town of milton election 2010

Advance Poll Dates

Mike Cluett

Over the last few elections, voter turnout has declined.  In 2006, the voter turnout for the former ward 1 (which encompassed most of the new ward 1, 6, 7 and 8 ) was only 23%.

In an effort to help boost voter turnout, the town has come up with a number of different dates and times for people to be able to exercise their right to vote.  Listed below are the dates, times and locations of the advance polls for voters who feel they might not be able to vote on the 25th of October (now 95 days away and counting – YIKES!)

In addition to the 3 days of advance polls is the Hugh Foster Hall location which is open daily from Monday October 11th to Friday October 15th from 10AM to 6PM.

Lines at the advance polls are very short and you can get in, vote and leave in almost a matter of minutes.  Make sure you bring your voter ID card, or picture ID, copy of a municipal tax bill (to confirm address) to make the process go smoothly as possible.

Its important that everyone gets a chance to vote, to have their say on what the direction will be for the town of Milton for the next 4 years and beyond.  There are many changes happening in town and lots of projects that will be approved in the next term of council.  You want to make sure that you choose the right candidate who you feel will speak out for your needs, keep you engaged and informed in the process and one who will be accessible.

Check out the “WHY MIKE” page of my site to find out details on how I will be that councillor for the residents of Ward 6 in Milton.

Advance Vote

Wednesday, October 13 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Campbellville Lions Club
42 Main Street South
Campbellville

Saturday, October 16 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Sunday, October 17 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Milton Mall
55 Ontario Street South
Milton

Please note that the Sunday advance voting closes at 5:00 pm along with the Milton Mall.

Continuous Advance Vote

Monday, October 11 to Friday, October 15 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Hugh Foster Hall
141 King Street
Milton

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Honking and flag waving

Mike Cluett

The sun is setting pretty late in the night these days with some sunlight lasting until well after 9pm.  Coupled with the extra sunlight and the end to the NHL playoffs, this gives me an opportunity to hit a few more doors than I normally would.  I’ve also noticed that while door knocking the last few days, I have been followed by a number of wild bunny rabbits.  I’m pretty sure thats a good thing so I am now known as the “Pied Piper of Rabbits” in Milton.  Lucky rabbits feet following me.

You can tell its World Cup time by the sheer number of flags that are on peoples cars and hanging from porches around the ward.  It goes to show that Milton has become, and will continue to become very diverse in the backgrounds of its residents.  Having all these flags flying around is challenging my knowledge of the countries involved but I’m sure I’ll get it as time goes on.

As I walk down the streets in our ward, I get a chance to speak with many of you about issues that are important.  Between stop signs and crosswalks at intersections, speeding down our streets and concerns of a tax levy for hospital  funding, Miltonians are trying to get informed.  I’ve even had a few people honk and wave from their cars screaming “HEY MIKE” (Rick, you’re not the only one!)

Many of the people I speak with visit the highly popular Hawthorne Villager website to try to get as much information as possible.  The hospital is of a big concern seeing how it has been in the local papers recently and there’s some confusion as to what Milton as a town can do to move that process forward.  If our hospital is to expand, it relies solely on the whim of the provincial government.

Recently, due to increased budget constraints (ie an almost $30 BILLION  deficit) the Province of Ontario has frozen any further capital projects until 2011.  At a recent council meeting, John Oliver from Halton Healthcare Services made a presentation in which he stated that even if the province gave the project its blessing THAT DAY, we are several years away from shovels in the ground.

With this coming election, you are going to want to elect someone who understands the issues we face in Milton; one who is ready to speak out for Miltonians and put even more pressure on the provincial government to get them to realize that Milton, Canada’s fastest growing municipality for a few years running, is in dire need to access required medical procedures.

The Town of Oakville just has a new hospital approved and work will be beginning soon on that project.  Having another hospital so close to Milton will definitely help improve access to health care services for Miltonians but more is needed.

This will not be resolved overnight.  Milton Town Council as well as Halton Regional Council have to put pressure on the province of Ontario to get this project started.  There are many factors involved as well with possible changes to the LHIN (Local Health Integration Networks) and how they are organized.

I was speaking with Stuart and Carrie on Clark Blvd last night and they also brought up their concerns on when Milton District will get its much needed expansion.

I’m sure the daylight will get shorter in the days and weeks to come, so I’ll be doing my best to get my flyers to everyone in the ward.  I’m just over half way done the first round and my goal is to hit every door at least twice before October 25th.

Many thanks goes out to everyone who has pledged their support and vote in October.  As the campaign rolls along, I will be getting lawn signs ready for you.  If you would like to donate to my campaign, please visit my DONATE page.  Any donation is helpful and will go towards the printing of my flyers, lawn signs and other campaign related items.

Most importantly I hope that you come out and vote on October 25th.  Last election there was roughly 25% of residents in the area that voted, which is quite low.  I’m hoping it improves this year for sure.

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Keep Your Eyes Open

Mike Cluett

An alert citizen in Milton is being credited for helping nab a car thief earlier this month.  Here is the story from the Milton Canadian Champion.

This goes to show that keeping your eyes open and reporting anything suspicious can always be helpful.  This also serves as a reminder to everyone to make sure your cars doors are locked and all valuables are stored away out of sight in order to deter these kinds of break ins.

If you would like more information about the Milton Community Policing Committee and how to get involved to learn more about community safety, visit the website http://haltonpolicingcommittees.ca/

Vehicle break-in suspect faces 14 more charges

Fourteen additional charges have been laid against a Milton man arrested earlier this month and charged in connection with a series of thefts from vehicles.

The additional charges follow a continuing two-week investigation by Halton Regional Police and relate to several break-ins and thefts in Oakville and Toronto over the past couple of months, police said.

Early May 8, police were called to a street in south Milton after a man reported seeing a suspicious male wearing dark clothing exit a vehicle. The man observed the suspect attempt to enter vehicles parked in various driveways on the street, police said.

The alert citizen called police, who searched the area along with a member of the canine unit.

An arrest was made after a suspect was located in a vehicle.

A 51-year-old Milton man is now facing a total of 21 criminal charges including break-and-enter and prowl by night and multiple counts of theft under $5,000, possession of stolen property and possession of stolen credit cards. 

More Crosswalk Talk

Mike Cluett

As I’ve discussed before, there has been a lot of talk about a possible crosswalk near the Metro Plaza.  Over the past few weeks door knocking in the area, I have talked to many Ward 6 residents who are deeply concerned about safety in that area.

Its not just a Ward 6 issue, as fellow candidate Rick Dilorenzo found out.  Rick is running for local council in Ward 7 and through emails and discussions with residents on the west side of Thompson, he is hearing the same things.

Rick posted on his blog recently an email he received from Hawthorne Villager contributor and Ward 7 resident Graham W about his concerns with traffic lights and possible crosswalks in the area.

Just to update those concerned residents, Rick and I are both in contact with the engineering department of the Town of Milton to find out what indeed has to be done to ensure safety of pedestrians and drivers in the area.  It really doesn’t make sense for someone less than 500 meters from the Metro Plaza having to get into their car, drive to the mall to go shopping when crossing the street and walking is so much easier.

The reason why people don’t walk is the potential dangers of crossing Thompson during high periods of traffic, especially on the weekend and during the summer months.  Many residents have children playing soccer and want to take advantage of the great park that’s been built, but again, walking isn’t as safe for people at times and they are forced to drive their cars.

As we get more information, both Rick Dilorenzo and I will be updating our websites and of course we welcome comments and concerns from people in the area.  You can email me mike@mikecluett.ca

Until then, I’ll see you at the doors.

Election Information

Mike Cluett

I just finished updating my Election Information page for the municipal election.

Among those changes are the date.  The elections were normally held in November (usually the second Monday of the month) but thats been changed to the new date of…

MONDAY OCTOBER 25th, 2010.

There were a number of reasons behind the change as to make the voting hours happend during Daylight Savings Time, and to avoid the hustle and bustle of Halloween as well.

As I have previously posted, there are changes to the ward boundaries as well as how your councillors will be elected.  Milton has gone from a 4 ward / 2 councillors per ward system to an 8 ward / 1 councillor per ward system.

If we apply these changes to the last election, Rick Day only would have been elected for our ward, while Brian Penman and myself would not have made it.

While knocking on a few doors recently, I discovered close to 80% of of those I spoke with were NOT aware of the changes and didnt know who their current councillor was.  Voter turnout is always an issue with the last few elections showing a disturbing trend of going down each year.

Lets try to make 2010 buck the trend and have more people vote…more people engaged in the system and being involved in the process.  Email me mike@mikecluett.ca if you want to know more about getting involved in this years municipal election.

I’ll see you at the doors.