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SERIES: Despite pandemic, work 'must go on,' says Ainsworth

Ward 3 councillor says fiscal responsibility is key and stresses 'the hard work for our Council is far from over'

This is the fifth in a nine-part series in which OrilliaMatters asked city councillors to reflect on the first half of their mandate, look ahead to the second half and let citizens know if they intend to see re-election.

Today, we provide the answers from Ward 3 Councillor Mason Ainsworth.

Question 1. What are you most proud of, personally as a councillor, that you/council have been able to accomplish in the first half of your mandate?  

I am proud of many projects we have been able to accomplish during the first half of our mandate including major investments into basic infrastructure, the widening of West Ridge Boulevard, major increases to winter control operations, the West Orillia Park on Orion Boulevard, major increases to the annual road resurfacing and sidewalk program, Bell Fibre internet being installed city-wide, and investing in services to open the rest of the Horne Business Park.

Orillia transit improvements including bike racks on our entire fleet, new transit shelters and increased winter maintenance at transit stops. Technological advancements including a smart-pay transit fare system, LED streetlights, and an online citizen self-service portal.

In addition to these accomplishments, I am also proud of the City’s and our citizen's response to the global pandemic. Our community has banded together to support one another and will continue to do so during these uncertain times.

Question 2. What is your biggest disappointment as it relates to a council decision/direction or issue?

My experience as a Board Member on the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, an Executive Committee Member for the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities and as a Councillor in the City of Orillia, I understand the inner workings of government.

There are major discussions, debates and research involved in every item brought forward to Council, both from the staff perspective and the Council perspective.

When a decision is made it is important for members of Council to respect the decision, even if they did not support it. We must respect the process of democracy and must not undermine it.

As a result, I do not have any big disappointments as it relates to Council or its decisions as I stand behind democracy. We must not dwell on what could have been but look towards the future about what we can do next.

Question 3. Nobody saw the pandemic coming. Specifically, as a councillor, what is the biggest challenge the pandemic has created and how have you tried to tackle that challenge?

The biggest challenge the pandemic has created is the disruption to society. These disruptions include having major effects on our health-care system, the physical and mental health of our citizens, our economy locally and as a country, loss of jobs and places of employment, basic every day changes on how we function in society, access to services, government decisions, and more.

The pandemic has been the largest disruption to our way of life in recent history with many impacts still remaining to be observed in the future. As a community, we are still in the thick of things and we must remain safe and protect our communities in any way we can.

I will continue to tackle this massive challenge by supporting different municipal programs, ideas and partnerships at the Council table.

Question 4. As a result of the pandemic, many citizens are worried about the future and think council should have halted everything (ie. waterfront plan, Centennial Drive project etc.) to save money. What do you say to those people and what is your view of the future of the municipality amid the reality of a pandemic? 

My recommendation to the people who feel that way is to reach out to me to learn more about the municipality and how the budget process works.

My view of the future of our municipality amid the reality of a pandemic is simple, the work must go on. We need to keep moving forward as a community, there are still streets and sidewalks to clear in the winter, waste to pick up, streets and sidewalks to replace or install, recreation programs to run, water to purify, transit to get people where they need to go, businesses to support and recruit, building permits to issue, bylaws to be enforced, and many other municipal services to continue.

If we don’t keep moving forward we risk creating many other serious problems in the future. While we move forward we need to make sure we are doing so in a fiscally responsible manner.

Question 5. The recent discussion about the waterfront plan spawned a lot of debate and, despite your efforts, many seem to think there wasn’t enough public input. Are you doing enough as a council to be transparent, to encourage public input and to listen? How so? How could that be improved during the second half of your mandate?

The Council process is transparent as all meetings and information are public and accessible, except for matters of closed session as set out by the Municipal Act.

Both Council and staff continue to encourage public input. We continue to listen to the public through personal engagements, public input at Council and Committee meetings, letters to Council, public input meetings, information videos released from staff/ Mayor and Council. There has been a constant flow of information from the City to the community through social media, media releases, etc.

I will work to make sure members of the community are invited to be involved and kept informed of Council processes. This process takes time and effort, I am happy to put in the hard work to connect with as many residents as I can and continue to be approachable, accountable and hard working.

Question 6. What is the biggest challenge council faces in the second half of its mandate (ie. Staff retirements, promised tax freeze, capacity) and what are your top priorities?

The biggest challenge Council faces now and will continue to face in the second half of our mandate is the global pandemic. COVID has created many complicated problems in our communities, costing many their jobs, businesses, and some their lives.

COVID has affected us all in one way or another and will continue to do so. We need to be strong as a community and make sure we are looking out for one another. The hard work for our Council is far from over and now more than ever we need to continue to support our local businesses.

My priorities as your City Councillor are to remain approachable, accountable, and hard working. I will continue to be your voice in government and bring your issues, concerns, and ideas to the Council table.

Question 7: Lastly, do you intend to seek re-election? Why or why not?

At this point in time I am currently in the process of moving forward with the intention to run as a candidate in the upcoming Conservative Party of Canada nomination race here in Simcoe North. Pending my approval as a candidate and successful nomination race, I would then be the candidate of record for the Conservative Party of Canada in Simcoe North and would be running in the upcoming Federal Election.

I currently do not know if my application will be approved, or when the nomination will be, or when the federal election will be. As a result, it is too early to speculate about the next municipal election.


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Dave Dawson

About the Author: Dave Dawson

Dave Dawson is community editor of OrilliaMatters.com
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