Tag: london politics

Posted on

Greenspace Alliance Met With Josh Morgan

On September 26th, Greenspace Alliance issued our list of endorsed candidates for the October 24, 2022 election.  We had pushback from some GA members who asked why Josh Morgan is not on the list.

(Josh is currently London Ontario’s city council representative for ward 7 and London’s Deputy Mayor. He is campaigning to be mayor of London, Ontario.)

We did not endorse Josh because we did not know his position on tree canopy and greenspace issues. As with all candidates, we sent him an email with an invitation to talk.  We had not received a reply before announcing our list. 

Josh subsequently contacted us. He said he had not seen the email invitation from Greenspace Alliance. He said his staff had “filed it”. He wanted to meet and talk about the issues. So Josh and I met this morning at the Angelo’s on Wonderland.

Meeting With Josh Morgan

During our meeting, I told Josh about Greenspace Alliance’s agenda. I laid out the five commitments that a candidate had to make in order to get our endorsement. Those five  commitments are:

Five Commitments Asked of Candidates

    • To increase London’s tree canopy targets and decrease the timeline for meeting those targets

 

    • To establish residential tree planting programs

 

    • To establish mandatory minimum canopy requirements in new residential developments

 

    • To keep the city’s greenspace property on River Road (instead of selling of it) and to solicit community input in regard to how to use that property

 

  • To establish a greenspace council, committee or commission that will be tasked with protecting/preserving public greenspace and providing input for future greenspace use

Josh Morgan And Tree Canopy Goals

Josh came across as enlightened about environmental issues. He was enthusiastic about commitments #1 through #3. He had good ideas about how federal money can be used to strengthen London’s tree canopy. We agreed that London’s tree canopy goal must be increased, and that the time frame for increasing it must be reduced. Long story short, tree planting must speed up. So it felt as though we were aligned in regard to tree canopy goals. I also liked his ideas about creating accessible greenspace for various activities.

Morgan Amenable To Keeping River Road

We then discussed River Road. Josh, at one time, seemed to favor disposing of the property, which the city ran as a golf course. I suggested that a feasibility study – in regard to keeping the property and exploring its possible uses – should be done before selling it. Josh said he could get on board with that.

We then discussed the types of groups who might be interested in giving input to help determine the best use(s) for the property.  Josh seemed genuinely interested and had some ideas.

My overall impression was that Josh Morgan is agreeable to retaining the River Road property. He is also open to getting input from community groups in order to identify the best greenspace use(s) for it.

Morgan Aligned With Most GA Goals

Josh Morgan seems aligned with #1 through #3 of Greenspace Alliance’s commitments. He is agreeable to attempting #4, which is to find a way to keep the River Road property while identifying the best use(s) for it. In regard to #5, he balked at the word “commission”,  but many of the candidates have. I feel he is on the same page as Greenspace Alliance members and told him so.

Regardless of the alignment of our goals for London’s greenspace and tree canopy, I said that Greenspace Alliance could not formally endorse his candidacy. If we endorse his candidacy it would discount the endorsement  we gave to Khalil Ramal, and Khalil really deserves our endorsement.

Khalil didn’t just say that he was in favor of increasing tree canopy and greenspace. He followed up, to make his commitments clear. He told me that he would incorporate Greenspace Alliance ideas and issues into his campaign, and he did, on his campaign website.

Josh said he understood my reasoning. He inquired if I would informally portray him as supporter of Greenspace Alliance – and vice versa – If I had the opportunity. I said I would.

Summary of Morgan Meeting

I think that Josh Morgan has a grasp of the environmental emergency at hand. He seems genuinely to believe we must expand London’s tree canopy and greenspace. I believe he will agree to a feasibility study for keeping River Road. If he is elected mayor, I do not think he would push to dispose of any public greenspace.

Posted on

Ward 7 City Council Candidate Corrine Rahman Meets With Greenspace Alliance

On August 12th I met with Corrine Rahman, who is a candidate for London City Council in Ward 7.

Corrine was a schoolboard trustee. She was also a member of Matt Brown’s staff while he was London’s mayor.  She is currently a professor in the Business Management program at Fanshawe.

Corrine is a person with a lot of government experience.  She impressed me as being a good person to answer questions about the ins and outs of city government. She seems to know the process of how to get things done in London’s city government.

We met in Corrine’s ward and, as she looked around, she expressed concern about what we perceived to be “treeless sprawl”. Corrine expressed concern about trees being removed in her ward. She struck me as a person with great passion about protecting and expanding London’s tree canopy.

I liked Corrine and enjoyed speaking with her. I look forward to hearing more from her and her campaign for the City Council seat in Ward 7.

Posted on

City Council Candidate Julie Reynolds From Ward 1 Meets With Greenspace Alliance

We’re Interviewing City Council Candidates

The point of Greenspace Alliance is to elect mayors and city counselors who understand the climate crisis and will make expanding greenspace and growing our tree canopy in London, Ontario a top priority.

To that end I am interviewing every candidate who will meet with me. I am asking each candidate the same five questions. My goal is to to see if a candidate’s goals align with that of Greenspace Alliance. Those whose goals align most closely with ours at Greenspace Alliance will receive our endorsement.

Not Every Candidate Has Responded

While I have contacted every candidate running in every ward, not every candidate has responded.

There is still time for candidates to respond to my invitations; so I am not ruling anyone out for our Greenspace Alliance endorsement at this point.

Before election day in October, I will issue a list of recommended candidates.  Until then, when I meet with a candidate, I will note it here. The post will, likely, be very brief. But, at least, voters will know a candidate cared enough about climate change to meet with me and talk about what we can do, as a city, to be part of the solution.

Julie Reynolds From Ward 1 Responded

One candidate who responded to my invitation and agreed to meet with me was Julie Reynolds from Ward 1.

Julie Reynolds is a Ward 1 candidate for London City Council.

I met with her on August 7, 2022. We discussed issues related to our city’s canopy forecast. She talked about her desire to prevent the sale of the property on River Road that was River Road Golf Course, and which is in her ward.

Although I am not endorsing her at this writing, our conversation showed that she appears to understand that the climate crisis is  serious and requires action from municipalities.

Julie seems to want to help guide London toward greater environmental sustainability. She seems to want to mitigate London’s contribution to the climate crisis and it sounds like she will be committed to expanding our greenspace. She certainly does not want London’s greenspace reduced by the city selling River Road.

Julie has a Twitter account in which she is trying to engage people about putting equity and accountability back into politics.

I liked Julie and enjoyed speaking with her. I look forward to hearing more from her and her campaign for the Ward 1 City Council seat.