Claudio Valentini

Oct 02, 2014

Mayor

Claudio Valentini – Aiming to reverse a long decline

In 1989 Claudio Valentini moved to one of the few wide open spaces in North Frontenac (off Road 506 south-west of the junction with Ardoch Road) with his wife Kathleen and their children. They had been living in Toronto.

They chose the location of their property carefully, because they were planning to build an airport, which they did. They also quickly learned something about the way the local township operated, an experience that informs his run for mayor in 2014.

“To get approval for an airport, you only need to go to the federal government, but we wanted to let the local people know what we were doing and went to the township seeking support. After a delay, they wrote back and said we should go to the Feds,” he said. “Not exactly encouraging.”

Since then North Frontenac has seen a decline in both population and commercial vitality, and he plans to create a new atmosphere to promote a new entrepreneurial spirit in the township.

“If you elect me as mayor, I’ll work with everyone in this township on fresh ideas for growing local prosperity. We’ll create good, middle-class jobs by supporting home-grown businesses in promising areas like the arts, local food, clean energy and even local manufacturing. We’ll make it easier for people to build, relocate, set up businesses, tele-commute, improve themselves and make a living that doesn’t rely on going elsewhere every day,” he wrote on his election website.

Valentini said that the township needs to advertise in Toronto and Ottawa to make them aware that it is an easy process to relocate to North Frontenac. He said he would like to see a resident information package on the township website, to let people know they can run all kinds of home-based businesses in the township.

Valentini retired in June this year after 14 years as the music instructor at Sharbot Lake High School, so he is able to run for mayor, a job he says he would do on a full-time basis if elected. He also runs a flight and music- related software business, his major product being ground school software that he describes as “the industry standard for ground school software in Canada.”

He has a number of ideas about how to make improvements to the way the township operates. He said that he would seek to repeal the township’s procedural bylaw and code of conduct if elected, because he thinks the code of conduct restricts council's ability to deal with the employees of the township and the procedural bylaw makes decision-making inefficient as it restricts debate at the council table.

“All of the rules that council needs to follow are clearly spelled out in the Ontario Municipal Act, in my view, and these two bylaws are unnecessary and restrictive.”

He also would address any lingering resentment between wards by looking at electoral reform.

“I am in favour of at-large voting instead of ward elections and making sure that the deputy mayor always comes from ward 1,” he said.

On issues before Council, he would promote a more activist agenda in promoting development, including waterfront development. He opposes a proposal to build a new township office, and thinks the township might consider an innovative approach to pending increases in OPP costs.

“There are jurisdictions in Michigan that cross-train first responders: firefighters, paramedics and police officers. We could look at that,” he said. “We certainly can't afford the increase in OPP costs that the province is talking about.”

He says he was motivated to run for mayor out of concern for the future of the township and its local communities, and all of this efforts will be focused on renewal.

He would like to instil new thinking around the council table: “Every decision made by Council or township employees should beg the question, ‘Will this encourage current residents to stay here; seasonal residents to live here year round; and non-residents to move here?’”