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FINDING YOUR VOTING LOCATION

About Bill Longworth

Bill Longworth video chat with voters

Bill Longworth's Endorsed "Good Government Candidates

It's a "Watershed Election"

Attracting Good Jobs to Oshawa

 There's a Tax Revolt underway in Oshawa


Bill Longworth discusses tax cutting plan at Mayoral Debate---video

Bill Longworth's "Tax Cutting" Plans

Bill Longworth's "Good Government" Plan

Bill Longworth's "We Promise" Platform

Online real-time chats with Bill Longworth

BILL LONGWORTH'S "WE PROMISE" PLATFORM

1. BILL LONGWORTH'S #1 PRIORITY---GUARANTEED ANNUAL TAX CUTS

FULL DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE OF BILL'S TAX REDUCTION PLAN

SUMMARY OF BILL'S TAX CUT PLAN

• We have the highest tax rates in the GTA and among the highest in Canada. We need tax cuts to cut waste and inefficiency out of Oshawa City Hall---We can only have what we can afford!

• I propose annual 3% cuts until our tax rate reaches the average taxation rate in the GTA

• City Taxes increased by 13% over the last term of council which was twice as fast as costs measured by inflation at 6.56%

• Mayor Candidate Louise Parkes who is now calling for 5% Councillor Salary Rollbacks and whose campaign signs call for "Fair Taxation" took salary/expense increases of 54% in the first 3 years of her present term with results not yet in for 2010 and called for increased office budgets to cover her travel costs---Can you trust her "election time" campaign promise to hold the line on politician's entitlements?  Are her huge compensation gains the kind of "Fair Taxation" she's calling for?  We need honest city politians, not deceptive and deceitful ones!  She get's free downtown parking at city hall yet used your tax money to buy $250 worth of downtown parking tokens.  Were these tokens to provide the "free" downtown parking advertised by her husband's downtown furniture store?  Good question!

• City debt has escalated from $10M to $100M in a few short years under John Gray's leadership and we have to STOP THE TAX AND SPEND MADNESS from city hall

• A $350,000 Oshawa house would save $1200 annually if moved across the townline into Clarington, Scugog, or Whitby.

• That $350,000 Oshawa house pays more tax than would be paid on a $450,000 house in 23 of 25 GTA municipalities, more than would be paid on a $550,000 house in 16 of 25 GTA municipalities, and more than would be paid on a $750,000 house in 3 of 25 GTA municipalities.

• That $350,000 Oshawa house pays as much tax a you'd pay on an $880,000 Toronto house.

2. BILL LONGWORTH PLANS TO INCREASE CITY HALL TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

FULL DESCRIPTION OF BILL'S INCREASED CITY HALL TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN

SUMMARY OF BILL'S CITY HALL TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN

• We will implement the Bill Longworth "Good Government Plan" outlined in the post above.

• No more hiding of information from our citizens like ward/general vote plebiscite question where mayor said it was not city hall's responsibility to inform citizens

• We will introduce a public question period as part of every council meeting so voters can hold politicians and bureaucrats publicly accountable at every meeting

• We will require public approval for all major city expenditures and for any salary/benefits improvements for city politicians using an online voting system we will set up

• No more huge projects like GM Centre or the City Hall rebuilding without getting citizen approval

• No more unneeded fiascoes like the Cullen Gardens Miniatures, MBA funding for politicians, $45,000 Mayor Birthday Parties....because we'll exercise common sense!

• No more demolitions of strategically located arenas

3. BILL LONGWORTH PLANS TO DEVELOP A "WORLD CLASS" LAKEFRONT WITHOUT COSTING TAXPAYERS A DIME

FULL DESCRIPTION OF BILL'S LAKEFRONT DEVELOPMENT AND BEAUTIFICATION PLAN

SUMMARY OF BILL'S LAKEFRONT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

• Bill believes industrialization and "people-ing" of the lakefront are incompatible and will use every means possible including expropriation and or land buyouts by developers to stop the ethanol plant and will fight building of a rail spur line at every step.

• Bill will commission an international design contest to attract the best and the brightest to conceptualize an integrated plan for "world class" development of the total Oshawa lakefront including the east and west lakefronts

• These plans would include a marina, condos north of the lake on the east side of Simcoe with underground parking and separated by publicly accessible gardens and walkways, commercial enterprises like restaurants, elevated walkways through the second marsh, and no development would block any part of the lakefront.

• All development would take place on long-term leases on city-owned land to provide long term tax relief for city residents

• This international contest would attract big international money to develop a world class Oshawa lakefront without costing us a dime

• Such development would boost Oshawa's image and stimulate huge city-wide increases in property values

4. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO DEVELOP A VIBRANT "PEOPLE PLACE" DOWNTOWN

FULL DESCRIPTION OF BILL'S PLANS FOR THE DOWNTOWN

SUMMARY OF BILL'S DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT PLAN

We plan to make the downtown an inviting magnet for people and businesses...free perimeter parking, free WiFi, landscaped walking malls on the single blocks radiating out from the four corners, redirected eastbound traffic off King and along Athol Street from Centre to Mary, and Northbound off Simcoe and up Mary from Athol to Bond, strolling musicians, art shows, property tax incentives for owners to update to common architectural themes arising from an city commissioned design contest---We have to update the downtown as there is no incentive for businesses to locate there if., at present, people don't go downtown.

5. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES ACTION ON THE GREENING, BEAUTIFICATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE OSHAWA HERITAGE

BILL'S FULL GREEENING OF OSHAWA PLAN

SUMMARY OF BILL'S "GREENING OF OSHAWA PLAN"

• Work to Zone Green Buffer Zones around Hamlets to stop residential/housing encroachments and preserve the way of life

• Adjust residential development fee schedules on low-energy communities to encourage developments using solar electrical, solar water heating, and geothermal home heating as a model for the country

• Establish a special "student housing zone" on vacant land adjoining the university for the construction of experimental modular and micro student housing prototypes and other creative minimalist housing forms to showcase Oshawa's creativity and a new housing mindset for the country

• Work to block the building of the waste incinerator on Oshawa's East boundary

• Experimentation with wildflower and shubbery plantings on some boulevards to provide natural beauty and reduce grasscutting costs.

• Will recognize and protect all heritage buildings...never again will we allow heritage buildings like the Rundle House to be demolished.

6. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO SEEK A SOLUTION TO THE STUDENT HOUSING ISSUE SURROUNDING OUR UNIVERSITY

We must solve this to the satisfaction of all interested parties as the university will be the economic future of this city. The present uncertainty is discouraging student attendance. Both the city planners and the developers were complicit in the development of the problem.

7. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO SEEK PUBLIC SUPPORT TO RESTORE WARD VOTING TO OSHAWA to return guaranteed representation on council for every community and insure every politician is more accountable to serve you.


8. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO SAVE OSHAWA'S STRATEGICALLY PLACED ARENAS WHICH CITY HALL HAS THREATENED TO DEMOLISH....City council is studying demolishing 80% of our existing arenas and rebuilding new facilities in Oshawa's North End.


9. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO WORK ON BRINGING IN BYLAWS LIMITING THE TERM OF MEMBERS OF COUNCIL to insure a vibrant leadership to this city.


10. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO CONCENTRATE ON ATTRACTING DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRY to this city.


11. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE FACE OF OSHAWA on our South Simcoe entrance to the downtown.


12. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO TRY TO BLOCK THE UNSAFE INCINERATION FACILITY PLANNED FOR OUR EASTERN LAKESHORE.
This is an unsafe health risk for our children. See this explanation by VOTES advisor, Physicist Scientist Paul-André Larose, PhD

13. BILL LONGWORTH PROMISES TO TAKE REAL ACTION TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A MODEL OF CREATIVE LEADERSHIP AND RENEWAL FOR ONTARIO...We will provide real change and real progress...not just hollow PR "feel good" expressions with no real action behind them.