Big-ticket projects a concern for some voters: analysts

CTV Kitchener: Eye on spending Are big-ticket spending items like light rail transit and Urbacon top-of-mind for voters? Marc Venema finds out.

Whether it’s $818 million for light rail transit, $6.6 million to settle a lawsuit, or $1 million for a boardroom, spending decisions are often the most controversial for municipal bodies.

And according to one local political observer, the biggest ticket item of all remains a hot issue heading into next Monday’s election.

“LRT is having a surprisingly big impact on certain races,” retired political science professor Robert Williams tells CTV News.

“I get the sense that for many voters, it is a matter that is top of mind.”

Williams says he sees light rail transit as more of a factor in some local races than in others – particularly in the battles for regional council seats representing Waterloo and for regional chair.

The Ion system will cost $1.9 billion to build and run over the next 30 years. Regional officials say $250 million has already been committed to the project.

According to Williams, the numbers being that high may be the main reason candidates still rally against the project.

“What people do respond to is the sense that there’s a lot of dollars, and that it’s a number that is larger than we’ve ever seen,” he says.

In Guelph, voters may be pondering their own big bill – the $6.6 million paid to developer Urbacon, which was dismissed from work on the community’s new city hall in 2008.

At the time of the dismissal, Mayor Karen Farbridge had argued that the action was in the best interests of city taxpayers.

Urbacon proceeded to sue the city for $19 million, and a judge ruled the firm was unfairly dismissed from the project.

Tim Mau, a political science professor at the University of Guelph, says he could see memories of Urbacon steer votes away from the incumbent.

“It’s a blemish on the mayor’s record, and it’s something that people are quite angry about,” he says.

“I’m not sure that it’s necessarily going to increase voter turnout, but certainly of those that are intending to vote, it’s an issue.”

School board trustees are also on the ballot Oct. 27, and Waterloo Region’s public trustees made headlines last winter when they unveiled a $1-million renovation to their boardroom.

Nearly a year later, Williams says that issue may have faded from voters’ minds – or been replaced with other concerns.

“I think there’s lots of other questions around education and its role in the region. I don’t see it as becoming a make-or-break issue,” he says.

To watch full-length interviews with candidates running for mayor of Guelph, chair of Waterloo Region and mayor of each city and township within Waterloo Region, click here.