[ OUR CITY ]
GINO ROSATI
MARILYN IAFRATE
TONY CARELLA
Regional Councillor
Ward 1 Councillor
Ward 2 Councillor
Q. What was your most memorable
Q. What was your most memorable
Q. What was your most memorable
A. My most memorable moment as
A. I received a request from a parent
asking to have an accessible swing installed
for her special needs son at her local park
so her children could participate together.
Because the year’s budget had already
been set, I embarked on finding the funds
to make this happen. When the work was
finally completed at the park, the mother
sent me a photo of all three of her children
using the various swings and sharing common playtime at the park for the first time.
A. The creation of the Civic Hero Awards
Q. What was your most challenging
Q. What was your most challenging
Q. What was your most challenging
A. As the Councillor for a predominantly
A. The most challenging moment for me
moment as a member of council?
Member of Council was during the
2010 election, where I realized the true
impact of my dedication to serving our
community. I was the only incumbent
Regional Councillor re-elected, receiving
the most votes for Regional Councillor,
and earning the title Deputy Mayor for
the 2010-2014 term – a most appreciated and rewarding experience!
moment as a member of council?
A. Generally speaking, my most chal-
lenging moments are budget-related;
trying to avoid tax/levy increases while
continuing to provide quality services
and proper maintenance of our
infrastructure.
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. One of my most rewarding moments occurred many years ago, when
not only Vaughan Council, but also
other municipalities, supported a
resolution that I proposed to request
the Provincial Government to consider
a rebate on the education portion of
property taxes for seniors. Petitioning
and rallying involved a lot of work, but
ultimately, this rebate was approved.
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Celebrate Vaughan / 2016
moment as a member of council?
moment as a member of council?
suburban community, it has been extremely challenging to maintain the character
of the community. Developers continue to
come in with their vision for the community that completely disrespects the long
established neighbourhoods. Trying to
preserve the classic family home characteristics that both Maple and Kleinburg
are known for has been extremely difficult
in the face of those wanting to intensify to
make a quick buck and then leave behind
a fundamentally different community.
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. For years the Maple GO station had
experienced inadequate parking and train
service for the thousands who use it every
day. One of my very first resolutions as a
new member of Council was to ask the
Province to support a new station at Kirby
Road which would improve access to trains,
parking and reduce traffic infiltration into
the Maple core. Community support of my
resolutions, petitions, YouTube videos and
delivery of thousands of flyers has been most
rewarding. And the effort has been rewarded
by the Province and Metrolinx which has
now announced that “Kirby is a GO”.
moment as a member of council?
with co-sponsor Councillor Alan Shefman
which was intended to annually honour
one resident/citizen of each of Vaughan's
five wards who do extraordinary things that
make our city a better place to live. The
very first award was given to the late Bruno
Dal Colle, a pensioner resident in Ward 2
who took it upon himself to regularly collect
litter that accumulated along a busy
connector road that ran alongside his home.
moment as a member of council?
was 10 years ago; my appointment to the
board of directors for the soon to be created Vaughan Community Health Centre
(VCHC), now in its eighth year of very
successful operation. As chair of the VCHC
board, working on a new project has its
challenges especially in building a centre
that will have such a substantial positive impact on thousands of people. Dealing with
governance issues, maintaining operational
oversight, ensuring a secure financial footing, and more; all immensely challenging –
and yes, satisfying to the same degree.
Q. What was your most rewarding
moment as a member of council?
A. The approval by Council of
the Declaration of Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities, which I composed with the intention of promoting a balance that must
exist in any group of people (in this case
the citizens of Vaughan) between what
each of us is entitled to from our municipal government, and that which each of
us owes to one another, as embodied in
that same government. The objective
is to find and preserve that balance which
is the key to a well-functioning society.