BLUEWATER — As both a longtime resident of Bluewater and with experience in making government work for individuals, St. Joseph Shores resident and Hay West Ward candidate John Gillespie said he is looking forward to helping Bluewater continue to progress.

Gillespie is opposed in the Oct. 25 municipal election by Jillian Clarke, for a seat held by incumbent Bill MacDougall.

Gillespie is a 25 year resident of Hay West, including 25 years experience as a St Joseph Shores Property Owners Association committee member as well as 10 years as a member of the Bluewater Shoreline Residents Association.

With a bachelor of arts in economics from Wilfrid Laurier University, Gillespie added he also has 35 years of experience in public administration with provincial and federal governments, including delivering local employment programs both publicly and as a private consultant.

Two of the issues Gillespie said he and Hay West ratepayers are concerned about are tax equity as well as unassumed roads that some residents would like to see the municipality assume control over.

The amount of taxes being paid is not the primary concern of residents, said Gillespie but instead they want to ensure they are getting full value for their taxes.
It is something Gillespie said he has a lot of experience with, and something he would continue as a councillor. Gillespie said he would press Bluewater to put in place measures that ensure no property owner has a municipal tax increase greater than 10 per cent in any year.

Gillespie said he has seen a lot of progress in several areas of the municipality, including being open and receptive to residents.

In the area of water quality and testing, Gillespie said Lake Huron water quality is deteriorating and most tested beaches in the area, including St. Joseph and Ridgeway, didn’t meet Blue Flag standards in 2009.

Despite the concerns, Gillespie noted several environmental improvements such as the Zurich lagoon project and the Huron County septic inspection program, along with both lakeshore residents and agricultural producers making improvements to prevent contaminants from entering the water.

To continue with the improvements, Gillespie said he would introduce motions to council requiring Bluewater to increase its efforts to identify and correct contamination sources, including lobbying senior levels of government for funding for Bluewater property owners to address water quality issues.

“Amalgamation takes time and needs to continue,” said Gillespie.

The deadline for nominations for the election is Sept. 10.