Michael Lotter believes a “new perspective” is needed around the council table in Bradford West Gwillimbury and wants to be at the forefront as the town’s next mayor.
Lotter, who has lived in town for nearly two decades, has been considering running in the election since the spring. What spurred him was the recent discussions about future growth as the town tries to adhere to its Official Plan while facing pressures from developers, the County of Simcoe and the Province of Ontario.
“As part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe development area, our growth is determined by the province and the county,” Lotter said. “It’s all good and well to select growth areas, but when basic infrastructure dollars do not back up the needs of the existing residents and new residents, it’s a concern. I want to see harder pushback against lack of funding from the county and the province while they designate growth.”
Lotter, the father of two school-aged children, sees overcrowding in our institutions as one of the larger issues facing the town. Even with two new public elementary schools and the new and expanded St. Charles Catholic School opening in the next school year, overpopulation will continue.
“We have our schools bursting at the seams,” he said. “It's not fair to teachers or students to ask them to make due while the province denies the county funding for building in the 2022/2023 school year, given the numbers expected to enrol with continued family home construction.”
Ignoring the backlog will only make the matter worse, and Lotter wants to serve on a council that will put pressure on the upper tiers of government to support local students.
“Our population is set to grow by another 25 per cent in the next nine years,” he said. “We are already two years behind in school building projects. At this rate, we will not catch up to the backlog.”
The safety of those children as they travel to school – and the overall safety of all pedestrians in the community – is also an issue Lotter wants to tackle if elected.
“We have a speeding issue through much of our town, contributing to accidents, cars flipped upside down, cars in people's front yards where kids play,” Lotter said. The recent announcement of a traffic camera on Simcoe Road is a step in the right direction, but Lotter doesn’t think it goes far enough.
“We have already completed a pilot project for this system, but we are only installing one camera when the data says it worked,” he said. “There is a different project that can be put on hold until it can be completed properly, and we would then be able to install seven or eight of these cameras. A bigger step in the right direction.”
Another priority for Lotter is to bring more affordable housing to town. Not only that, but he also wants to see the town and the county be more transparent in the process with residents.
“I have yet to see what the rent in one of these units will be. Is it going to be within the range for people receiving ODSP?” he said. “I have read articles, looked on the Simcoe County website; I may have missed it, but it should be easily accessible information. Upfront information seems to be lacking in this area.”
Since moving to Bradford, Lotter has worked as a retail buyer, and then as a wholesaler/importer for big box retailers in the US and in Canada, negotiating multi-million dollar deals on tight timelines while maintaining customer expectations. He’s also worked in construction and since the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s returned to school to study software and web development.
While his primary experience isn’t in public service, he feels he can be essential in council quickly bringing more businesses to the community early in its mandate.
“I would like council to begin work in earnest to attract more business to Bradford,” Lotter said. “We have the official plan, the designated land - we need the business in town. I would like to see people live, play and build the community in which they live.”
He’s also hoping to allow for more communication between council and constituents if elected.
“I would like council to implement a town hall concept meeting,” Lotter said. “We already have a process for people to address council, and this would marry the two. I have found that unless I am personally involved with or looking for specific information, finding data can be a laborious task. This would, in my opinion, make people feel more connected to the decisions which affect them on a daily basis.”
Lotter feels his work ethic is perhaps the best reason for people to vote for him as mayor on Oct. 24.
“I ask the questions, and keep going until we get an answer, if it is not the answer we wanted, we adjust our approach, change what it is we can do until we get the answer we need, as long as it falls within the standards the community deserves and is in the best interests of the community at large,” he said.
To learn more about Lotter, visit his website: www.michael4bwgmayor.ca.
