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*"*We have a duty to protect the core," said Lang. a Kitchener native who has lived in Waterioo for the past 11 years. ‘"The core is a pretty special tax base to protect ... if it‘s not developing and producing, revenue isn‘t coming back to the city â€" each individual will have to pas" Continued protection and improvement of Waterioo‘s core area is Carol Lang‘s rallying cry in her bid for a seat on city council. Although Lang approves of the current council‘s initiatives in core revitalization she feels it is time to clearly identify "a gameplan and get it going ... we don‘t want improvement in five or 10 years ... we‘re looking for something to happen tomorrow if possible. "Things need to move," she emphasized. "I think there‘s such a thing as being careful â€" but there‘s also such a thing as being overcautious, which may be happening here." Lang is no novice when it comes to core development and revitalization work plans: as a retailer in Kitchener she was a member of that city‘s business improvement area, serving as chairman for three years. Game plan needed to spark revitalization Pat McMahon In this last of a fourâ€"part series, Chronicle reporter Melodee Martinuk takes a look at the remaining three individuals contesting the Waterioo aldermanic race. Fred Shuh Must go to the people to find answers ity development more than core area If elected to council, McMahon said he would work to open the lines of communication between the municipal government, the resiâ€" dents of Waterloo and local businesses. Why do only 25 per cent of eligible voters turn out to vote in municipal elections? The answer, said aldermanic candidate Pat McMahon, is obvious. ‘"*People aren‘t voting because they don‘t know what is going on. Why don‘t they know? Because politicians don‘t let them know." **Council is quite unknowing about the experâ€" tise the city can offer, not only from the educational institutions, but from industries and business. We‘ve got phenomenal resources out there," he said. ‘"They (council) tend to operate in a vacuum ... they don‘t know how the people can help." When council, has a problem, McMahon continued, why don‘t they ask the people for help? ‘"Council and city staff doesn‘t have a monopoly on brains ... they don‘t have all the answers. If they would rely more on the people, the people would vote and council would get better input." *‘*But," he continued," It‘s a big city and there is more to it than the downtown. The city should not abandon or discourage good developments solely because they don‘t happen to be in he core," as council did when they recently refused to allow Waterloo developer Abe Wiebe to construct a small, exclusive shopping complex on King north of University Avenue. **You have to look at what it cost them to turn it down," Shuh continued. "It cost them jobs, a project in an area ready to be developed ... the *‘Sure I‘m in favor of it (core development,)" Shuh said. ‘"The city should actively encourage the development of the core area. ~ Waterloo council must aggressively pursue commercial development throughout the city rather than focus on core development if Waterloo is going to grow and enjoy continued economic stability, according to Fred Shuh, a local lawyer who is taking his first shot at municipal politics. He added that if he is elected to council and is And, based on her experiences in Kitchener, Lang has formed some definite ideas on what is needed for Waterloo‘s uptown. "The core area has to be made more attractive, more interestâ€" ing to bring people in ... the only way to make it a people place is to offer things for the people ... something that would create interest, break up the pavement, bring in people and create revenue." These, she said, could be as simple as offering street entertainment to something as large as installing a series of portable kiosks in the Waterloo Square parking lot for use by artisans or for service purpases. Married with two children, Lang has worked for 15 years in retail, operating a family venture with her husband for six years. Currently, she is in sales with a local realtor. Lang said her experience in both business and real estate will be a great plus if she is elected to council: "If 1 can run a business, obviously 1 can make decisions and I‘ve had to make decisions of pretty great consequence," she explained. This is Lang‘s first venture into the political arena, and she admitted that the whole thing is *‘kind of scary. McMahon also cited concern about efficiency in municipal government as a factor in his decision to run for council. "I‘m concerned about the cost effectiveness of providing municâ€" This experience in business, McMahon said, ‘*will help me to do a good job in administering a city like Waterloo. 1 can relate to business pressures because I‘ve had to close down one business because of the economic conditions. I‘m sensitive to the business environment. Business demands efficiency & municipal govâ€" ernment has to be run the same way". The 33â€"yearâ€"old McMahon is currently an employee of NCR. He has also operated his own retail business, which he recently had to dispose of, and is involved with Mainstream Playground Equipment, a firm which designs and munufacâ€" tures playground equipment for handicapped children. ‘"I‘m there to serve," McMahon said. "I can‘t solve the problems of the‘ city myself, but collectively we can solve any problems." A graduate of the University of Waterloo and Osgoode Hall law school, the 31â€"yearâ€"old Shuh said he has long been interested in municipal politics adding that his legal background "has given me a lot of experience that will help me" on council. In addition to his concern with commercial development in the city, Shuh believes Waterloo should work actively with the University of Waterloo to encourage realization of their unable to persuade the city "to go ahead with a communications mechanism to draw on the community, I‘ll give serious thought to doing it out of my own pocket. As well, he said, "I‘m a hard worker ... 1 enjoy work and am willing to undertake the responsiâ€" bility of a lot of hard work on council." jobs this development would have created in a time of depression are very important to the community." Instead of "‘dictating‘‘ to potential developers, he said, the city should "persuade and encourâ€" age (them) to locate in Waterloo. If Waterloo doesn‘t, then they will lose development to Kitâ€" chener." Fiscal restraint is tops in everyone‘s mind," Lang said. ‘"We want all taxes to be as low as possible. The trick is to weigh how much something is going to cost against how much is going to come back to you. If you spend $10 but get $20 back, obviously spending was a wise deâ€" cision." Basically, Lang explained, she decided to run for council because she‘s ‘"interested in people, in making Waterloo a people place. 1 just have a genuine interest in the way the city works and the guy who pays the bill." In addition to her concern with core developâ€" ment, Lang is also interested in "how the city is growing ... in seeing that there is enough industrial land, seeing that it is made use of and how the decisions the city makes affects the taxpayer‘s dollar." **I‘m more concerned with what I could do," she added. *I‘m not afraid of the job but I‘ve never run a campaign .. I‘m playing everything by ear here.‘‘ Despite being a newcomer to the political scene Lang said she plans to run a "lowâ€"key campaign ... I don‘t push. I‘m not an arm twisâ€" ter. *‘I‘m committed to this city," McMahon concluded. ‘"‘This is my home, where 1 will bring up my child. If I can make this place a better place to live, then I‘m going to try to do that." Basically, McMahon said he decided to run for council because "I think I can contribute. I‘m a guy that makes things happen and I get results. If I‘m not satisfied with the answers I‘m getting I keep looking. McMahon, a lifeâ€"long resident of the area, is involved with Big Brothers, serves as an executive on the Uptown Residents Association and the Industrial Accident Prevention Associaâ€" tion locally and is a member of the Grand Valley Personnel Club. As well, McMahon said, core revitalization must also continue to be a priority of council in the coming term. "It‘s important that we have a viable uptown core that‘s attractive to people ... that will make people want to come down here. *‘*Waterloo has historically done a tremendous job of running a good, tight budget ... by continuing that policy and by encouraging development the city can expect a stable tax rate and that‘s what is needed for both business and the individual." It is through such planned industrial and commercial development, Shuh said, that the city can ensure the future stability of the tax rate. ""In this time, just as business is finding ways to reduce costs and do things more efficiently, municipalities must do the same," he said. *‘Municipalities are not isolated from the realities of the economic environment." ipal services. "It is also something that will be the technology of the future," Shuh said. If Waterloo can become a centre of highâ€"technology "we‘ll have a tremendous jump on the next half centuâ€" ‘"The research park could be of such tremenâ€" dous value to the city of Waterloo ... you get into the high technology industries which create highâ€"paying jobs, require lowerâ€"thanâ€"normal services and are unobjectionable to neighbors. planned research and development park Carol Lang