I know we can do better; we just have to care.

Housing and Zoning 

Focus on affordable and dense housing being built, especially in the Aurora, Promenade and major transit station area (MTSA).

Allow for low-impact businesses to open in our residential neighbourhoods. People need places other than work and home to build a sense of community. These “third places” have been on the decline for decades. Allowing local coffee shops, barbers and bakeries etc. to set up shop in our residential neighbourhoods not only gives residents a place to gather near home but is also an opportunity to bring under-the-table businesses that people may already be running out of resident’s basements into the light of day, giving them a chance to grow and the town a chance to capture new sources of revenue.

Building Incentives for Developers along transit corridors where medium density housing is most encouraged, giving a break on development charges if the ground level of multi-story buildings incorporates community service spaces such as distributed health centres, post offices, co-op, municipal and non-profit office spaces. With similar incentives available to developers that guarantee a minimum portion of the units in multi-story developments to affordable housing. This is something the municipality can do to break ground on more housing as soon as possible, but eventually, public investment directly in building housing for everyone will need to happen if we ever want to see a real dent be made in our current housing crisis. That’s going to require the cooperation of ALL levels of government to achieve, municipal, provincial and federal.

Vacant properties tax. If someone isn't using a building, it can very easily become blighted and drive down local property values. Creating a financial disincentive to vacancies encourages property owners to lower their rates for tenants, or to sell to owners who can make better use of the property.

Transportation & Infrastructure 

Paving, widening and connecting sections of the Aurora Arboretum and other nature trails, to create a network of mixed-use paths with pedestrian-only lanes separated from lanes for bikes, e-bikes, scooters and any other micromobility devices. Making space for, and investing in, active transport and public transit gives everyone an option other than driving when gas prices soar. You shouldn’t need access to a G-license and car to be able to experience all that our town has to offer, by ensuring there is a safe way to efficiently get around town without a car, young and old can both gain more independence.

Readjusting town standards for road design so that traffic calming measures are built in from day one of new residential developments. If we want to build a community where kids can play in the street, the streets need to be safe enough for them to do so. Low speed limits on local residential roads, combined with other traffic calming measures, such as narrowing traffic lanes, continuous sidewalks, more roundabouts, speed bumps and chicanes (bends in the road where it was previously straight) reduce car speeds making them safer, quieter and result in better fuel economy. Right now, we try to reduce car speeds by putting stop signs on almost every intersection in our neighbourhoods. People are often less vigilant at intersections when stop signs are overused, with a mentality of ‘I stopped so I can go now’. Traffic-calming measures that send drivers a continuous, subconscious signal to slow down can be more effective than the current approach when done right.

Finances & Governance 

In any new developments, we need to factor in the replacement cost of pipes, roads, powerlines and other infrastructure that residents will eventually be asked to bear, not just 5 years in the future, but 50 years from now and into perpetuity. It's all well and good to make developers pay for the new roads, power and water pipes required for their development, but eventually the bill to replace this infrastructure will come due. If a development is going to be too costly for future residents to pay for maintenance and replacement of its supporting infrastructure through taxes and service charges at a reasonable rate, it needs to be reworked until we can be confident the new development will be a net generator of revenue for the town. There are only so many innovative financial tricks a municipality can pursue before it hits a wall.

There has recently been a controversy over how much municipal councillor should be paid. Town Council deciding its own pay is an inherent conflict of interest. Since being mayor is a full-time job and Councillor is only part time, I believe that the mayor’s salary should simply be set anywhere between three quarters to one and a quarter (as the voters see fit) the median salary of an Aurora municipal employee, and councillors should be half of that. Any arguments over the need for cost-of-living adjustments for councillors applies equally to municipal staff. A simple solution that doesn’t privilege politicians over any other public servants.

Public Services

Visibly Display a QR code in our public parks and municipal buildings that residents can scan, navigating them to a page to report broken or damaged equipment. Say there’s a broken swing or overfilled garbage can, you could scan the QR code and report it online so municipal workers will come address the issue in a timely manner.

Intergenerational Learning: Retirement is a well-earned rest in our twilight years, after decades of contributing to our community. That freedom form work should be respected, however, many people find that once they retire, their life starts to lack a driving force, a reason to get out of bed in the morning that work once provided. The elders of our community are not a burden; they have a lifetime of experience and wisdom to offer us. This is why I think Aurora should pilot a program for seniors in our community, giving them the resources to lead hobby groups passing on to youth some of the skills they have spent a lifetime mastering, weather its quilting, painting, stained glass working, woodworking, car maintenance, cooking. All of these skills should be passed on to the next generation. These groups would not only give a chance for our elders to have a renewed sense of purpose but can spark in youth a lifelong passion for these hobbies and skills.

Reducing food waste; so much perfectly good food gets discarded by our local grocery stores, while there are programs to divert some of this food to food banks and shelters, often times volunteers don’t have the manpower or resources to pick up that food from grocers, deliver it onsite to the shelter and sort through which food is still good and which must truly be discarded. If good food is still going uneaten, the excess can be a perk of volunteering in the program, reducing the food bills of anyone willing to lend a hand to the project.  A municipal program that aids in the delivery and processing of this food means less food going to waste and better care for the least fortunate among us. 

Safety and Security

Aurora is a safe community, and recent York Region-wide trends are moving in the right direction. Comparing January to June 2025 with the same period in 2026, York Regional Police (YRP) reported decreases of 25% in residential break-and-enters, 34% in commercial break-and-enters, 37% in vehicle thefts and 20% in robberies. These results should be protected through prevention, timely reporting, targeted enforcement and strong partnerships, not taken for granted.

Work with York Regional Police, municipal staff, local businesses and neighbourhood groups to expand practical crime-prevention education; Adding a page on the town’s website for residents concerned about these problems could be a good first step. We could supply residents with common sense security measures such as keeping car keys away from your parked vehicle to prevent would-be thieves from using keyfob signals to break in, keeping your external property well lit at night, and internal light timers for when you are away. The page could also link to local neighbourhood watches or ongoing YRP programs they can choose to join such as the YRP Security Camera Registry and volunteer opportunities on the District Community Liaison Committee (DCLC)

Work with YRP and municipal staff on a public awareness campaign on fraud-prevention. If we create a broad campaign that includes seniors programs, community events and library participation, we can work to give residents the tools they need to recognize and resist door-to-door pressure tactics, impersonation calls, phishing and other online financial scams. 

Research References

YRP 2026 regional crime trends  
YRP Security Camera Registry  
YRP fraud prevention  
York Region street outreach  
Town of Aurora roads and e-bike and e-scooter rules