cupcakeSpeak

The cupcake speaks. A diva listens.

"As your elected representative, I have a long standing record of being pro active in planning our future and ensuring Caledon grows in a responsible manner while gaining the benefits associated with growth and leaving no community behind. Smart Growth in general is a necessity because it represents progress." - Regional Councillor & Mayoral Candidate Annette Groves

A diva ponders. Hmmmmm. What does this cupcakeSpeak really mean? More diva pondering. Ok, so let me give this to you in coopSpeak language. This is straight up pure political rhetorical cow patties. I'm fairly certain you can understand that language.

Councillor Groves claims that she has a long standing record of being proactive in planning our future. Annette Groves has never once ever voted in support of our Official Plan.. The official plan that is a well thought out, forward thinking plan. It was built with consensus from citizens, politicians, consultants and regional/provincial guidelines. It was an official plan that was developed through a very effective public process that had tons of clarity and community participation to it.

Councillor Groves tried to completely usurp the official plan, even though it was the will of the people of Caledon, the will of the Caledon Council and the will of the Regional Council, by attempting to bring a motion to the floor of the region only a week after ROPA 24 was voted on and adopted by all three municipalities of the region. Thank goodness Regional Chair Emil Kolb was on his game that day because he shut her down quicker than a Scotsman closes up his wallet when asked for money.

It was Councillor Groves who tried to knee cap the Town of Caledon and its citizens by stripping away the town's right to do its own planning and move it completely under the planning umbrella of the Region of Peel government. Excuse me? Why on earth would our own town want to hand over the reins of its planning development and direction to Mississauga & Brampton? Councillor Groves was prepared to completely circumvent the town's ability to have management of its own growth. How is this a demonstration of the integrity and the trust needed for responsible leadership especially as the highest ranking elected official of our community. It was subterfuge of the most negative kind and an act of mutiny against Caledon.

What benefits is Councillor Groves referring to in her statement? Urban sprawl and residential urban development doesn't pay its own way. It never has, it never will. If Councillor Groves got all that sprawl she has been so valiantly scrapping for there would be massive tax increases to all Caledon residents. I'll be bringing the math forward on those formulas shortly. I'm just waiting to verify fiscal numbers from the town treasury.

How is acting like an out of control rogue representing us in a responsible manner? Simply, it is not.

Caledon cannot afford this kind of leadership.

"Smart Growth in general is a necessity because it represents progress." Smart growth is such a hot button punch phrase and our wannabe mayoral cupcake is going to use it alot. It sounds smart. It sounds like she's got her finger on the pulse of the understanding of growth. Don't be fooled people. So what exactly is "Smart Growth"?

There is an actual official body at the Province of Ontario called the "Ontario Smart Growth Network". They speak to things such as a movement back to urban villages, non automobile networks, fostering healthy communities and controlling urban sprawl. All sounds great, right? All sounds like it speaks to what Caledon is so desperately trying to utilize to protect uncontrolled and improperly planned growth, right? Think again.

Scratch beneath the surface and the facade of Smart Growth and you'll discover it also speaks to a population target of 50 citizens per hectare of ground. That ground includes both commercial/industrial and residential. Now in a place like Mississauga & Brampton they can easily meet their targets of 50 citizens per hectare because of things such as office towers and condominiums. In Caledon, and in particular in Bolton, we are meeting about 38 citizens per hectare of the requirement.

So think about this. If Councillor Groves supports Smart Growth then what she is really saying is that she is supporting increasing Bolton/Albion's population by at least another third of the current population. That is just for Bolton, imagine if she could get her hands on the rest of Caledon and apply the same fundamentals of her Not So Smart Growth strategies. Is this Councillor Grove's version of responsible planning in our communities? Wow, that is some kinda cupcakeSpeak.

I sure hope the western side of Caledon is tuning in on her planning strategies. I'm quite sure there are several developers just salivating at the thought of spreading far and away outside of Bolton. I think that is what she meant when she said "no community will be left behind" which is really cupcakeSpeak for "As your Mayor I will support Smart Growth for all of Caledon." Egads. That is one whole lotta cupcakes in the Bolton Albion & Caledon community. It is my personal opinion that when you wipe away all of Councillor Groves rhetoric, and there is a lot of it, what you really have is that she is essentially the DEVELOPER'S CANDIDATE. I just can't say it any plainer and more straight forward than that. Councillor Annette Groves is the developer's candidate. If she gets elected then we might as well just hand over the keys to the town to the developers and change the name of our community from Caledon to Vaughan. The only silver lining of Councillor Grove's support of Smart Growth is the silver that will be lining the pockets of the developers. Cha-ching!

This is very savvy campaigning in the Groves camp by using the Smart Growth tactic because for the most part most people don't understand the fundamentals of it. It sure sounds good. Ultimately though it will become the very tool that Councillor Groves, if elected Mayor, will use to open the door to massive urban sprawl. I will say this again. Simply put. Simply said. Councillor & Mayoral wannabe Annette Groves is absolutely the Developer's Candidate.

How's that for some basic coopSpeak?

Stay tuned for more cupcakeSpeak to coopSpeak to come. I've got a sweet tooth craving tonight. Time to eat some cake...cupcakes.

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A post script from the Author: Wowza. My email box has been flooded with notes. By far and away this is the most personal reaction I've had to a blog posting yet. Thank you for your notes, your comments and your input. I'm really happy to hear that my explanation of what "Smart Growth" is really about has finally begun to take hold. This is a good thing. Keep on reading. This blog author is very appreciative.