{"id":22437,"date":"2018-12-12T15:58:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T20:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=22437"},"modified":"2018-12-20T09:56:28","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:56:28","slug":"risk-is-essential-in-advancing-aurora-says-deputy-mayor-kim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/risk-is-essential-in-advancing-aurora-says-deputy-mayor-kim\/","title":{"rendered":"Risk is essential in advancing Aurora, says Deputy Mayor Kim"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Councillor Harold Kim has an issue, and it lies with people who say Council members should shy away from taking risks.
\n\u201cThe magnitude of the reward is commensurate with the risk you take,\u201d said Councillor Kim last Tuesday night at the inaugural meeting of the 2018 \u2013 2022 Council.
\nThe top vote-getter in the October 22 Council stakes, Councillor Kim succeeds the late John Abel as Aurora\u2019s Deputy Mayor.
\nIn his first address from this new position, the Councillor began his second term at the table by bringing big issues down to a local level.
\nAddressing his fellow Council members, he said it is his hope they all work well together \u201cfor the betterment of the community\u201d regardless of whose ideas are being put forward.
\n\u201cIt is my hope that whichever and whomever\u2019s ideas move forward that we work as a team to get the project through to completion,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the end, each of us are proxies to the people. It is recognized that that part of politics is the existence of the official opposition where parties who aren\u2019t in power are expected to criticize those that are. However, the municipal arena is not partisan \u2013 and for good reason; it is a community of people who live together in tight quarters. We see each other on the street, walking our dogs, grocery shopping and at the local community centres. My hope is that going forward we, as a community of neighbours, can work together for the success of this neighbourhood we call home, without personal agendas.\u201d
\nCiting work on the last Council that went towards laying the groundwork for the development of Library Square and the ongoing renovations at the historic Aurora Armoury to make way for a new campus of Niagara College\u2019s Canadian Food & Wine Institute, Councillor Kim said both were \u201cworthwhile risks\u201d for Aurora to take.
\n\u201cThere are those in Town who say we should not take any risk with Town resources, but I tell you what: the magnitude of the reward is commensurate with the risk you take,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know the saying: you can\u2019t take a hit unless you take the bat off your shoulders. Taking no risk means we do not advance the wellbeing of the Town. Essentially, it was status quo because we were hamstrung by fear.
\n\u201cMunicipalities are the best first responders to real social issues that affect our neighbourhoods and communities. I would like Aurora to be a conduit for dialogue on issues of social conscience at other levels of government\u2026 We have our ears to the ground\u2026 Dialogue begins with us. We my not have the budget at the municipal level [on some big ticket items] but we can certainly initiate a dialogue with the Province to get the ball rolling. We need the spirit of volunteerism to be alive and well in Aurora. Let\u2019s make it all our goals to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

WENDY GAERTNER
\nWendy Gaertner began her fifth consecutive term on Council by outlining how she sees her role.
\n\u201cI see my job as helping residents and local businesses solve problems, taking care of our community,\u201d said Councillor Gaertner, offering her gratitude for her campaign team and her two children, for their support and energy. \u201cGoing forward, now is the time to put protections in place for our stable neighbourhoods. They are long overdue.
\n\u201cPlanning Library Square is now underway. Some cautions though: adequate, accessible parking is required, for this community hub will not be inclusive for those with mobility challenges, including our seniors. To know if the approved cost and design of the Square is viable, engineering studies on underground water and the foundation of the Church Street School must be done now. It is crucial to have business operations and use plans in place before Council makes any final decision on the square. Taxpayers deserve to know how much this complex will cost them to run.
\n\u201cI believe that this Council has the responsibility to do everything possible to mitigate causes and effects of climate change and severe weather. All our decisions, including designs for new buildings, should have higher regard for this reality.
\n\u201cIn closing, I hope that this Council will welcome community input and govern with caring and common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SANDRA HUMFRYES
\nCouncillor Sandra Humfryes began her third term with a shout-out to, among others, her mother-in-law Beth Humfryes, a third-generation Aurora resident.
\n\u201cI hope you\u2019re proud of us because it is your legacy we\u2019re carrying on,\u201d said Councillor Humfryes, her voice breaking at Tuesday\u2019s inaugural, highlighting legacy projects of the last Council, including the Armoury and Library Square.
\n\u201cI am beyond honoured and beyond privileged to have gained your trust and confidence to represent you here on Council for another four years,\u201d she told the audience. \u201cI had eight amazing years previous, another four will be exciting. The groundwork is laid \u2013 Library Square, the Armoury \u2013 we\u2019re going to have an incredible, amazing downtown that you\u2019re going to love. We are going to work really hard to do what you expect from us. We owe it to you and I know the great leadership we have this evening is going to get a lot of work done and we\u2019re going to have a lot of fun while doing it. I can\u2019t wait for the next four years!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

MICHAEL THOMPSON
\nCouncillor Thompson is also at the start of his third term and, at the first meeting of the new term, reiterated Mayor Mrakas\u2019 commitment to \u201cget things done.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is an honour and a privilege to have been re-elected to once again serve and represent the residents of Aurora,\u201d said Councillor Thompson. \u201cAlthough this will be my third term, I still find it just as exciting an experience as the first time I was elected, and I am very grateful for the trust and respect the community has given me. As I have done for the past eight years as a member of Council, I will continue to use my business expertise and experience to help provide leadership, strong financial management of our tax dollars, and a practical and common-sense approach to the issues.
\n\u201cAs we begin our new term of Council, I believe our residents have spoken very clearly about their expectations. They wanted an experience Council that will continue to work together to get things done \u2013 and there is much to be done this term. In particular, I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the completion of Library Square, the Armoury and our continuing efforts to revitalize our downtown core.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

RACHEL GILLILAND
\nRachel Gilliland is the lone newcomer to the Council table this term, having secured victory on her very first election campaign.
\n\u201cSomebody asked me what was the one thing you feel helped you win the election and I thought, \u2018That\u2019s a good question,\u2019 because it was an answer
\nI just could not pinpoint,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more thought I gave to that question the more I realised there was no one thing: it was a multitude of things. There is no doubt in my mind that pounding the pavement and knocking on doors and connecting with the community was extremely important and rewarding. However, it was also the help I received from so many other people.
\n\u201cWhether you helped me with my table displays, photographs, helped make flyers, were part of my sign team and editor, hosted a meet and greet, or simply just connecting between more people\u2026It was all a huge role in my success. Now it\u2019s official; I am humbled, honoured and am proudly ready to serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

JOHN GALLO
\nCouncillor John Gallo returns to the Council table with six years of experience under his belt, serving his first two years in the last two of the 2006 \u2013 2008 Council, and the following four years after Aurora residents voted him to serve again. After running for mayor at the end of his term in 2014, he\u2019s back \u2013 and back with a promise.
\n\u201cWhile the election is over and the expression of promises is thought to be over, I wanted to give you, the public, a promise: a promise to work hard, to represent you to the best interests and my ability and to make decisions that reflect your best interests,\u201d he said, after thanking his wife Anita, son Dante and daughter Tosca for their support.
\n\u201cFour years is a long time, a lot can be accomplished. I look forward to working with this new team. I can feel there is a sincere desire to move this Town forward in a positive direction and I am very glad to be a part of that. I also wanted to acknowledge the hard work and efforts of all the other candidates that ran in the election. It is not an easy thing to do to put your name out there for public scrutiny and sometimes praise. Their commitment to the Town has not gone unnoticed and I look forward to seeing their contributions in varying capacities.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2018 \u2013 2018 Council members outline visions for next four years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-13-01.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5PT","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 04:10:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}