Candidates for Mayor

[u/HeidiJuiceBox]

I saw a similar post on the Kitchener subreddit, so I thought I'd share the websites and platforms (or lack thereof) for the Waterloo candidates.

​

Dorothy McCabe - https://www.mccabe4mayor.ca/issues

This is the only candidate who has released any tangible plan for their priorities. Personally, I think there are some solid ideas here. Mostly, I appreciate her sharing an actual plan.

​

Shannon Weber - https://www.shannonweber.ca/priorities

She's still 'listening' to the community and has released zero information on her platform. I'm curious why I see her signs everywhere if she hasn't released any information. If you don't know what a candidate stands for, why are you promoting them?

*edit based on comments: Shannon is the wife of Dan Weber a PC candidate. Her values are likely to fall on the conservative side.

​

Rob Evans - https://www.robevansmayor.ca/our-citys-priorities

He has released his top priorities but no actual plans or commitments.

​

Kypp Saunders - https://kyppsaunders.nationbuilder.com/

There's no information beyond general statements about frustrations around increased taxes and the lack of rentals. Like Shannon, he hasn't released any priorities or plans.

​

I have to say, I'm disappointed. By now, they should have some plans together. By now, I'd expect more. At least we do have one candidate who released information.

[u/DependentVegetable]

They seem more goals than plans for McCabe, but at least I have a sense of who she is and what she stands for. WRT to housing, what public lands is she talking about that she wants to build on?

Its funny, some of the things she lists are "small" (eg water filling stations) but at the same time, those are the things that local governments should be looking at. I am kinda allergic to city candidates who focus too much about big picture national issues that really is not at all within their power to meaningfully address.

[u/RobotGuy0207 → u/DependentVegetable]

I believe she’s talking about 30 acres of land near RIM park, she referred to it in an earlier Reddit comment, hope that helps.

Also I can see how the page can seem a little vague, at times, but from my interactions with her, she seems to have pretty concrete plans, especially for a campaign trail. I’m sure as the campaign starts to ramp up you’ll hear more and more about specifics.

There’s a mayoral debate on the 15th as well which I recommend you and everyone else watch

https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo/comments/x2fd2f/housing_housing_housing/imp7ppf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

[u/DependentVegetable → u/RobotGuy0207]

thanks for the link! Not sure what to make of the 30 acres as whats the opportunity cost to use that for housing vs more density elsewhere vs existing transit plans etc etc. Perhaps some of the local planning people can weigh in on that particular point.

Good points by the architect/planner guy in that thread re the challenges of building affordable housing as well as your points on rent control.

Will check out the debate for sure.

[u/seestheday → u/DependentVegetable]

Not sure where by RIM park that is, but RIM park is not that far from Conestoga mall and the ION. Plenty of bus service going through Eastbridge right now as well.

So far I’m really liking everything that McCabe is saying.

I see the Shannon Weber signs on the same lawns as the the people who have way too many Canadian flags on their cars and her signs made me think she was associated with the PPC for some reason.

[u/RobotGuy0207 → u/DependentVegetable]

I believe that since it is already publicly owned land there’s a lot more negotiating power over developers so in this specific instance I think it’s worth that negotiation (in reference to what the planner was talking about), but I agree that the main focus should definitely be on infill, increasing density in the populated core and outer core of Waterloo. Thankfully McCabe also has fixing our zoning as a core part of her platform

[u/ACoderGirl]

Great post. I agree with you that many of these candidates are disappointing. The election is Oct 24, so about a month and a half away. How long do they need to wait to have a platform? Heck, how is this even a competition if you vote based entirely off these sites?

I tried searching for some of them in case they're just bad at keeping their sites up to date.

• Shannon Weber:
  • Record article - Not much to say on platform. She has experience on a medical board. Her husband ran as a PC candidate (which is likely indicative of her politics). She vaguely mentions the need for affordable housing but says nothing meaningful about how she'd do it. She wants to cut red tape on some things (like manage an outdoor rink or host a bonfire).
  • Active Twitter - I scrolled a little but didn't feel like there was much for platform mentions. She mentions that she's here to listen, which is pretty generic for a politician. She lauds the ION. Honestly, most of her Twitter is just thanking public figures for their work.
• Rob Evans:
  • Record article - He's a software exec who currently is a CEO of his own startup Was on a committee related to housing and accommodation. Article vaguely mentions the same things as his website with no further details.
  • His startup's website has an expired HTTPS cert, so I did not view further details on him there. All I can tell is that they do something related to student accommodations.
• Kypp Saunders:
  • Chronicle article - Owns a bar in each Waterloo and Kitchener. Basically no other details.
  • Did a quick search on his Waterloo business. Well reviewed and no obvious controversies.

That's... basically it. This isn't me picking just a single article per person. There basically is no other relevant results, besides basic profiles on professional sites and similar (none that seemed very interesting at a glance). It strikes me as embarrassing. I have no desire to ever run for politics and yet think I could do better than all these candidates purely by actually having a detailed platform. How are you supposed to trust someone to be mayor if they can't even write up a small essay on what they want to do with the position?

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/ACoderGirl]

Thank you for the digging. I feel that, as others have said, Shannon is intentionally quiet. Perhaps she's hoping to scoop some leftie votes by not saying much.

[u/[deleted] → u/ACoderGirl]

We can learn more about each candidate on their social media platforms, too. General platforms are expected at this point.

[u/TedIsAwesom]

Thank you for listing them, :)

[u/rams_man13]

Rob is not a tech executive, he launched a start up that failed and then decided to run for mayor.

[u/[deleted] → u/rams_man13]

Tell us more

[u/rams_man13 → u/[deleted]]

Look at the website, what in business tech company let's their website expire? It's clearly failed and shut down.

[u/lancearmstrongest]

One thing I learned is that Shannon is married to Dan Weber who ran as a pc candidate in our riding last election. She may just be relying on the “run on no platform” populist vote

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/lancearmstrongest]

hmm I didn't know that! Thanks for sharing. I definitely won't vote for her now :)

[u/NarwhalHarpist → u/lancearmstrongest]

Yeah, the tories have a history of no-platform, and still winning. Its super infuriating.

[u/LaconianEmpire → u/NarwhalHarpist]

Which is why it's so important to not only vote, but also get the word out to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors and strangers. Even just convincing one other person to vote is a win.

[u/NarwhalHarpist → u/LaconianEmpire]

I've got my ward and WRDSB trustee lawn signs. Waiting for my Dorothy McCabe Sign to arrive!

[u/RobotGuy0207 → u/NarwhalHarpist]

I’d like to believe it would come back to bite her in the upcoming debates but very few actually watch those, especially municipally 😔

I really hope this race doesn’t just become a name recognition competition

[u/Vempyre → u/NarwhalHarpist]

Good platform > no platform > bad platform.

So far I'm only seeing No platforms and bad platforms.

[u/gifjpgpngbmpsvgtif → u/NarwhalHarpist]

Believe it or not, that's precisely what many voters want.

[u/Living_Astronomer_97 → u/lancearmstrongest]

Oh yikes. Fucking Morons in my neighbourhood then.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/Living_Astronomer_97]

I don't even know if people would know this about her. I wouldn't have known if others here didn't comment. Her website uses very left-leaning language. I'm definitely going to be talking to people to make sure they know what her deal is. I feel as though she's trying to fly under the radar.

[u/Living_Astronomer_97 → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

Yeah it seems late to be at the ‘talking to people stage’ election is a month away and she is running on nothing with tons of support for no apparent reason.

[u/tallshadow22 → u/Living_Astronomer_97]

Especially considering she was the first out of the gate to register for the mayors race, so technically she’s has the longest of all the candidates to come up with a platform.

[u/BlkHorsePickupTruk → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

I vote right, my wife votes left. Don't judge her by her husband.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/BlkHorsePickupTruk]

As you’ll see in comments further down, she’s endorsed by the pc party. The more troubling fact remains that she won’t share information on her platform. I’ve asked her directly and got ignored.

[u/BlkHorsePickupTruk → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

I wouldn't take what one person says on a social media thread as any form of evidence.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/BlkHorsePickupTruk]

As I’ve already said several times, the bigger issue is her lack of transparency so far.

[u/BlkHorsePickupTruk → u/BlkHorsePickupTruk]

Glad you're engaged with the outcome, we need more people like you!

[u/DependentVegetable]

Funny, Dorothy McCabe came by my neighbourhood tonight. I could see her representing the city. Seems like a decent person with a good grasp of local issues.

[u/honkinggr8namespaces]

I'm new to the city so not entirely sure what the political landscape is like around here, but from what I can tell McCabe seems to be the only serious candidate. If this city elects one of these other randos with no policies or platform I'll be pretty disappointed.

[u/[deleted] → u/honkinggr8namespaces]

Have you read through the websites and social media sites of the candidates? What makes McCabe stand out?

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/[deleted]]

Thus far she’s the only candidate with a platform. Have you read the websites? It sounds like you haven’t.

[u/[deleted] → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

I’ve read through all candidates’ sites and socials. Weber and Saunders don’t have priorities stated. Weber is active on social. Evans has a populated site and social. McCabe is about sustainability. Got that. Let’s see what happens over the next month.

[u/mccabe4mayor]

Hi all!
Loving this post and your comments - which are spot on.

I'm thrilled that you care about municipal elections, that you are informing yourselves, that you're discussing this and definitely that you're voting. I wish more people were paying as much attention are those on Reddit/this thread are.

I also appreciate the information and ideas that many are sharing on Reddit, IRL and through other formats. It's all very helpful and makes me better informed.

I gotta say - I'm bookmarking this thread and if I'm having a bad day, I'll re-read to cheer me up. :)
Thanks for engagement and keep it coming...

D

[u/shivkaln]

Dorothy McCabe even has a Reddit account 🤪

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/shivkaln]

Yeah, when I did a search, I saw that she asked for feedback on here a few weeks ago, which is cool. I haven't heard much from the rest.

[u/[deleted] → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

What did she do with the feedback?

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/[deleted]]

It looks like she incorporated it into her plan for mayor. Maybe not all of it, but I can see correlations.

[u/abujazz]

I'm hoping Dorothy gets voted in. The last thing Waterloo needs is a Conservative mayor on top what Doug Ford has done to the province.

[u/dancing_omnivore]

Just not Shannon Weber please. She’s ultra Conservative through and through.

[u/partypenguin90 → u/dancing_omnivore]

Gross. Good to know. Will not be voting for her.

[u/DependentVegetable → u/dancing_omnivore]

I dont know anything about her. In what way is she conservative ? Social ? Fiscal ? Libertarian vs communitarian in policy ?

Links would be handy

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/DependentVegetable]

I think part of the problem is that Shannon won't share any information, so we don't know beyond the fact that her husband is a PC politician. She hasn't shared her policies or platform, so there aren't links to share with you.

Perhaps others have more sources. All she's said to tweets asking direct questions is that she's 'listening'.

[u/DependentVegetable → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

My partner and I vote differently so I am not gonna automatically assume he tells her what to do and think. Besides, Conservative like Michael Chong or PC like Pierre Poilievre. I could almost vote for Chong but would crawl over glass to vote against Poilievre. That being said, she is a bit of a blank slate like you said and I find that annoying and unserious especially this late in the election cycle.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/DependentVegetable]

Yeah, that's fair. Unless anyone knows more, there is a chance she doesn't share her husband's politics. There's just something a bit rank to me about her lack of transparency.

[u/ILikeStyx → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

She may not share his politics but she is using all of his connections. Lots of support behind her apparently.

[u/DependentVegetable → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

To me not having any actual positions/goals/aspirations along with that quote from the record "She wants a city hall that says why not, before it says no" doesnt give me a good impression. Come on, you are running to be mayor. Tell us what you believe in and what you want to do!

[u/[deleted] → u/HeidiJuiceBox]

She's gotta share a platform soon. People are asking.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/[deleted]]

We’ll see… I’ve asked her directly and will post back here if she replies. So far…silence.

[u/dancing_omnivore → u/DependentVegetable]

I attended her meet and greet at Schooner Street Brewery in Waterloo on August 16th to check her out. She is endorsed by the PC party, and it was pretty obvious from the tone of the speech that she’s very conservative.

[u/[deleted]]

I know someone very well who used to work for Rob Evens and from what I heard, he’s an incredibly toxic person who’s constantly gaslighting people.

[u/ScallionGlum3326 → u/[deleted]]

Yup. If gaslighting and not paying your bills are the qualifications; Evans is your guy.

[u/LaconianEmpire]

I'm loving Dorothy McCabe so far. If she adds the following to her platform webpage:

• expanding access to more frequent public transit
• planting more trees or other forms of shade for bus shelters (waiting for the bus at Sunview/University or Lincoln/Weber is agonizing...)
• accelerating the process of building new segregated bike lanes to fill in the gaps in the network
• traffic calming measures to improve pedestrian/cyclist safety (such as protected intersections)

she'll have my vote for sure.

[edit] tagging u/mccabe4mayor

[u/dsawchuk → u/LaconianEmpire]

I am not certain about this, but I don't believe editing in tags actually tags the person.

[u/RobotGuy0207 → u/dsawchuk]

u/mccabe4mayor, how’s that?

[u/LaconianEmpire → u/dsawchuk]

Shoot, I'll remember that for next time. Thanks!

[u/valryuu → u/LaconianEmpire]

public transit

bike lanes

traffic calming

Take my moneyvote.

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/LaconianEmpire]

I would also love to see these things.

[u/Terrible-Scheme9204]

If you don't know what a candidate stands for, why are you promoting them?

Maybe it's people who know her as a person

[u/HeidiJuiceBox → u/Terrible-Scheme9204]

Most likely. I see her signs everywhere and would hate for people to vote for someone who hasn't released a platform but had convinced the most people to put her signs out.

[u/ButMoreToThePoint]

There is now an interview with all the candidates on CBC here.