West Nipissing’s mayoral race is heating up as now there are three candidates vying for head of council. Dave Lewington announced yesterday he is running, joining Kathleen Rochon and Dan Roveda, who have already filed their candidacy papers.
See: Kathleen Rochon is West Nipissing’s first mayoral candidate
See: Dan Roveda is running for mayor of West Nipissing
Lewington calls Ward 8 home, as he lives on a farm near Lavigne with his family. His Facebook page Dave Lewington 4 Mayor, outlines some of his reasons for running, and what he plans to bring to the community if elected after polls close on October 24th.
When BayToday reached Lewington by phone this morning, he was working on the farm, but was happy to take some time to discuss his platform. He mentioned that this evening he is holding a meeting with some of the campaign volunteers, and within a few days, will issue a more concrete platform.
“We’re just getting started here,” he said, “and we want to make sure we get feedback from people” before he begins to set campaign promises into stone. “We want to make sure we’re listening before we put forward ideas.”
However, although he wants to refine his plan, Lewington holds many ideas about what he would like to see within the community. If elected, he will work to ensure that municipal taxes stay the same. “Our municipality must stop tax increases” he emphasized, and although that might “create some very difficult decisions” for the municipality, Lewington noted that increasing taxes places too much burden on lower income residents.
“Increasing taxes disproportionately hurts the middle class” he said, “and especially the poorest in our communities.” Keeping the tax levy constant throughout his term will “help our community” through “difficult economic times.” Increasing taxes affects all residents, he said, “and we’ve lost track of that, on the impact on people when we raise taxes.”
Lewington also envisions “a future West Nipissing that will make it easier for people to build homes, not harder,” and promises a Town Hall that will “not create by-law after by-law that prevents our citizens from enjoying their property.”
Although Lewington has not held a council position, he has much experience on boards and committees, including serving on the board of the Farmer’s Union. He mentioned that his experience holding these positions translates well to municipal council, and he emphasized his desire to work collaboratively with all members of the community to achieve common goals.
“By listening to a multitude of ideas, you can hopefully get the best path forward for the organization, or in this case the municipality” he said, adding that his goal is to “focus on the taxpayer” and ensure respectful debate at the council table.
“I can bring a different perspective to many issues” Lewington said, with “an eye towards preserving the freedom of West Nipissing residents to make the best possible choices for their own personal situation, whether that is considering their family, their property, their job or business.”
Lewington is hosting a volunteer meeting tonight at 7:00 on his farm, and anyone interested in joining his campaign is welcome to attend. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can keep up with campaign news on his Facebook page, Dave Lewington 4 Mayor.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
