John Challinor II Ward 2 candidate (Municipal)

Why should people vote for you?

The next four years will require the Town of Milton to make decisions that will establish the community’s direction for the next 40 years. The residents of Ward 2 need a local councillor who is clearly in their corner, one who balances the financial challenges faced by the municipality with their ability to pay; one who knows the importance of long-term planning and helps council and staff make convincing arguments to the other levels of government in a way that benefits the majority of Miltonians; and one who understands that, at its core, the Town of Milton exists to deliver broadly-based, core services to taxpayers efficiently, effectively and in a high-quality fashion. I have consistently focused on these key matters over the last four years. I have personally helped several hundred Miltonians with municipal matters of concern to them. I have attempted to keep the residents of Ward 2 fully informed, financing and distributing to all a newsletter twice annually — the first and only time in Milton’s 165-year municipal history that this has been done by a local councillor. I brought more motions forward on various matters that helped to improve the lives of individual Miltonians than any of my fellow councillors. That’s not a reflection on them. That’s a reflection on what I saw that needed to be done. Without their support and the support of Town staff, none of these improvements would have materialized. I have kept the promises I made in 2018. I froze my stipend in 2019 and it will remain frozen through 2026. Why? It’s important for all elected representatives to show fiscal leadership, given the inflationary and recessionary pressure our community is facing. Milton Council is going to have to make some difficult decisions in the next budget that may have individual councillors thinking about whether or not raising their salaries and improving their benefits was a wise thing to do. In my view, it would have been better to consider Council salaries and benefits when high inflation and the recession are behind us.

– Taxation, Planning and Effective Municipal Services. 1. Taxation — Taxes should increase at no more than at the rate of inflation. Thus, when the next Milton Council approves the operating and capital budgets in January 2023, the annualized rate of inflation is forecast to be 3.7%. I will be calling for no more than a 3% increase. 2. Planning — The Town’s next Official Plan, which will be approved within the next term of Council, will set the direction for residential and commercial growth for the next 40 years. I helped Council and staff develop a Made-In-Milton proposal that meets the Town’s requirements. I intend to work with Council and the Government of Ontario to ensure Milton gets what its residents need when it comes to local housing and employment. 3. Municipal Services: The Service Delivery Review. Which I promised during the 2018 election, was approved shortly after I was elected and resulted in several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of savings in the short-term. In the long-term, it will result in automated and improved service delivery to Milton taxpayers, most notably over the next four years through investments in training, technology and work processes.

I was raised in Milton and, with my wife Liz, raised our two children in Milton until they left town to pursue their careers. I operate my own business, Given Road West Communications, and, before that, had spent 35 years in Canada’s high technology and consumer health industries. I have served as a volunteer locally and nationally for more than 50 years and now serve as President of Milton Historical Society; Chairman of Church Council at St. Paul’s United Church; Member, Board of Directors, Grand River Conservation Authority; Member, Advisory Boards of Hope Place Centres Alcohol/Drug Rehabilitation Centre and Community Foundation of Halton North; and local historian and currently co-presenter on FM 101.3’s The History of Milton Street Names every Monday with Cameron Wilkinson.

Contact John through his website