ROSANNA DEFRANCESCA
SANDRA RACCO
ALAN SHEFMAN
Ward 3 Councillor
Ward 4 Councillor
Ward 5 Councillor
Q. What was your most memorable
Q. What was your most memorable
Q. What was your most memorable
A. My most memorable moment
A. I think the most memorable moment
A. Without a doubt being sworn in as
Q. What was your most challenging
was standing firm on what both the community and I believed in, and fighting
against the Casino from being built in
the City of Vaughan’s downtown, even
in the midst of much pressure from the
big conglomerates and their exaggerated
promises of how great it would be for
our City.
A. One of
Q. What was your most challenging
Q. What was your most challenging
A. I think the most challenging thing for
me as an elected representative is finding
the balance between development applications that may adhere to our official
plan but can have a negative impact to the
existing community. It is often difficult to
find a balanced solution while avoiding the
possibility of these files ending up in front
of the Ontario Municipal Board and then
losing total control of the decision making.
A. Dealing with the conflict during
the Linda Jackson term as mayor - and
especially when all members of Council
called for her resignation.
moment as a member of council?
would definitely be winning the 2010
election. Although re-election affirms
that my constituents are happy with
my work, the thrill of that first victory
on the wings of change will never
be forgotten.
moment as a member of council?
the most difficult aspects of
the job is balancing, on a daily basis,
the specific needs of a community with
the available resources at the City.
It is an ongoing challenge for me to
balance my responsibilities as an advocate for my community, and my fiduciary commitment to all the residents
of Vaughan.
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. A very rewarding moment for me
was bringing together a developer and
a community group to successfully
achieve a compromise on the Skyline
Marina project. What was first
introduced as a high-rise multi-tower
development with over 900 units, is
now moving forward as a development that is keeping in character with
the existing community. In keeping
the lines of communication open, we
were able to achieve, as a community,
a truly “Made in Vaughan solution”.
moment as a member of council?
moment as a member of council?
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. For me, the most rewarding is being able
to bring the much needed parks, community
centres, libraries (i.e. Pleasant Ridge Library)
to serve the community, especially to serve
the most vulnerable sector - the seniors and
the youth. However, I would be remiss not
to highlight the incredible efforts of many
to convince the Province to provide us with
funding for the proposed Toronto-York
Spadina Subway Extension into Vaughan
back in March of 2006. This helped kick
start the planning and development of our
new downtown, the Vaughan Metropolitan
Centre, and the future Performing Arts
Campus, which when built will truly serve
our residents in Vaughan and beyond.
moment as a member of council?
a Councillor at the beginning of each
term - all four times. A more specific
moment was when the Ethical Code was
established at the City in the last term.
I believe that the code was critical in
establishing the standards for behaviour
demanded of a City Councillor. I worked
extensively on that document.
moment as a member of council?
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. In reality there are three "moments"
that I would note. Without a doubt every
time that I helped a resident solve a problem
was and continues to be a most rewarding
“momen t”. This is the fundamental task
of the Councillor in representing his/her
community; to help resolve those issues that
might interfere with the fullest enjoyment of
the life of a resident of our City. The second
moment was the establishment and leadership of the Accountability and Transparency Committee which ultimately led to the
hiring of the City's Integrity Commissioner
and the establishment of a Councillor Code
of Conduct. Finally, just days after first
being elected to Council in 2004, I raised
the issue of the minimal commitment of the
City to waste diversion and recycling. Soon
after I chaired the Greening Vaughan Committee that helped establish the current and
very successful comprehensive waste management system that is currently in place.
2016 \ Celebrate Vaughan
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