Jeff James
- for -
Mayor
Representing the
quiet majority of
Saugeen Shores.
Meet the Candidate
My wife Colleen and I live in Southampton and own a little cottage resort by the beach. Colleen recently retired from a very successful radio broadcasting career and my unique Toronto bar/barbershop/live music venue no longer requires my attention. At 52 I am too young and ambitious to be retired and I certainly enjoy an intellectual challenge. I have a very diverse background that has prepared me for the role of being your new Mayor of Saugeen Shores. I have sat on and chaired Committees with the Toronto District School Board while working as a teacher with them for four years. I have been self employed as a graphic designer and Mobile Application Software developer. I am well educated with an Honours Degree from the University of Waterloo, a college degree in Professional Aviation and a Masters Degree in Education. I have worked in 3D CAD design, restaurant management, I bartended for 20 years, I have had military training, I have run cycling tours across Canada, managed and balanced large budgets, I am artistic as I have written books and songs and had art shows. I love sports and adventure, I have flown airplanes and jumped out of airplanes. I have enjoyed white water canoeing and scuba diving around the world. My wife and I love to travel both together and apart. I say all this because it is important for you to know that am dynamic, practical, creative and adaptive. Cheers.
Foundations for Our Community
The Will of the People
As a Mayor I will have a voice just like everyone else. Politically, I believe that people should choose their public representatives and not the other way around. I am not running to represent a certain group of people with defined political leanings. I am running to serve you, the tax payer. Serving the will and greatest happiness for the community means not being personally attached to certain issues but remaining objective and willing to do the will of the people, building towards consensus and getting things done. I feel strongly about year round services, about personal freedom, about a care and respect for all living things, about how we treat the most vulnerable and I care about preserving the unique history and culture of our shared environment. I do not want to see this place turn into a copy of every other place. We are this town, and this place is unique. We can improve it but let's not change what makes it special.
Local
I am four generations from Southampton. I spent my weekends and holidays on my Grandparents farm in Elderslie. I went to high school and came of age in Port Elgin. My family worked in the furniture factories of Southampton, the brush factories of Port Elgin and the farms of Elderslie. My father was a concrete construction labourer. My Grandfather was a member of the Arts community and the Ontario Society or Artists. My mother worked at the CIBC in Southampton. I understand Saugeen Shores as three unique entities within a stronger and greater whole. I respect the differences and common interests of each. I don't come from another place, I don't come from entitlement, I didn't inherent anything of financial value. I come from here, I inherited honesty and self respect from generations of hard working and struggling labour supporters. I offer you my word, my history my time, my respect and my talents. This place needs to be protected before it is unrecognizable from any other place. The people need to be consulted and truly listened to. We need an old school Mayor who sees the people, the big picture and a proper way forward, if you don't want the same direction, don't vote for the same type of people.
The Quiet Majority
The root of every decision I make is the pursuit of happiness. Most of us don't live to work, we are looking forward to the weekend, our priorities are centred around enjoying ourselves, our families and friends, our freedoms and interests. That is the reason we keep going, that is what we want. That is the focus of my attention. Too often the sqeaky wheel takes all the grease and too often the aversion to conflict results in a loud minority overruling the wishes of the larger and quiet majority. On the flip side of that, a majority opinion should never steam roll the rights and freedoms of the under represented. I do not value a negative or loud opinion more than a quiet agreement, they are in fact, equal, every single time.
Community Improvement
Even though my role will be to serve the taxpayer and remain objective in order to bring the greatest good to the greatest number by acting on the will of our taxpayers you do deserve to know some of my leanings. I think there should be somewhere to have cocktails on a patio that overlooks the water. I think that pets should have a safe place to swim on a hot summer day. I think that services should continue year round after the tourists leave. I think all living things deserve some duty of care. I think we need to look into drone technology for our celebrations. I think additional housing doesn't have to change the look and feel of our historical town centres. I think we can get creative in lowering costs for our residents by modelling what other municipalities have done. I think Bruce Power can do more for the village that supports their workforce. I think we should have more options for moving around such as ride sharing and UBER. I think we should look at drug abuse as a mental health crisis and move resources into helping people before they strain our healthcare services. I think a responsible adult can enjoy a cold beer on a beach. I think we should have outdoor skating rinks and more winter activities to promote year round tourism. I believe the elderly shouldn't be lonely and that all of us could have more fun. I believe in more effort and less complaining.
Sports Partnership
Our town's most generous residents and volunteers expect a return on their tax dollars. They want excellent amenities. They're willing to step up and help make them happen. They need a municipality that works with them, not against them. That means better communication, improved rapport, and continued revenue sharing so the tournaments that bring money into our community benefit everyone. Our volunteers, coaches, and families are the heartbeat of Lamont Park, The Plex, curling clubs, soccer fields, and our rinks. Our girls and boys are competing at elite levels, building skills and confidence that will last a lifetime. I know this firsthand as I am so proud that my own nephew just earned a scholarship in a D1 Power Conference University Suddenly I am a Cincinnati Bear Cats fan!
That's the kind of Mayor I'll be. One who values your contributions, respects your time, and ensures our facilities match the pride we have in our young athletes. When the people who build these programs are part of the decisions about them, everyone wins. Let's continue to build a community where everyone has a place to play, compete and belong and where the people who make it happen have a partner in Town Hall who has the academic background in Parks and Recreation resource management to see the cultural, personal and financial benefits of these programs, events and dedicated people!
Arts and Culture
"Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable." -G.B.Shaw
My love of the arts is part of my identity. My Great Grandfather moved here in 1928 to play lead clarinet in local legion band. My Grandfather Ivor James was an OSA member and a prominent member of the Southampton Arts Centre as a painter, poet and a driftwood artist. I have carried on that tradition. I own a live music venue, paint and show my own art, and have published books on Amazon and and Kindle. I want to continue to advance our arts community for everyone. The Southampton Arts Centre is 67 years strong offering 120+ courses and boasting 12,000+ visitors yearly. I would love to expand on the success of the Bruce County Playhouse Professional theatre, perhaps creating our own municipal theatre group. Weekly music at Fairy Lake and Port Elgin Beach is important to me and I believe we can do more. I'm committed to growing partnerships across all art forms—visual, theatre, music, and literary. I would love to increase our collaboration with Saugeen Ojibway Nation, especially at the beautiful and historic Saugeen Amphitheatre. A sacred space for music, theatre and storytelling. I want to continue building on the arts as a driver for tourism, culture, community pride and self expression. Let's make Saugeen Shores a destination for the arts together.
Housing
Housing, and specifically, affordable housing has become a major modern concern not just in Saugeen Shores but Provincially, Nationally and Globally. This problem has been decades in the making. Canadians were taught that buying a home was the safest way to build wealth for retirement. As families poured everything into their own houses and
rental properties, we turned housing into a retirement investment instead of a place to live. Governments stopped building social housing and left the market to sort it out. Investors and citizens bought up everything, renovated and hiked rents. In the end, young families and working people have been priced out because housing became a financial asset first and a home second. I know this from personal experience, I spent most of my adult life struggling with housing affordability. I always had roommates and faced a constant struggle to get ahead and pay down student debt. I found it almost impossible to put money towards my own entrepreneurial aspirations. I finally ended up doing something pretty extreme and moved in with family and then a boarding room so that I could get enough money together to open my first brick and mortar business. I was actually sleeping on the floor of that leased business space when it opened. It is really difficult to watch every last dollar go towards a place to live when there is so much more to life than just paying rent or a mortgage plus utilities, taxes and insurance. I believe we have an affordability crisis, not just a shortage. Median home prices near $800,000 and a 0.5% vacancy rate mean our workers and families are being pushed out. We have units, but they're not affordable. Bruce Power is expanding and their workforce needs housing. Our town already has a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with Bruce Power that includes $2 million dollars specifically for planning around housing and infrastructure. I will use that agreement as leverage to demand direct investment in non profit affordable housing and infrastructure and not just more studies about it. Municipal Budgets are tight but we can leverage provincial grants, development charges and partnerships with developers and major employers to make growth pay for itself without downloading the cost onto the existing taxpayer.
Council Experience
I have never been under the impression that having a seat at the table means you should have a seat at the table. When I am presented with this idea that I shouldn't run for Mayor without first being a council member a number of thoughts come to mind. So are we reserving leadership roles for a more indoctrinated and familiar career politician? Is there any level of expertise outside municipal politics that may be of value? Is a familiarity with the way things have always been done somehow more helpful than a fresh look and some renewed enthusiasm? There is a reason political positions have term limits is there not? I have formal education in politics, economics, social psychology, tourism, resource management, environmental protection etc... I have awards for academic excellence. I have real world experience and success in business, managing people, budgets, resources and infrastructure. The fact that I haven't done some very specific job does not disqualify me from doing it, in fact it may be the exact thing that makes you want me at that table. I am not saying the current Council are somehow indoctrinated and inflexible 'yes' people to the will of a current Mayor and random consulting firms but there is an elephant in this room. I waited until the end of July to announce my candidacy. I too thought that someone from council may step up and take their turn at the head of the table and give this municipality a fresh look at things but when it didn't happen, again and again, well.... I'll do it then. That resolve, that I can do it, has resonated throughout my life. I wasn't a barber when I opened my first barber shop. I wasn't a software developer when I made my first iPhone App. I wasn't an author when I wrote a book and I wasn't married when I got married haha. When I was chosen to represent the Occasional Teachers Union at the TDSB Health and Safety Board I didn't have any former experience. It took one meeting and a little homework and I was more than comfortable with the protocols and procedures and preparations to sit at that table. Just over a month later I was elected Chair of that committee and appointed to the greater central Committee. There were several groups represented at that table, unions, management and stakeholders. When I left the committee, several long standing members approached me to say I was the best chair they had ever had. I wasn't trying to do anything different so out of genuine curiosity I asked why. The consensus was that I was able to keep focus on the agenda and points of action. I understood that everyone's time and effort was important and members who chose to externalize unprocessed thoughts were disrespecting the committee, its members and ultimately the agenda itself. I kept things moving and brought focus back to the agenda instead of indulging the distraction of unprocessed, disorganized or unrelated and often emotional information. I am quite comfortable at the head of the table. If you exclude my potential for not already being in the room, I would ask you to stop and think about why exactly you like to believe this and maybe take one more look at that belief.
C.P.P.S
I have been following the CPPS issue closely. (Comminity Planning Permit System) Preservation of the community's historical character and appeal is one of the main reasons for my campaign. I am a bit of an academic by nature and am hoping to further my research into this issue. At first glance there does seem to be some danger toward our shared love of the physical and cultural space but I also see a great usefulness in helping alleviate our lack of housing problem. Perhaps some better hybrid could be imagined. From what I can tell the CPPS was commissioned to improve the supply
of housing our community needs. This housing problem extends well beyond Saugeen Shores Provincially, Federally and even Globally. There is a consensus out there that streamlining development approvals is a front line strategy to encourage the increase in housing supply. Faster approvals and clear guidelines means more homes get built and they should cost less. Saugeen Shores is unique and a copy and paste solution from hired consultants is only the first step in addressing our specific needs. The current proposal has real gaps and I think this issue is especially useful in pointing out why we need some fresh eyes, perspective and enthusiasm from our elected officials. The job is only half done and pushing it through as is, seems disrespectful to the taxpayer for a number of reasons. First, Saugeen Shores has three distinct cultures represented by Port Elgin, Southampton and the Saugeen Ward, each with different challenges and priorities and any development guideline should acknowledge those differences. Also, 'Affordable housing' is grossly undefined. Finally, we need to ensure our main street's heritage character and architectural interests are protected with clear language and design standards.
Like all issues I don't believe you want a Mayor who is dead against or adamantly for anything like this. Perhaps a councillor or group representative should take a firm even emotional position on a specific permitting system but I believe that the Mayor is not there to represent the Municipality. She or He is there to SERVE the municipality and therefore remain objective and open, willing to adopt or scrap something like this depending on the will and greatest good of the taxpayer. I would caution voting for any Mayoral Candidate who seems rigid or personally invested in any particular issue as they have already decided what is right for you.
Homeless Camp
The Main Street encampment is a crisis of dignity. These are people
from here, many with mental and physical health challenges. Most do
not want to relocate to Owen Sound because they want to stay in their
own community. Bruce County manages homelessness and did launch a response protocol in March but that system is stretched. The YMCA and
local church groups are doing what they can with motel stays and outreach. I believe we can do more locally and partner with the county by exploring transitional tiny home villages with on-site support and away from our main street but close enough to not exile our most vulnerable. I believe as a community we should judge ourselves by the
way we treat the most vulnerable. I'm not running to manage decline. I'm running to build a community where everyone, whether they own a home, rent, or are struggling to find shelter has a path to stability and dignity.
