Orser in a Tight Race for Re-election in Ward 4 - But Ward 4 Needs Stability
Ward 4 Councillor Stephen Orser will have to work harder in 2010 than he did in 2006 to keep his seet on Council. He will have to bring out his army of gigantic signs and he will have to assemble a team to get out the message of his record to Ward 4 residents from now until November.
Ward 4 Councillor: Stephen Orser
In 2006, the Ward was new and up for grabs. There were 5 candidates vying for the seat and Orser squeaked through with about 1700 seats, hardly a ringing endorsement. He beat out Greg Thompson, Bill Brock, Daniel O'Neail, Henry Zupanec. This time he will have to make residents forget his flash in a pan ideas like "Report - a - John, Clear Garbage Bages and other ideas that got news coverage but no support at Council.
He must make them focus on the huge re-development projects going on in Old-East and at Kipps Lane and Adelaide as new apartments, condominiums and retail space are being built. Despite my reservations about the intensity of the development at Kipps and Adelaide, I can't ignore the fact that the Blossom Gate buildings are the first significant developments on Kipps Lane in 40 years.
He needs to emphasize his good work on the Planning and ETC Committees. He needs to emphasize the excellent work he did to get stimulus funds for Ed Blake Park. Children in the Kipps Lane Area will finally have a place to cool off during the summer time after decades of pleas for help. Orser came through on Ed Blake Park.
He needs to emphasize the endless hours he spent taking phone calls from constituents and following up on them. I can vouch for that. He is a stay at home Councilor not afraid to get his hands dirty.
It will be hard to tell who will contest the ward by the time nominations close in September. But he needs to get to work NOW, assembling a a team to support him. Big signs won't do it this time. He will have to put his record as a rookie Councillor to the public and let them judge. He will have to do his best to make them forget the gimmick ideas he sometimes popped up on the news for.
He is a hard-working, blue-collar Councillor. That's a rarity on this stuffy white collar Council that won't even listen to ordinary people who appear as delegations at Committees. For Orser, the question will be how well he delivers the message of his record to voters.
He's not afraid to have a good discussion with residents even with when it involves different opinions. I've had many lively discussions with Stephen. They've always been productive and full of give and take. That's how it should be.
I won't be running against him, even though I'm living in the ward now (in Tolpuddle Co-op). I monitor City Hall more than most, and I'm largely happy with the way that Mr. Orser's voted on issues and the way that he's attempted to highlight the ward's needs.
