Page 7, Saturday, May 3,1997 Whitby - Ajax Riding: Meet your candidates FREE IfFBY' PRESS election :97 Longfield appointed by PM 1- | Judi Longfield 1 After six years in the 'minor leagues,' Judi Longfield is ready for The Show. The 50-year-old municipal councillor is the Liberal candidate in Whitby-Ajax riding. A veteran organizer for the Liberal party at both the federal and provincial levels, Longfield was oné of four women appoint- ed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, thus foregoing the traditional nomination process. Although Longfield was prepared for a contested nomination, no other candi- dates emerged. Rather than waiting for a formal nomination meeting, the local rid- ing executive petitioned Liberal party offi- cials for an appointment since she was about to be acclaimed. "I'm not a parachuted candidate, I think I've earned my stripes," says Longfield, who has represented Whitby's west ward on Town council since 1991. "The executive wanted to get on with it and the riding association endorsed the appointment." Longfield believes that Canadians will reg- ister their approval of the Liberal govern- ment's record on June 2, although she concedes that it's not perfect. "We've created close to three-quarter of a million jobs (since 1993) and that's not nearly enough," she says. "But everyone will tell you that govern- ments don't actually create jobs, they set the climate for the private sector." If re-elected, a Liberal government will continue with its current economic poli- cies of deficit and debt reduction, while at the same time protecting health care and other components of the social safety net; Longfield says. For this reason, Longfield rejects the tax cuts favored by the Reform and Progressive Conservative parties. "I don't see a general across-the-board tax cut. It doesn't benefit those who need it the most and even if we eliminate the deficit, we still have this hugedebt.» Instead, the key to a buoyant economy and more jobs is low interest rates, Longfield argues. She is married to. Alan, an elementary school principal in North York. The Longfields and their son Michael have been residents of ,Whitby for almost 25 years. Snyder supports a tax cut Frank Snyder is hoping history repeats itself. The Progressive Conservative candidate in Whitby-Ajax riding believes that what worked for Mike Harris in Ontario two years ago will pay off for the federal Tories on June 2. The 38-year-old con- struction company owner is counting on voters to embrace his party's plan for a 10-per cent personal income tax cut just as they did in 1995 when they elected Harris and the provincial Conservatives to office. "A lot of Canadians see their take home pay going down and the number of hours worked going up," says Snyder. "In order to maintain the same standard of living, they have to work harder and longer." A 10-per cent tax cut will not only put bil- lions of dollars back into people's pockets, but will create jobs as consumer spending increases, Snyder predicts. In addition to cutting taxes, the Conservatives are also promising to increase transfer payments to the provinces by $1.4 billion immediately. This money will be used primarily for funding health care and education. Although the two may seem to be at odds, Snyder says it is possible to cut taxes while directing more money to certain programs. To accomplish this a Tory government would slash spending by 12 per cent in key areas. "Agriculture will be taking a big hit and subsidies to business will be reduced," he says. "In areas where the federal and provincial governments compete, these services will be downloaded to the provinces." Some departments, such as agriculture and the environment may also be com- bined since there is considerable overlap in many areas, he added. This is Snyder's second attempt at public office. He ran unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in Oshawa in the 1987 provincial election. Snyder, his wife Jane, and their two sons reside in Whitby. Dolan: jobs, health care Frank Snyder • 1 M Karen Dolan Karen Dolan believes that the concerns of ordinary Canadians are being ignored by her political opponents. The 36-year-old General Motors employee is the .New Democratic Party candidate in Whitby-Ajax riding and from now until June 2 intends to voice these concerns whenever and wherever possible. Only by electing more New Democrats to parliament will the issues of "jobs, educa- tion and health care" be given the atten- tion they deserve, Dolan says. "The NDP fights for people, it doesn't rep- resent the interests of banks and big busi- ness," she says. "The other parties are more concerned with maintaining and building corporate relations than public ones. Profits and tax cuts for big business mean more cuts to jobs, education and our health care sys- tem." Firmly rejecting the tax cuts espoused by the Reform and Progressive Conservative parties, Dolan says an NDP government would instead put more of the responsi- bility for funding social programs on busi- ness and wealthy Canadians. Especially those who manage to pay little or no income tax. "We want a fair tax base," she says. "Working people are already paying their share and more. We want corporations to pay." Dolan says full employment should be the primary goal of any government and she criticizes the Liberal government of fail- ing to pledge. promised four years ago in the Liberal Red Book?" she asks. , Conceding that Ontario's recent experi- ence with an NDP government may make some voters hesitant about. casting a bal- lot for her, Dolan notes that former pre- mier Bob Rae "is not running in this elec- tion." "There may be some fall out, but we can steer clear of that. We're new >eoplwith new ideas." Making her first attempt at públic office, Dôlan resides in Whitby and is an active member of Local 222 of theCanadian Auto Workers union. fulfill 'its 1993 election campaign Serjeantson would slash taxes Bill Serjeantson believes that Canadians' unhappiness with "big government and big taxes" will make him the first Member of Parliament from Whitby-Ajax riding. The 36-year-old professional engineer is representing the Reform Party in the June 2 election and like many others of his generation, is finding it difficult to "make ends meet" given the current state of the economy. "This is one of the fastest growing areas in Ontario, especially new and young fam- ilies who are suffering under the burden of paying big taxes and a big mortgage," says Serjeantson. "Trying to make ends meet is the bottom line for these people and we (Reform) are prepared to address that." Reform is proposing to lower taxes for the average Canadian family by $2,000 by the year 2000 and anyone making under $30,000 would not pay any tax at all, Serjeantson stresses. "The 1.4 million people earning $30,000 or less would drop off the tax rolls," he says. Serjeantson feels that young parents will be attracted to his party's promise to extend the $3,000-$5,000 childcare deduc- tion to all parents, including those who care for their children at home. "Most families would like the option of having one parent stay home, but if your combined income is $80,000, you can't afford to stay home," he says. "We'll extend the childcare tax credit to all families and even if you pay zero tax, you'll still get $850 back (per child under six-years-old). To offset the revenue lost from a tax cut and the childcare deduction, a Reform government will reduce spending by $12 billion, Serjeantson. Almost all government departments and agencies will be affected - the CBC, Via Rail and Canada Post will be privatized - while spending for health care and edu- cation will be increased by $4 billion. Married with three children, Serjeantson resides in Ajax. He is making his first attempt at public office, although he did run unsuccessfully against Ontario Community and Social Services Minister Janet Ecker for the Progressive Conservative nomination in Durham West riding. Bill Serjeantson 1 9 are all., lhe jobs, that were .97