The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

In this third part of a fourâ€"part series on aldermanic candida‘ the upcoming municipal election, Chronicle reporter Melodee Martinuk talks with four more incumbents. I;'Fgéfical approach needed t‘o__g_g}mjgob _gg_nf A businessâ€"like approach to council, with an emphasis on action, not talk, is what Glen Wright sees as his main contribution to Waterloo city council over the past two years. Wright, who operates his own insurance firm in Waterloo, said that "his strong business background adds a dimension to council. I add a practical approach ... 1 like to see things get done and not just be talked about." Doreen Thomas Decisionâ€"maker not afraid to take a stand Wright is now completing his first term as a Waterloo alderman and his "practical apâ€" proach" is evident in what he perceives as the important issues in this election. Although he believes council must ‘"continue its efforts in the uptown," Wright said, "what is needed now are more specific methods and actions to attain our goals uptown ... we owe it to our developers to come up with a specific game plan." r-K;:'cording to Wright there is a weakness in "our (council‘s) approach to the uptown; we‘ve tended to talk in generalities with the ‘motherâ€" John Shortreed is a man with a vision â€" a vision of a Waterloo with a thriving, vigorous core area including a prosperous new development on Regina Street and dozens of small specialty boutiques dotting uptown streets. _ And, he said, this is a vision which can become a reality if Waterloo city council continues initiatives begun this year on core revitalizaâ€" ‘"We‘ve got a plan (the Woods Gordon Downtown Study) and we‘ve got to stick to it," said Shortreed, who is vying for his third term on Waterloo city council. "One of the things I see coming in the next few years is almost an explosion of development in the coré area...Yorkvilleâ€"tygg development...a major development combining a city hall, hotel and some commercial activity." A professor of civil engineering at the University of Waterloo, Shortreed is currently chairman of the city‘s planning and civic development committee, a member of the sign Richard Biggs Essential to maintain existing standards Must stick to city core commitment "*Preserving a living environment in Waterioo that matters to the people â€" to keep Waterio0 a safe, clean city with low taxes and good services" is what Doreen Thomas is committed to work for as alderman. Since her election to city council in 1978, Thomas said she has striven to protect the needs of Waterloo‘s senior citizens, to improve public transportation in the city and to prevent "the indiscriminate destruction of trees in the city." ;n-&';fi-e";;fi, if reâ€"elected to a third term as alderman, she will continue to work for these things. o â€" â€" . Of particular importance to Thomas is public transit and she commented ‘Sometimes 1 feel like a broken record but we need better public transportation ... we need to expand our transit facilities, especially now as the city is growing, the cost of gasoline is going up and as our population ages and more of our residents are unwilling to drive." Prior to being elected alderman Thomas was Waterioo is a "fabuious city‘" according to Richard Biggs who says that as a member of Waterloo city council he is determined to make sure it stays that way. _ _ "We live in an absolutely fabulous city â€" we have the academic base of two universities, we‘re in an excellent area and we‘ve got great regional facilities," explained Biggs. â€" ‘"Our biggest job (as aldermen) is to try to continue to preserve what we have and make sure that our growth doesn‘t affect or compromise what we‘ve already got." â€"In Valil‘éib;n;ion. he continued, especially in residential development, ‘"we have to maintain the high standards that already exist." _ For Biggs, who was first elected to city council four years ago, the greatest challenge to the incoming council will be to ‘"add to what we have, but at a cost that is not difficult to taxpayers."" Over the next three years, he said, council will have to carefully monitor spending ods and Wright has a lengthy history of involvement in owe it to the community as a member of the court of fic game revision, the committee of adjustment, the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, the Addiction kness in Research Foundation and Big Brother. n; we‘ve As a Waterloo alderman Wright has been a ‘motherâ€" member of the Kâ€"W Oktoberfest Committee and hood‘ issues like cleaning up the core, but, now we‘ve got to have specific action planned ... we‘ve got to determine whether our goals can be attained and how to do it." As well, Wright said he is concerned that planned development in the core revolves too heavily around a major project, and he said "I don‘t think the economy can afford it and I don‘t think that is what we need." Instead, he explained, "wt need to rehabiliâ€" tate existing buildings rather than put up a fancy new complex in the centre of the city ... we need to coâ€"ordinate small development in order to come up with a better overâ€"all plan for the upâ€" town." variance committee, and city representative on the Uptown Improvement Area board of manâ€" agement. _ _ _ s C _ Shortreed said that although council must be "financially responsible" when setting next year‘s budget, it "shouldn‘t stop fixing roads and doing the things that have to be done. If we are financially responsible I don‘t think we should cut projects just to look good." According to Shortreed the city should aim for a five per cent tax increase in 1983, "which will provide enough money to carry on regular servicing programs. ‘"We have a very low debt and we‘ve kept tax increases below inflation...over the last four years our tax rate has dropped to 20â€"25 per cent below inflation. But, in that period we didn‘t undertake any major capital project. ‘‘That can‘t go on‘ forever,‘"‘ Shortreed stressed. "Arenas and sports facilities need improvement, equipment wears out or is outdated. There‘s more than just tomorrow and,_ a trustee of the Waterloo County Board of Education for eight years, acting as chairman in 1975â€"16. As alderman she has been a member of the civic development and economic developâ€" ment committees as well as chairman of the public works committee and the energy conserâ€" vation committee. Thomas has also served as a member of the Wilfrid Laurier University board of governors, the board of directors of the Grand River Conservation Authority, the board of directors of the Kâ€"W YÂ¥MCA and a member of the budget committee of the K â€" W Federated Appeal. _ According to Thomas, "the issues in thi election are economic. e "I have a very real concern about maintaining the level of services in the face of the very evident fact that our citizens are feeling the pinch. We‘re going to have to spend every dollar wisely." _ _ _ . m.r\vsvv;'ell. Thomas said, the incoming council will have to continue efforts begun this year on to ensure that "taxpayers are getting the best value for their tax dollar." o % Biggs, senior partner in a Waterloo law firm, first became directly involved in municipal affairs six years ago when he became a member of the Downtown Waterloo Business Improveâ€" ment Area. Since his election to council in 1978, he has served on many committees including, in this past session, as a member of the _planning and civic development committee, the work services committee, legislative and personnel committee transit advisory committee and Project Lift. Also of concern to Biggs in this election is uptown development, he said council ‘"may have to be tough on the issue of core revitalization ... we have to stick to our guns if we are going to attract a major development for the core," and the need for the city to continue promotion of Waterioo in order to "broaden our industrial tax one of Waterloo‘s representatives on regional council where he serves as chairman of the industrial development promotion committee, chairman of the ambulance review committee, viceâ€"chairman of the planning and development committee and a member of the finance comâ€" mittee. In addition to work on the core, Wright said council must continue its efforts in industrial development and promotion. The city of Waterâ€" l00, he said, has taken a solid first step by hiring a development officer, but he continued, council must ‘"continue its efforts in an organized fashion â€" spending money where it will do the most good." _ Generally, he said, council must work to provide "good government that the people can afford. Sitting on regional council finance and dealing with city finances, one of the things that has bothered me is that there is a tendency not to say no to something even if we can‘t afford it ... we‘re just going to have to bite the bullet." the city has to look further down the line." The incoming council, Shortreed said, will also have to "add to its park and recreation facilities, particularly in the west and northâ€" west within the next three to five years." ___ _ As well he said, council will have to work in close coâ€"operation with UW to maximize beneâ€" fits from the research park proposed for the university‘s north campus. ‘"We‘ll have to make sure there‘s enough industrial land and we may even have to provide special offâ€"peak buses between the industrial base and the universiâ€" ty." Shortreed‘s experience in municipal politics goes back to 19866 when he was a member of the planning board and, he commented, "I‘ve almost continually been in the service of the city since then." â€" His training as a professional engineer, he added, has been an aid in his work on council, because "a lot of our decisions are based on planning matters and technical things." core revitalization, capitalizing on opportunities resulting from having two museums, Seagram and Ceramists Canada, in the uptown. ‘"Over the next two to three years they‘re going to bring a lot of money into the core . "‘ And, Thomas said, Council must make sure to maximize opportunities that exist because of the presence of two universities in Waterloo. "The University of Waterloo research park has tremendous potential for this city and we have to make sure we have enough industrial land available when needed." Thomas said her main contribution to council over the past four years "has been as an experienced decisionâ€"maker. I‘m willing to listen to what people have to say, I‘m not afraid to take a stand on what 1 believe and make a deâ€" cision." An outgrowth of this activity in the core, Thomas said, is the fact that council must take some action to provide more parking in the uptown area. A major project for Biggs this past year has been his chairmanship of the Fire Task Force, a group set up by council to study the city‘s firefighting capabilities and recommend areas and methods of improvement. ‘‘The fire departâ€" ment is the single largest expense the city has ... we‘re looking at how to spend the money to get the most value." The task force, Biggs continued, will release in the next few weeks its final report, which voutlines what we have to do to utilize existing resources for the longest period of time without a major expansion of service." _ _ nudfacnnsl Aduliicak shonbbaien ds nsc This, he said, will} mean a few dollars must be spent improving the situation but "it is imporâ€" tant to the city that we have a firstâ€"class, fullâ€"service fire department ... not only to protect our citizens but (because) we are trying to attract high technology industries and we can‘t expect them to move into town without adequate fire protection." ic candidates for John Shortreed Gilen Wright