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Elaine Capes running for deputy mayor in Mono

August 2, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

DC Moves Coordinator Elaine Capes is eyeing a return to Mono politics, vying for the position of deputy mayor.

Previously a Mono councillor from 2010 to 2014, she ran and lost the position of deputy to Ken McGhee in the last municipal election. This time, the other person vying for deputy mayor is former Mono mayor John Creelman.

Sitting down with the Citizen, Ms. Capes explained that her platform has not changed since she last ran, which she said was based around planning, preserving, and promoting.

“I’m a firm believer that you need to have those kind of plans, and you need to track those kind of plans, and measure your success, and change when you need to,” she said. “I can’t just sit on the sidelines and complain. I want to be involved.”

One of the issues she’s looking to tackle is the town’s bylaws, particularly the noise bylaw, which according to her, “still plagues us,” and though it was rewritten during her time on council, she says it wasn’t implemented, meaning noise can’t be made after 5:00, “which is not really practical,” she added.

A resident of Mono for 13 years, she says she enjoys the town for its mixture of rural and urban areas, and the people in it.

When discussing her qualities for deputy mayor, she said is being a good listener, and having a no-nonsense, get-it-done attitude. “You have to be patient and persistent at the same time.”

When asked about high speed Internet, Ms. Capes said “that’s top of my list,” explaining they need to know what people have and what they want, and who can provide it. She noted the topography of the town is a challenge. “If we’re impacting the environment, and people’s ability to enjoy their property and where they live, we don’t really want to do that, but we still have to have a solution for Internet.”

As a deputy mayor she would have a seat on Dufferin County Council, something Ms. Capes says was a big reason to run for that position. “You can’t be there just looking after your own, you have to be there looking after the broader population.” She explained she could represent the other municipalities in the county.

She says Mono is well positioned and managed, with good asset management planning. However, she described the past four years as being turbulent, with pressures and issues including development, aggregates, the Greenwood Violet Hill pit, and the Singer water-skiing property debate.

“If you have solid planning that preserves and protects against things that don’t belong, you have a better chance of standing up to those things. … There’s always opportunity for making change that’s better.”

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