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Orangeville taxes need to be kept in check, says council hopeful

August 4, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Orangeville taxpayers would benefit by electing somebody accustomed to making a fixed income work.

James Jackson is taking a second swing at the electoral process and is vying for a seat on town council in the Oct. 24 municipal election.

He believes a tight grip on spending is of paramount importance for the next administration.

“If I can run our household on a fixed income, just imagine my outlook on our town budget,” he said. “I believe we can help and advance this beautiful community but do it fiscally.”

Jackson ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 political contest. That campaign launched him onto a mixed palette of civic involvement. He ended up joining the town’s Accessibility Committee, Men’s Homelessness Committee, Joint Plan Steering Committee, and he became Orangeville’s advisor on accessibility needs.

Those are issues Jackson said will continue to be priorities for him as one of the bodies in council chamber.

He said attention needs to be given to the municipal water and sewage infrastructure while keeping services affordable for residents.

Jackson moved to Orangeville when he was a child and he’s raising his own family in the house in which he grew up.

Accessibility and ensuring inclusion for everybody in Orangeville are also among the planks in his election platform, he said.

Jackson was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) in 2014. Through the course of trying to educate himself about the condition, he discovered Dufferin lacked a local chapter of MS Canada.

“Not long after, I had a meeting with the then regional director and the chairman of the Peel Chapter,” Jackson said. “What ended up happening from that meeting was what got me to where I am now and made me stronger.”

The Peel Chapter was expanded to include the Dufferin region and the current Dufferin/Peel Chapter was created.

“I was appointed the MS ambassador for our chapter and I have learned and continue to learn about the political world as a neutral representative to all three levels of government for people of our area,” Jackson said.

Such first-hand experience with networking and cooperation will prove beneficial to him on council.

“Keep communication open and honest,” he said. “The people deserve the truth.”

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