(Picture from Google images)
The upcoming election is next month and it seems like there is so many candidates to choose from. You have city councilors like Joe Swan and Matt Brown. You have past councilors like Roger Caranci, and then you get the names no one hears of before, like Paul Cheng.
Each has their own platform and ways they believe they can benefit London the most. From jobs, improving downtown and working with students, there is a lot to cover.
We sat down with the four major candidates, Swan, Brown, Caranci and Cheng to get a better understanding of each one.
Roger Caranci is a former councilor for Ward one as well as Ward 4, before leaving last council to be a real estate agent. He has the experience that London wants and he wasn’t on the last council which he says was the worst ever.
“If what only on your resume is that you served four years in what has been constantly said is the worst council ever, it’s probably not a very good thing people want to see on your resume.”
“I hear that when I knock on doors people are always very hesitant to say they’d support somebody who was on this council. When they ask me about my history and where I’ve been and I let them know, I was on council for ten years but was not there the past four years then they feel really comfortable”
Jobs, keeping students in the city and the arts are just some of the major plans Caranci has for the city. These plans to him aren’t just something to put in the too do list; he wants to do something right away, starting with bringing in businesses, thus jobs.
Caranci believes that London has to do a better job with students. Too many leave because they can’t find jobs here. Caranci knows what students want and he wants to give them that.
“They want a city that’s vibrant, has things for them to do in their spare time and we want to make sure that those things are available to them”
He says his job plan will cover that as well as working on helping local businesses.
Now Joe Swan has his own plans for the city of London. Joe is currently the ward 3 councilor, as he has the most experience out of anyone running for mayor. He believes that experience should tell Londoners who should be mayor.
“I’ve been shown to get the job done, I can make sure whatever I promise I deliver, I know how city hall works, I know how to manage a budget really, really well, I now I can keep London affordable and but still growing. So it’s really about that experience, it’s reliable, it will be steady. We are going to have over 30 percent new faces at city council so I don’t think the mayor’s job should be done by someone who is inexperienced. I think they have to be a good mentor, they have to be a good team builder for all those new people, which I’ve shown I can do that.”
Now with that said Joe says bringing in jobs is so important. To most it’s the number one goal for London. But Swan wants to focus on the local businesses.
“Well I want to start with local businesses that currently exist, I want to retain them. Small businesses are well known for going out of business, so I think business retention is really important.”
Joe believes now is a good time as any to run.
But other notable changes Swan wants to do for London would be keeping students in the city, as he has 75 student jobs lined up for one year, if elected. We would like to change garbage pickup times to the same day, as well as export more Canadian and London goods.
Others who are running include: Matt Brown, Paul Cheng, Steven Gardner, Tae Khun Ha, Donna Kelley, Dan Lenart, Alexander Main, Marie Miszczak, Carlos Murray, Aaron Kaplansky, Ma’in Sinan, Dennis Perry and Jim Kogelheide.
