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Coun. Todd Taylor running for deputy in fall municipal election

June 9, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Coun. Todd Taylor running for deputy mayor

By Sam Odrowski

Local councillor Todd Taylor has put his name forward to be Orangeville’s next deputy mayor.

He recently filed his nomination papers and said moving from councillor to deputy mayor seems like a logical next step.

Coun. Taylor told the Citizen he was nervous about the time commitment and his ability to serve the community at a high level when first elected in 2018 but feels he’s been successful in doing that over the past four years.

“My personal test was these four years, and to be honest with you, I’m very proud of what I’ve done,” he remarked. “I’ve been honest with people; I’ve followed up with people when they’ve reached out to me. I’ve done that in good times, and I’ve done that in bad times. But I’ve been very consistent in the way that I’ve dealt with people and that is I’ve done so in a respectful way.”

When asked what makes Coun. Taylor qualified to serve as deputy mayor, he said his respect for all citizens, transparency, professionalism, and availability to residents makes him well suited.

“I think people like that,” he noted. “At the end of the day, as a member of council, we report to the general public, and those are my bosses… I know that I’m working for them.”

Coun. Taylor said he initially ran for Council in 2018 because he was disappointed in the direction the town was going and professionalism shown by the previous term of Council.

“It just felt like we needed to change,” he said.

Reflecting back on some of the accomplishments over the last four years, Coun. Taylor noted the addition of a traffic barrier at the curve of McCannel Avenue and Rolling Hills Drive. It was added in January of last year to protect a home that’s been struck or nearly stuck by multiple vehicles in the past few years.

Council initially shot down Coun. Taylor and Coun. Lisa Post’s motion for a guard rail 4-3 in Jan. 2020, due to its cost of $20,000. Instead, less expensive safety measures were taken, such as the addition of trees.

It wasn’t until January of 2021, after the house was struck by vehicles twice more, on Dec. 25 and 30, 2020, when the four councillors who previously voted against the guard rail changed their vote and the motion for a guard rail passed unanimously.

Coun. Taylor said it was really important that the barrier got installed at that time because it was recently hit by another vehicle.

“If we hadn’t had that there, those people would have been endangered, and it’s such a minor thing,” he noted.

Another accomplishment that Coun. Taylor said he’s proud of was serving as chair of the Town’s Police Services Board (PSB) during the transition of Orangeville Police Service (OPS) to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

While Coun. Taylor voted against the transition to OPP, he led the negotiations, closing of OPS, and switch over to OPP as chair of the PSB. He added that he did so with professionalism and respect, despite his personal objections to the OPS to OPP transition.

“The time commitment that it took was extreme, and the pressure to implement that was extreme. So, it was a test for me in those new roles, but I think we did very well at the Police Services Board, and I’m proud that I led that. I think that Council would say that I did a good job,” Coun. Taylor lauded.

Apart from Orangeville Council, Coun. Taylor is a long-time member of the Orangeville Optimist Club, involved with Christmas in the Park and other events.

He is also a board member of Theatre Orangeville, which he calls “the heartbeat of our community”.

Coun. Taylor moved to Orangeville in 2002 with his family and said he’s happy they made it their permanent home.

“We really love it here, it’s just a great place to live,” he lauded.

If elected deputy mayor, Coun. Taylor said he’s looking forward to sitting on Dufferin County Council and taking on more responsibilities.

“I’m not ready to be done with this journey. To me, these seats are rented seats. There should be no lifelong politicians in a municipal seat in Orangeville, so you do it for a period of time where you can contribute at a high level, and then honestly, you should step aside,” Coun. Taylor remarked.

“You don’t do this for financial gain. You don’t do it because you want to be popular because unfortunately, not everybody always agrees with you, so you end up taking it on the chin on occasion. You do it because you love the town that you live in, and you think you can make a meaningful contribution, and that’s it.” 

Coun. Taylor says if he loses, he may not return to a political role but if he wins, he’ll take the next step and run for mayor in 2026.

“My plan is to continue to learn and if that’s all going in a positive direction, I certainly aspire for a higher seat,” noted Coun. Taylor.

Since the nomination period opened on May 2, no one else has yet stepped forward for the deputy mayor seat. The nomination period ends Aug. 19, with the municipal election taking place Oct. 24.

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