HaltonHillsToday is profiling every candidate in the upcoming municipal election. Up next - candidates running for Ward 3 (north Georgetown).
Ward 3 candidate Ron Norris has returned for another shot at a council seat. The food industry professional’s priorities are interconnected. He favours supports for the business sector, getting businesses to start or relocate to Halton Hills and ensuring that growth is sustainable.
“For me, it's always about not just shopping local, but supporting local businesses,” he said in an interview at Heather’s Cafe. He called for support for existing businesses “because they're the ones who are sponsoring all our kids' teams, the athletics, whatever it happens to be.”
He emphasized the potential for small businesses to lighten the tax burden on residents. This is why he plans to bring outside companies to the municipality and encourage new ones to start here. Based on his experiences within the food industry, he knows that companies are “always looking to make moves either to move away from a community, move into a community or just to expand.”
“That would be my primary thing. To use those connections to draw the people and then invite them to learn as much as they could about Halton Hills,” he added.
Part of the way he hopes to achieve this is by introducing “sustainable growth” policies.
“Growth is inevitable. If you don’t grow, you’re dead,” he warned. “If we say no to everything… then you get known for [being] a town that has red tape. Red tape just is a silent alarm for a lot of companies. And as soon as they see that, they back away.”
“I would make sure that I found out exactly what the town plans were for certain areas before I would go, ‘let's put the pedal to the metal.’”
Like with all of his other policies, the long-time Georgetown resident hopes to strike a balance with voters who want lots of growth versus those who want little development.
“I tell anybody that goes too far to one side or the other that most people are sort of in the middle on virtually every issue,” he said. “If you're standing in the middle and moderate, that means you're keeping your ears and your eyes open. If you're too far to one side or the other, sorry, but your ears are closed.”
Norris grew up in Toronto and has lived in Georgetown since 1987. He works for food manufacturer Skjodt-Barrett, known for making baby food.
