Wards would “further fragment” town, says former councillor

September 24, 2014 · 0 Comments

I prefer the current “at large” system for council representation.
I would rather have nine people looking out for the betterment of the whole of Aurora instead of each one looking to better only his or her ward.
When I have a concern, there are nine people on council to potentially champion my issue, not just one. What if that one ward rep was to disagree with me?
Must a Councillor of a ward live in the ward? Could any qualifying candidate in Town run for any ward in Town? What if a ward had no one willing to be a Councillor? Would such a ward be well represented by someone who does not live in it, or might that ward have no representation? Conversely, if my neighbourhood had two excellent candidates for Council, with our current system, both could possibly be elected.
I believe the introduction of wards would further fragment the town. Even the definition of ward uses the word “division”. With all the pockets of new growth, we should be looking to instill a sense of pride and belonging to the Town of Aurora, not just the neighbourhood.
Wards may work in Toronto. Each ward has a population the size of Aurora.
Both the Regional government and school boards are structured like a ward system.
Many times, Aurora’s one voice has been lost in the voting at those tables.
The opportunity to choose is coming soon.

Bob McRoberts
Aurora