The Issues

I have a vision of Cobourg where residents thrive in a town bustling with every type of family: young and old, small and large, accessing their needs close to home, supporting small businesses and their neighbours. I see a town that’s supportive of sensible strategies and policies required to meet the needs of every person calling Cobourg home; that cooperates with every agency and organization able to help achieve those needs.

I see a council that is transparent with the residents it serves, that communicates its priorities, opportunities, and actions clearly, in a timely manner, with consultation of residents.   

Development must meet the needs of the town’s current and future residents. We must pursue projects that are financially sustainable for the town’s overburdened tax base. People are struggling and can’t afford more. Suburban sprawl is costing us a fortune to maintain in essential infrastructure like roads, sewers, and electrical lines. This coincides with the need for a wider variety of housing to give new families, and those who choose to remain single, access to the housing market in the first place. We are living amid a housing crisis, and the town can do more to help, starting with taking more direct control of the type of development that takes place.

As we address the multiple converging crises of unaffordability, housing shortages, spikes in domestic violence and an addiction epidemic, and a climate crisis, we must seek out models that work, wherever in the world they may be, studying and adapting them as needed and implementing them to suit our local needs. 

Your property and business tax rates are astronomically high and the services you receive should reflect that. 

We need leaders unafraid to pursue novel solutions that may feel uncomfortable at first, that might cause adversity and diversity of opinions. 

Chronic problems require real solutions, not bandaids. We can't afford to put off confronting the challenges we face as a community. We can't just manage these issues - we need to solve them. We have the opportunity to be leaders, to guide ourselves to a brighter future, together.