member of council these last four years and really enjoying representing our residents, I was committed to running again in 2022.
When our current deputy mayor announced that he would not be seeking re-election and that most of the other members of council were running again for their current ward seats, it gave me the opportunity to step up and put my name forward to be the next Deputy Mayor of Greater Napanee.
It is extremely important to have both a mayor and deputy mayor with council experience since both also represent us at the County level.
The County of Lennox and Addington receive and spend about 39 per cent of our Town’s tax dollars.
It’s therefore twice the responsibility and these positions cannot be a trial run.
What are the three biggest issues as you see it facing the Town of Greater Napanee?
Keeping taxes in check, especially in these high inflation times.
Waste management. Our garbage and recycling costs are more than $1.2M dollars annually. Policing costs are one of the highest expenses incurred by the town exceeding $4M dollars annually.
Addressing the Doctor shortage and our general health care.
Lennox and Addington County spends over $150M tax dollars per year on healthcare. Be it Long-term care, paramedic services, public health, housing, I want to be part of the County’s governing body that has input into how our dollars are spent.
Affordable housing and homelessness. At a municipal conference this past year, I attended special sessions on Homelessness and Affordable housing where I gained new insight and took back some really good ideas that I plan on working on with our Development Services after the election.
What is the best way to address those issues?
I, with the other members of this council committed to working towards a goal of holding our municipal tax increases to 2.95 per year over the next five years. My years of fiscal responsibility as well as being a part of our town’s budgetary process these last four years gives me the knowledge and qualifications to work towards keeping our municipal taxes at an affordable level.
As a member of the waste management committee, we continue to explore ways to reduce our costs that currently exceed one million dollars annually. Much more work needs to be done.
I am also committed to maintaining our oversight of our town’s policing costs. This past term we were successful in getting a refund in the amount of $295,000 for charges from the Quinte Detention centre that were levied against us in error.
What would your biggest priority be if elected?
I would work hard at the county level to attract more commercial ventures to our industrial park as well as other small business. With that in mind, as deputy mayor I would make sure that our Town residents are better informed of what is being discussed at the County level by including its Agendas as part of Greater Napanee’s Council agendas. Working with our staff to do the best job we can together while listening to the wants and needs of our residents and moving forward accordingly.
Why are you the right candidate to be deputy mayor?
Our next deputy mayor needs to have the municipal background and knowledge required and be able to hit the ground running in 2023 and beyond. I am the only candidate with council experience and a proven record.