Name:

Dan Lenart

Occupation:
Community Worker/Activist (previously:A rt Studio Co-ordinator);
Candidate For Mayor

Family info:
I have a mother, step father, and an older brother in town.

Community work:
These days I'm reconfiguring myself for a different type of work experience,
than I've had for the last twenty years. Mondays, I'm at the Ark Aid Street
Mission, for an Art program, because of my previous, twelve-year work
experience with City Art Centre. Before that, I was what most call a
community mental health worker (past 20 years - various agencies).

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

No.

WHY or why not?

I do not believe in Joe Fontanna's Tax Freeze, not in the first year anyway.

What do you consider the most important issue for Londoners?

Coming out of the recession, the most important issue is getting londoners
back to work! I believe this can be done by building a new city hall
structure, one block to the south, at the former library location (300 Queens
Avenue). The construction jobs would certainly help, towards that goal.
Local government is in a mess right now. One veteran is leaving because of
the "dysfunctional" atmosphere around the horseshoe. This is unacceptable.
Vigorous debate is one thing, childish behaviour is another. I have read fifty
books on psychiatry, and have known sixteen individuals who have taken
their own lives. I know how to handle adults behaving like children. It’s
called leadership. It has many different aspects to it, yet it’s essentially the
same thing. Unfortunately, its been missing for a very long time at 300
Dufferin Avenue.
________________________________________________

Name:
Ivan W. Kasiurak

Occupation:
Ivan’s Motivational & Opportunity Co; Ivan’s Autograph Collecting Co.

Family:
Widower with 3 children 1 Son & 2 Daughters, 5 Grandsons and 1
Granddaughter.

Community work:
Spoke to people about my 57 years of sobriety, and if they have a problem I
tell them my story. Spoke to student at Saunders about Alcoholism. Gave a
motivational talk at Regina Mundi College. Ran as an Independent
Candidate in the 1993 Federal Election in London West. Ran once for
council, and this is my eight run for mayor.

Do you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no):

No.

Why or why not?

What I would support is lowering the property tax, and I have a plan for
lowering property taxes, and it is not only hot air.

Why do I want to represent London?

London needs a Mayor for all citizens of London, and not for special interest
groups. No more giving the hard working taxpayers of London their money
to support special interest groups. Example: the $460,000 to Orchestra
London and a line of credit for $500,000. If they can’t make a go of it, go
out of business or have their supporters bail them out. And in 2008,
$600,000 of the taxpayers money went to London’s Convention Centre
The Mayor is London’s CEO, and when elected, and I go out and speak
representing the citizens of London I will dress like a CEO, suit, shirt, tie,
and shoes shined, not like her worship last summer at the Covent Gardens
when London’s TV Station had a meeting with the citizens London about
the Television business she spoke dressed in a Pink Tshirt, pair of shorts
wearing a pair of running shoes. London’s City hall should be renamed the
Titanic: financially we are sinking and our mayor is working at her. As
mayor my job will be 24/7 razing the Titanic

What do I consider the most important issue for London?

Leadership. London’s Titanic is over 300 million in debt and the present
mayor is the Captain and in my humble opinion she has jumped ship.
________________________________________________

Name:
Stephen Beckles

Occupation:
Auto body technician/ School Bus Driver/former President to the Barbadian
Canadian and Friend Association (resigned last year to beef up my street
ministry Effort: 30 DAYS OF FREE SUPERS from July 25-august 25,
which I extended till September 5 /Business Developer/ Job connect
facilitator through street ministry for "refugee" (my new interest) and
displaced citizens.

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

Are you talking property tax? If you are talking property tax: Property tax
assessment present method need revisiting to achieve a more fare rate per
home based on property value.

Why or why not?

I have viable ways to reduce property tax, and may be a few others as well.
(we can do better).

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

London is a beautiful CITY and I see it going down the toilet. I have some
ideas I would like to share In hopes to evoke change. We are loosing our
FAMILY BUSINESSES to "BIG BOX stores", the super stores. We need to
take care of the ones who build this city. The one who can help us save this
city be before it's too late. We are biting off the hands that feeding us!!

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London?

The most important issue for London is the "integrity" of the leadership!
When I become Mayor I will be vigilant in regards to accountability from
each riding.
________________________________________________

Name:
Eric Southern

Occupation:
Software Analyst at LHSC

Family information:
Single; One child - Isaac (2 month old son)

Community work:
Previously volunteered for LHSF as a labourer for the Country Classic
Auction event and later joined the steering committee of that event.

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

No

Why or why not?

I consider tax reform, waste reduction and improvement in overall
efficiency of the city to be important goals for me. I think we should focus
on reducing the operating costs of the city in order to pay down the $268.9
million (as of December 2009) of outstanding debt. The projected debt
servicing costs for 2011 are $62 million almost 10% of the budget. The
reduction of the debt servicing charges could go a long way to help avoid
tax increases and still provide additional services for the city.
I would also like to see full disclosure of the financial &
infrastructure state of the City and have that information available
to everyone. We need to know the state of our roads, water system,
community centres and other infrastructure. What good is a tax freeze
if it means our City falls apart? I love the idea of a tax freeze, but not if it’s
going to do more harm than good

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

London is a good city — I think that London could be a great city.
There are many changes that could be made so that processes are more
transparent. An important step is to open all possible information to
the public. The city should also consider a gigabit fibre deployment
to help us catch up with the rest of the developed world, as Canada
ranked very poorly in a recent OCED analysis. London has a strong IT
community, a flourishing game development industry and is poised to
become the regional centre for technological innovation, under the
right circumstances. Deploying gigabit fibre would attract many new
tech companies and other e-businesses to London.

What do you consider the most important issue for London?

Gigabit fibre connections would make London one of the most advanced
cities in North America. It would bring us up to speed with cities in
Asia and Europe. This type of connectivity for the citizens of this
city will prepare us for the future and make the city much more
prosperous. It will spur new development and new applications to be
created here and make the city very attractive to large tech companies
that could use the infrastructure as a testbed for research and
development. It would help our current tech companies to expand into
new services and offerings. It would spur economic growth in the city
overall.
________________________________________________

Name:
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best

Occupation:
Mayor, City of London

Family information:
Married to Tim Best, stepson Ryan Best, Parents: Bettina and Frank
DeCicco (who live in London); brothers Domenic DeCicco, Vince DeCicco
& wife Kate Daley (live in Europe)
Community work:
I support charities, multicultural groups/events/festivals through my role as
Mayor every day.

1. Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)? Why or why
not?
During an election campaign, candidates wishing to unseat an incumbent
often promise tax relief, without explaining the financial details. At the same
time, some candidates also make promises to add new programs, but don’t
account for the increased cost. My record and approach as Mayor are clear:
I look to balance reasonable tax increases without sacrificing important
services. As a result of this balanced approach, Macleans Magazine recently
rated London the best managed city in Ontario, and 6th best-managed in
Canada, while Moody’s awarded London its Aaa credit rating for 33
consecutive years. If one is to consider a four-year tax freeze, a different
question must be posed: what is the candidate prepared to do to realistically
achieve it? To begin, for the first budget year, there are only two months
before the Operating Budget is finalized and it would take $12-14-million to
do so – through a combination of service cuts and layoffs, as well as new
revenues and growth assessment. On top of that, another $8-10-million
dollars would have to be accounted for to cover sewer and water rates. So,
let’s take a look at these areas in some detail. Here are just a few examples
of the type of service cuts required to achieve a zero percent increase:
-eliminate sidewalk snow clearing $1.1-million
-eliminate new affordable housing $2-million
-reduce road maintenance by 10% $390,000 (operating)
$2.6-million (capital)
-eliminate London Arts Council Funding $297,821
-eliminate 20 positions in both Police and
Fire service $2.7-million
-eliminate entire Library collections for
four years (this means no new books, cds,
dvds, e-books, literacy materials etc) $2.5-million
-close two arena pads $253,000
-eliminate 35,000 hours of bus service $1-million
As you can see, service cuts to attain a zero increase would need to be deep
right from the start and would have to be repeated annually, with no
opportunity for new services or programs to be added at all. Meantime, any
‘regulated’ services added by other levels of government in the coming
years, would have to be absorbed across all City departments and outside
boards and commissions, in order to reach and maintain a target of zero. As
well, all staff contracts with our unions, associations and employee groups at
the City and across its boards and commissions would have to be re-
negotiated to attain zero, with no benefit enhancements. Examples of our
staff contracts include Police, Fire, Paramedics, LTC, Library, Health Unit,
Conservation Authorities, Tourism, LEDC, the Market and the Convention
Centre to name a few. I believe such attempts to revise staff contracts would
be seen as bargaining in bad faith, and inevitably would lead to lengthy
strikes and disruption of service across the community.

These financial consequences would be severe, and would launch a

downward economic spiral by gutting the very things we have built up in the
past 10 years, after decades of neglect. These quality of life investments
include new libraries, community centres, key recreation and sports
facilities, sewer improvements, road improvements, to name a few. Another
election promise recently made by other candidates supporting a zero
percent tax increase is to simply increase assessment revenue to avoid
service cuts or layoffs. If the solution were that simple, it would have been
done long ago. However, that’s far easier said than done. Let me give a few
examples of what the required revenue really means. In the first two months
in office, the equivalent of ten, One London Places would need to be built,
with ten more similarly-sized buildings required in each of the subsequent
three years - to achieve the promised tax freeze. Another example would be
to build the equivalent of 2½ Masonville Malls in each of the four years.
As a member of Canada’s Big City Mayors’ Caucus, I have yet to hear of
any city, anywhere in the world, that could possibly grow that quickly. So, I
ask each Londoner to carefully consider all broad campaign promises,
especially those that lack either detail or factual research.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at City Hall?

It is a privilege to be London’s longest serving Mayor Since taking office a

decade ago, I have worked with Council and the community to lay a strong
foundation. But, our work to build a vibrant 21st century city continues. This
consistent effort is even more critical, as we ease out of the global recession.
Liaising with the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), we
at City Hall recently approved an aggressive, proactive and forward-thinking
Action Plan to guide London’s continued economic recovery and future
growth and success. I believe in this Plan, and with proven leadership,
results and commitment in place, we can make London even more
competitive on the world stage and even more collaborative here at home.
By implementing this Action Plan in conjunction with our strong community
partners, we will reap powerful results to continue strengthening our
economic base, enhancing our quality of life and keeping taxes affordable.

What do you consider the most important issue for London?

As London’s Mayor, my first priority is always to work to strengthen our

local economy, which is the best way to keep taxes affordable, while
providing the services and programs important to Londoners. To this end,
my focus on job creation is twofold: attracting new industry and investment,
and working with existing London companies and partners to ensure our
workforce is stable and strong. At the same time, it’s equally important for
City Council to continue implementing its Strategic Financial Plan, which
focuses on maintaining a debt cap; capping capital spending; setting budget
targets for all departments, boards and commissions; applying zero-based
budgeting accompanied by business cases for both operating and capital
budgets; maintaining healthy reserves; continuing pay-as-you-go principles;
using surplus funds to pay down debt financing; and generating new revenue
from the Provincial and Federal governments. As noted earlier, City Council
and LEDC recently implemented an economic Action Plan. It focuses on a
number of key goals, which I will continue to actively support and pursue. I
have included a sample of those objectives:

• Promoting London’s Advanced Manufacturing & Green

Technologies Business Park in partnership with the City, the University
of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College. This innovative Park is
designed to attract new industry and build on successful new London
companies like Brose of Germany and Hanwha from Korea. Western
has already begun building its $25-million Wind Engineering, Energy
and Environment (WindEEE) Dome onsite to test weather conditions
on infrastructure. It is the only Dome of its kind in the world. Also, the
world-renowned Fraunhofer Institute of Germany has signed an
agreement with Western to develop its International Composites
Research Centre in this Park, and it will be the Institute’s only presence
in Canada.
• Marketing the London region’s green technology and innovation
as a new sector for jobs
• Strengthening London’s world class IT and digital media sectors
through the creation of a Digital Media Centre of Excellence, which
will be part of a new downtown campus being established with
Fanshawe for a School for Applied and Performance Arts
• Leveraging London’s strategic location as a transportation hub
connecting us to the world, by enhancing our gateway location near the
401/402/403 highways, maintaining a supply of industrial lands and
opening London’s new international air cargo terminal
• Supporting business development by reducing red tape and
maximizing efficiency at City Hall
________________________________________________

Name:
Joe Fontana

Occupation:
Business Person

Family information:
Married to Vicky; three children

Community work:
 •First elected to House of Commons in 1988 and re-elected in 1993, 1997,
2000, 2004 and 2006
•Elected Chairperson of the National Liberal Caucus in 1996; re-elected as
Chair in 1997 and again in 1998
•Appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport in 1993
for a two-year term. Played a key role in the introduction of the
National Airports Policy
•Elected Chairperson of the Liberal Ontario Caucus in 1991
•Member of the Official Liberal Opposition between 1988-1993 and critic
portfolios included Housing and Urban Affairs and associate critic for
Electoral Reform
•Member of the Standing Committee on Transport and an associate
member of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Standing
Committee on Industry
•Other parliamentary accomplishments include Chairperson of the
National Liberal Task Force on Housing, Chairperson for the Liberal
Via Rail Task Force and member of the Liberal Caucus Committee on
Economic Policy
•Chair of the Canada/Europe Parliamentary Association
•Member of Canada/U.S., Canada/Italy, Canada/China, Canada/Israel,
Canada/Arab Parliamentary Associations
•Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
•Chair of the Southwestern Ontario Liberal Caucus
•Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on
Science and Small Business

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

Yes

Why or why not?

London taxes are too high! Hard working families, seniors and businesses
need a hand and London needs to be more competitive and attractive to new
investors, businesses and people.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

I want to help make London the “go to” and “come to” city in the country. I
want to work with Council, business, labour, community groups and
institutions to make London more competitive, to bring jobs to our city and
to ensure young people have opportunities within London so they can make
this community their home. I want to see London achieve its potential and
be the leader in the attraction of new businesses. I believe we can and will be
very successful at “greening” London’s economy….in three ways –
attracting green jobs, helping existing industries become greener and also
adding dollars to the London economy.

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London? And b)
the most important issue for the ward in which you’re running?
Getting City spending under control — Holding the line on tax increases.
Londoners must know their tax dollars are being spent carefully and wisely.
Londoners need to know that Council is considering all the possible options
for investment and partnerships, making good decisions and turning good
plans into action. We must vigorously pursue public/private partnerships
and partnerships with other levels of government. Investment from new
businesses will flow into London once it becomes competitive and can
demonstrate it has a strong economic plan. Jobs follow the investment
creating new opportunities for our young people to live and work in London.
Our challenge is to do better and make a difference. These are linked and
intertwined, just as all Londoners are connected. City actions and decisions
affect everyone. It creates our quality of life. It is time for London to be the
best it can be, for everyone.
________________________________________________

Name:
Cynthia Violet Etheridge

Occupation:
Small business owner

Family information:
Homemaker and Mother of 5 for 23 years

Community work:
1999-2004 operated a local grocery delivery service for seniors, 1994-2003
block parent, member of EBBA parents association, public schools
volunteer since 1992 .

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

No

Why or why not?

It is just election rhetoric and not practical. I will set priorities based on the
needs of the People and have the courage to see them through. Londoners
want to see greater value for their tax dollars and the elimination of needless
expenditures, free lunches and perks. It is my goal to make everybody count
and to reward the People of London through incentives for being good
citizens and helping to improve our city.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

London needs a solid leader. Despite a combined 50 plus years of political
experience, neither Anne Marie nor Joe have anything new. Staying the
course and freezing taxes are old ideas that are not inspiring to Londoners at
a time when we need that inspiration to motivate people to care about and
have a more active role in our community. This is why the process of
renewal is so important, as it brings fresh ideas and new faces to the table
and this is what Londoners have told me they want to see in this election.
Together, as Business and Community leaders we will build a new future for
London.

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London?

There is no one most important issue. Londoners are besieged by ever
increasing taxes and high unemployment culminating in stress and
uncertainty. Enough is enough. As London's new Mayor it is my aim to
provide the change that will bring peace and stabilility and solid leadership.
________________________________________________

Name:
Christopher R. Foerster

Occupation:
Paramedic

Family information:
Eligible bachelor

Community work:
Although my work schedule is often busy and unpredictable, community
service is important to me. I’ve been an Advisor for a local Scouts Canada
group for the last two years where I help to mentor a group of youth
interested in careers in the medical and emergency services fields. I also
volunteer for various other initiatives including teaching free public CPR
awareness classes to try to ensure that everyone understands the importance
of bystander CPR and is ready to perform it when needed. I have also been
active in our world community in contributing to the Haiti earthquake relief.
During my time in Léogâne I contributed to a number of projects from
providing medical care at the local field hospital to clearing rubble to allow
residents to begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

No
Why or why not?
It is not truly feasible to promise a four-year tax freeze. This is simply a
promise made by some of my opponents in hopes of winning the support of
voters. I know that Londoners can see through these false promises and
understand the fiscal reality in our city.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

I have lived in London for two decades and still reside in the city that I want
to lead. I want to bring a fresh perspective to City Hall to better address the
concerns of Londoners rather than simply pursuing my own agenda. After
ten years of the status quo it is time for change. I will bring new ideas to
City Hall with a very strong educational background to support me as I work
with Londoners to improve our city.

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London?

There are many important issues in London, but the biggest is the lack of
transparency and accountability at City Hall. I look forward to bringing a
new age of openness to London. Only through true openness can our
municipal government effectively engage with residents to address the
issues facing London.
________________________________________________

Name:
Jonas Richard White

Occupation:
Sales, Boxing, Activist, Currently on
Disability but would like to work fulltime at something challenging.
Boxing is my fulltime Hobby and how I stay fit.

Family information:
(left blank)

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

yes

Why or why not?

Londoners are paying to much taxes, and a freeze could help.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

Because I believe I am the Best person for the Job. I was born in London
and instead of leaving for a more exciting city like 99% of the people I grew
up with, I want to make London an exciting tourist destination.

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London?

Jobs are the most important immediate issue and taxes on the elderly whose
cost of living has increased without an increase in their income. The
problem of lack of employment can be fixed by attracting large businesses to
London but by also developing a manufacturing base in London by getting
banks to start factories from business plans of students.
_____________________________________________________________

Name :
Zak Young
 Occupation:
semi-retired gambler

Family information:
rebecca young, sister, amanda young, sister, douglas
young, father

community work:
none

Suport a tax freeze:

Absolutely, but we can do a heck of a lot better than just
freezing taxes.

Why or why not?:

Taxation is theft. As mayor I would do anything possible to
lower or eliminate taxes.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

I don’t really know if I could represent Londoners, or even if I
would be very good at that. I want to go to city hall to tell
the people in city hall to leave everyone else alone and to
stop interfering with our lives and our businesses. The
biggest issue on the campaign trail so far are the issues of
light synchronization and taxes. I imagine the people in my
ward feel the same way, but I am not sure and will have to
ask them.
Name:
Raymond Ford

Occupation:
Businessman/self-employed... Transportation.

Family information:

Community work:
yes

Would you support a four-year tax freeze (yes or no)?

Yes but, only as a worse case scenario for I believe we need to lower
the property taxes.

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

I wish to represent Londoners at city hall for the following reasons...
My platform is to introduce positive change, through upgrading our
political municipal democratic systems, to encourage a far greater
voter involvement and addressing all the controversial topics
electronically, through online elections and referendums. To work
towards creating automation of contract negotiations, between the City
of London and it's unions, to create a free flow market place.
To establish 24/7 transit bus service with evening conductors and work
towards creating linked communities with our neighbours, through
unified central transit service, throughout the community of Greater
London. To build a far better taxi/limo industry by eliminating
monopolies and corruption. To upgrade many standards, licenses and
bylaws etc. To create unified central taxi dispatching with owner
operated vehicles. To encourage and create new industry...accessible
child day care in all communities and creches in shopping malls. To
upgrade our approach to "Green" through creative efficiency, outside
the box thinking. To lower property taxes as to become more
competitive within our economic arena.
To work towards creating a city wide Lottery draw and scratch tickets,
to help pay the bills etc. and much more.

What do you consider a) the most important issue for London?

Online elections & referendums. Why? Because by implementing direct
democracy and creating the greatest voter turnout ever, in the history
of London, is worth pursuing. I believe online elections & referendums
is paramount to our successful evolution as a society, as well as,
individuals. Only then, will we have a true democracy.

Name:
Ma'in Sinan

Occupation:
Inventor

Family:
Ma'in Sinan is 51 years old, he and his wife Inas had been married for
22 years; they have 7 children, 5 girls and 2 boys. Their eldest son is
a 4th. year math and physics student at Waterloo University, their
eldest daughter is a 3rd year psychology and business student, their
2nd son is doing a victory lap at Laurier school he has played with
their football team for the last 4 years, then they have a daughter who
is in grade nine, their 3rd. daughter is in grade 8, their 4th daughter is
in grade 4, the youngest is in grade one. They have lived in London for
more than 10 years.
Community Work:
Ma’in was a member of many organizations and networks: As an
example: London Community Resource Centre; assistant administrator
of LETS (London Local Economic Trading System). Volunteer Work in
Jordan - Ma’in also did a lot of volunteer work in Jordan: 1) As a
member of the Jordanian Engineering Association to reduce
unemployment rates of engineers. 2) He participated in a task force of
local and international experts charged with the responsibility of
updating training programs, establishing competency tests and
developing a licensing system on a nation-wide basis. 3) Facilitated
development of mechanic training programs at a national level. 4)
Created practical components of a vocation-training program by
opening repair and maintenance shops to the public and arranging co-
operative placements for students. 5) Simplified theoretical
curriculums to more effectively match students’ learning capabilities
and taught courses in machine theory and design, automobile sub-
systems theory, design, diagnostic and maintenance,
thermodynamics, etc.

Would you support a four-year tax freeze?

The answer is YES

Why?
Both citizens and businesses need not only tax freeze but also tax cut!
What do you consider the most important issue for London?
Jobs..Jobs...Jobs!

Why do you want to represent Londoners at city hall?

I will be the most qualified mayor acting as a CEO to create high end
and high value both 21st economy and jobs.