mike cluett

Last night was the all candidates meeting for Mayoral, Regional Chair, Wards One and Three local and regional candidates. At the beginning of the night it was a pretty packed room with well over 150 people in attendance throughout the event.

Many thanks to all who participated in the organizing of the event from the Milton Rural Residents Assocation. Top notch job done by all!

Not to diminish the positions of local and regional councillors for a second, but it seemed a good majority of people came out to hear the Mayor and Regional Chairs and what they had to say. I know while knocking on doors and talking to many of you, most are still up in the air on who to support. The more opportunities you get to hear what the candidates have to say either one on one or in a “debate” format, the better.

Another word of thanks to those of you who stayed until the end. The meeting wrapped up close to 10PM and most of you had been there from 630 on. It goes to show there is a real interest in municipal politics…one that hasnt been experienced in this town for some time.

I spoke many times throughout the evening about the need for community input and it almost seemed to be repetitive but I wanted to make sure that people recognize the need to be informed and to let your views be heard.

In order for this town to move forward as it grows requires proactive leadership on council. We need to make sure that the public is involved in the major issues that affect us and will affect the quality of life. I promised to continue to hold town hall and information session meetings throughout the next 4 years. Since the beginning of my campaign I have spoken about my pledge to continue to knock on doors in between election campaigns and not just during them. The next term of council is 4 years and we cant wait until 2010 to talk to our councillors.

I spoke about the need for citizen advisory committees for all areas of Milton in order to gain input and expertise on certain issues that councillors might not be familiar with.

There is another all candidates meeting at Country Heritage Park in the Niagara Room at 7pm for Wards One and Three candidates being held by The Halton Compass. After this there is an information session being held by the Milton Ratepayers Association on November 5th regarding the St Marys Quarry starting at 7PM.

AND…there is also a Meet Mike night at Cafe Deda on Thursday November 9th starting at 7pm. Check out www.mikecluett.ca for more information. Lots of time left to make your decision if you havent already…its not over yet!

I look forward to seeing you there at these events and at the doors.

Last night was a lot of fun. While walking Anthony around parts of Barclay Circle, Yates Drive and Coopers we saw many creative Halloween displays, costumes and not surprisingly VERY polite and well mannered children. Instead of yelling and screaming we heard “Happy Halloween!” and “Thank-you’s” from a majority of the children with their full bags of candies and colourful costumes.

It was nice to see a lot of the parents get involved as well, dressing up in monster get ups and going all out to make the best of the event. The weather was better than expected as most of the “weather people” on TV were predicting rain and cold wind. I for one am very glad that it held up.

The events of last night speak volumes to the community that we in our area have now developed for close to 6 years. Our bunch of homes in the middle of an old field have now become a true community. Many of us know each other by names and faces and it was great to get a chance to chat with a lot of you last night.

Some asked me “What are you dressed as? A politician!??!” I replied, yes, but one whos on break for one night only.

Today I will be doing some preparation for this evenings Ward One All Candidates meeting that is being held by the Milton Rural Residents Association at the Milton Sports Centre starting around 7pm. The first half of tonights get together will be the Mayors and Regional Chair meeting followed afterwards (roughly around 8:30 or so) with the Ward One local councillors and regional councillor candidates. There will be index cards circulated througout the banquet hall and you will have an opportunity to ask questions of the candidates on the issues important to you. Please check out with Milton Rural Residents Assocation website for more information.

There is another all candidates meeting tomorrow night as well at Country Heritage Park which should also be a lot of fun.

I’ll see you at the meetings AND at the doors.