Elect Jan Mowbray Local / Regional Councillor - Wards (2,3,4, & 5)

Welcome to my website and on-line office.

What are your priorities for the town of Milton, your community?  Click for survey: Your Priorities.

Connect with me via Twitter,  Facebook, Blog, and LinkedIn.  Download my Election E-Newsletter, Issue 2, and 2010 brochure.

My Vision for Milton: Making our community a place where we can earn, learn, live and thrive.

As a Ward 3 councillor since 2003, I am now seeking election to represent you in Milton as well as at the Region of Halton.  My approach is one of proactive consultation with constituents. I listened and here is a list of your most pressing issues – a click will show you where I stand on each of these issues:
Employment for everyone
Affordable Housing for All
A Vibrant Downtown
Improved Commutes

Why Jan Mowbray as your representative? I have the experience, connections and commitment needed to help shape our growing community.  Please consider the following when you vote:

  • Elected 2003 and 2006 to Milton Town Council;
  • 26 years as a business owner/operator;
  • 35 years community-based volunteering;
  • Leadership and active positions on many Town and regional Boards and Committees shaping our town and rural quality of life;
  • Well-established working relationships with Regional staff and councillors which will let me hit the ground running upon election.

A Record of Success - Whether bringing high-speed internet to un-serviced areas of Milton, revitalizing the Village of Campbellville, providing information on the implications of the Natural Heritage System, sharing a lead role in the effort to stop the 11th Concession Quarry, I was there.  My dedication to issues of importance – urban or rural – will not change.

My commitment to you: As your representative I will:
• Proactively seek out your opinions and engage you in your community
• Keep you informed with online information
• Respond to your phone calls and emails
• Represent you with hard work and dedication
• Act with personal integrity and professionalism
• Be the strong voice on Milton and Halton Councils that Ward 3 has come to expect

URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS
There is nothing that sets us apart from any other town, nothing that says “Milton”.  We need Urban Design Standards in Milton.  A report came to council in 2008 to the effect that an Urban Design Dept would be in place for 2009.  As of July 2010, still no Urban Design standards in place.

  • Change to the Province’s Planning Act, under Bill 51, recognizes the importance of urban design standards. We need to protect the small town feel, maintain the sense of community in our town, maintain our identity.  The tools are there.
  • An article in the Toronto Star, July 23, 2006, “A Chance to end this city’s mediocrity” reflects what our residents are saying about Milton. I’ve changed the relevant words to reflect the concerns of Miltonians: “The current development boom throughout Milton has brought to the surface the importance of beauty, quality of architecture and urban design in shaping the next layer of buildings now being planned and built. People want our public and private buildings to enhance the look and feel of our communities. They want them to strengthen the fabric of our local shopping streets.
    “They also want them to help inspire love and affection for our city and contribute to the heart and soul of the town.”

That is not happening in Milton.

Lethbridge’s motto is, “The primary outcome of these Design Standards will be that residents of Lethbridge will declare that growth is not reducing but instead improving our quality of life. The intent of these standards is to provide direction to developers such that we reach that outcome.
“The effectiveness of these design standards will be judged by the generations who come behind us. We are confident that the design principles expressed in these standards will contribute to the realization of our goal.”

I’ve heard nobody make that statement about any new building in Milton.  It’s too late for what has happened but there is still time to turn things around for tomorrow.

Issues that mattered in the last election and continue to have relevance are:

11TH CONCESSION QUARRY
Over the last 6 years, I’ve attended all but 2 meetings about the quarry application.   Hamilton Councillor Margaret McCarthy and I worked together closely from the very beginning so that I could keep the residents on our side of the borders informed. In spite of the province’s zoning order, the project isn’t dead yet.

The proposed trucking route would most likely have gone through Campbellville.  There is no question that the predicted 1140 trucks a day would impacted negatively on the quality of life of Campbellville residents.

SUCCESS!
HIGH SPEED INTERNET
I  didn’t promise to bring high speed internet to the rural area but I did promise to do whatever I could to get it.  It’s impossible for urbanites to imagine being without high speed internet but it’s a huge disadvantage in our world today.  There was a total lack of support at council to spend any money on this for rural Milton, so a number of local knowledgeable people agreed with my goal and we formed the Nassagaweya Broadband Committee . With all the work we had done, when the provincial government offered another of its “shovel-ready” grants, we were able to approach the town and council to make official application on behalf of rural Milton.  The rest is history. Milton became a successful applicant for OMAFRA money to bring high speed internet to rural Milton thanks to the work of my grass roots committee.

Other issue raised by residents:

  • Town-hall expansion – $20 million (or to be precise, according to COMS-009-06, page 7 $19.69 Million) is big-time spending on a short-term solution.  I was one of two councillors to vote against the expansion.  A potential Phase 2 addition (2 additional stories) is planned to accommodate foreseeable future growth. In my opinion we should have built the 4 floors as one project in today’s dollars – we could have rented out the extra space until such time as it was needed by the town.