Before the Ballot- With Ward 4 Councillor Candidate Jason Farr

Welcome to this instalment of Before the Ballot with Ward 4 Councillor Candidate Jason Farr.

What motivated you to run for council, and why do you believe now is the right time for new leadership in your ward?

I’ve interacted daily in Ward 4 throughout my life, and for the most part, fellow residents have received the kind of local government leadership they expect and deserve. But during the current term of council I have consistently heard from dissatisfied residents and business operators. Very real concerns on affordability and how the current councillor always votes in favour of raising taxes at record rates (well beyond inflation and more than double annual property tax increase averages in the last 40 years). Many of these residents are already struggling to keep up during an affordability crisis. A crisis that their current Councillor officially recognized through an early council motion, yet she continued to develop or support tax and spend initiatives without proper scrutiny or a willingness to concede a lack of benefit or the financial challenges felt by constituents.

It had become very clear from the onset of this council term that the current ward 4 Councillor was joined at the hip with a mayor and majority of council that has hired an unprecedented approximately 1000 new City of Hamilton staff in less than four years, spent hundreds-of-millions of local tax dollars on policy and projects that are normally the responsibility of Provincial and Federal governments and failed to bring tangible improvements to Ward 4. There’s never a good time for this sort of unaccountable and fiscally irresponsible leadership, but it’s particularly discouraging when so many residents of Ward 4 (families, seniors, young couples and those on fixed lower incomes) are struggling to get through the Metro check-out line or the U-Plus gas bar.

I relate with these residents and with my previous council experience in our inner-city, I can put a stop to it and bring confidence back to Ward 4 residents. It is critical that residents have someone with experience and a proven and documented track record of better fiscal management, smarter municipal investments and stronger public engagement.

Every ward has its own unique challenges. What do you believe are the top three issues facing residents in your ward today, and how would you address them?

#1 - Affordability: The first step is to stop the tax and spend ways of the current council on day one of the new term. I’ve been watching council closely for more than 40 years and never have seen anything remotely close to this level of needless spending of our money.

One example: the current Ward 4 Councillor started the term with a motion where she claimed “we need to be bold” and so without warning or constituency consult, moved to expedite a 30 year Cycling Master Plan at a cost of approximately 65-million-dollars. This one unbudgeted amount represents an approximate 4.5% hit to the local levy (to the local taxpayers). 4.5% also happens to be just a little shy of the unprecedented average annual tax increases (5.3%) residents have endured for the last four years and in stark contrast to the decades of inflationary increases of approximately 2.5%.

Cycling infrastructure is important for many proven health and sustainability reasons and I was proud to build up more than 22 kms in the core over my time, but much of that was with the assistance of residents (thousands), non-levy dollars and provincial grants. Much of our work was guided by our well thought out, studied and approved Cycling Master Plan that did have an approximate 65-million-dollar cost, but spread over 30 years with capital investments made only as the plan succeeds (investments based on increased use over time). Expediting a well crafted master plan serves as an example of poor fiscal management and for many, it feels like a very expensive pet project that carried a price-tag we could not afford. This move failed to adhere to the master-plan guidelines and proved to be one of the first (of unfortunately many) costly motions since that have that “no problem, we’ll just get the taxpayers to fund it” vibe.

The current Ward 4 Councillor has also supported depleting reserves to fund such projects and off-set what would be even greater hits to the local levy. More on that problem and how this current council practice has downgraded our City or Hamilton credit rating and made funding of future unanticipated eventualities potentially very tricky.

#2 - Infrastructure Improvements: With few exceptions, it appears Infrastructure renewal has not been prioritized throughout this current term of Council.

Ward 4 had a significant road and sidewalk champion in long-time Councillor, Sam Merulla. As an example, following a major east end flooding disaster, he managed to leverage millions to upgrade a large portion of local and arterial roads. But even before and after that event, the Councillor was aware of the need to maintain and improve existing infrastructure.

Take a trip under the south-side Kenilworth Rail Bridge today and note that startling example of what occurs when we do not appreciate the need to stay on top of repairs. Same goes for the long and weedy grass at Mahoney Park to start this baseball season and various levels of decay and neglect on some of our major walkways (like Kenilworth or Barton) or large retaining walls around the Red Hill Valley Parkway laden with gang tagging and graffiti.

These are very noticeable deteriorating conditions all while the current Councillor declares your taxes are historically high because “we are making up for lack of investment from previous councils.” If this is the case, would we not have noticed all the improvements? Also, the previous councils I’ve been associated with only increased (never decreased) services for over a decade and still managed to keep tax increases manageable at 2.5% and NOT 5.3%. This is documented fact. As for our reserves, prior to this council, we also made certain that reserves were at a healthy state which improved our credit rating. The current council took buckets of those reserves (approximately 170-million-dollars) and splashed those dollars toward even more spending and not surprisingly, our credit rating has fallen sharply.

I was born and raised in Ward 4. It’s where I attended grade-school (Queen Mary) and high-school (Delta). This where I took the b-line to McMaster and back. Where with the assistance and support of hundreds of East-Enders, pulled off four years of successful TV/Radio stunts at Centre Mall in support of the Kiwanis Camp Maple Leaf campaign. Ward 4 is home to our family bank, doctor, mechanic, where we grocery shop, visit friends and family, fund-raise, buy clothes, dine, walk, ride and drive. Engaging daily in Ward 4, it has become abundantly clear that residents expect to see improvements that their hard-earned tax-dollars fund, especially when they have been paying hundreds of dollars more than average annually over the last four years.

#3 - Lacklustre resident engagement:
From my experience, quality engagement with constituents comes in many forms. From stop and chats throughout the Ward as we go about our day to day business, to well organized town-hall type meetings with professional staff and held in facilities that may accommodate greater numbers. Increasingly, online engagement is also helpful and an elected official should never block users for comments that may not fit their message or narrative. What is lacking in Ward 4 appears to be a sense of how public engagement should work (residents and businesses comes first) verses public engagement as a means to deliver predetermined initiatives especially when a large number of residents and businesses may be directly impacted.

As an example, the current councillor held a meeting last year that dictated to those concerned constituents who attended a plan to build housing on a nearby city-owned site. The councillor called for and attended the meeting (strangely bringing along City of Hamilton Security Staff) telling all that this project is happening - constituents were left wondering why the meeting was billed as an input session. The project is admirable, but from the feedback I’ve heard since from those who attended, the area deserved to have a say, and if they were provided the opportunity, many in attendance may have suggested that with over 2000 city-own properties, it would have been better to choose a location that didn’t potentially disrupt an area long-slated for rejuvenation (Kenilworth) which has over this term been stalled out and neglected.

One of the most satisfying annual engagement exercises I proudly initiated in the past was called Participatory Budgeting and it featured capital project ideas direct from the residents, listed and voted on by residents, then budgeted through the Ward Area Rating Capital Reserve funds. In this process, the Councillor stands back and lets the people lead the way in deciding on what their tax-dollars should go toward in their communities. We achieved this on four separate occasions and residents came up with over 4-million-dollars of capital improvements. Participatory Budgeting would offer Ward 4 residents, businesses and community groups not only an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible when they themselves are truly engaging, but to actually install projects that most of us are behind. Everyone is welcome in Participatory Budgeting. I will be welcoming input on this process throughout the campaign.

Ward 4 residents didn’t see any of this form of engagement over the last four years. As it relates to the budget table at City Hall, among what was regularly witnessed was a drastically shortened and discombobulated process. During an affordability crisis at a time when budgets should be a critical focus, your current councillor supported less meetings, shorter meeting times leading to dramatically reduced budget sessions.

Municipal government often requires balancing competing interests and difficult budget decisions. How would you approach making tough decisions at City Hall?

First and foremost I would pledge to maintain a pragmatic approach to governing with every decision. Difficult decisions come to council often. It is part of the job and while it may not be for everyone (it is important to manage stress and be respectful of your colleagues) it is an area I feel comfortable in. 12 years as an inner-city Councillor and it really comes down to doing the work. There are always going to be implications to decisions made by council. Every decision deserves proper scrutiny and study. Sadly, this is an area where it has become clear that we need much less councillors supporting costly outcomes resulting from projects or policies born from rigid theories or ideology or even feelings over facts that are often too narrowly focussed.

Around the City Council Chambers and with day to day interactions with Ward 4 constituents, my priority will be to understand what makes sense. What we can afford verses what we cannot afford. Are a significant amount of residents benefitting? Are we safer and more secure? Do decisions correspond with the desires of not just those who elected me, but all constituents? How can we make this better?

What experience, skills, or perspective do you bring that distinguishes you from other candidates seeking the same council seat?

I “experience” Ward 4 every day. I do not live on the south mountain near Rymal Road (like the current Ward 4 Councillor) or on Stoney Creek Mountain. I experience Ward 4 as a resident currently on the western border in Ward 3 and who grew up on Ellis Avenue. I believe this significantly distinguishes me from other candidates. In short, we see each other around the neighbourhood(s) often. How often do run into your current councillor?

As indicated, I have 12 years (three terms) of previous Council experience (2010-2022). I was fortunate to have worked with some amazing residents, business leaders and colleagues representing Ward 2 / Downtown in creating an era where our investments translated to an historic and well documented upward trajectory, smashing investment records, winning significant urban renewal improvement awards, consistently receiving positive national news attention and nationally recognized for our Downtown Secondary Plan. I am well experienced on not only what we need to do preserve and enhance inner-city neighbourhoods, but also how to make it happen. Affordably.

From my perspective, Ward 4 deserves this experience. Residents and business people expect exceptional service from a local councillor who operates with a pragmatic approach where everyone counts. And is accessible at all times.

What is the best way for voters to contact you and/or learn more about you?

Follow of Facebook and email Farrfor4@gmail.com

Thank you Jason for engaging with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian!