Platform | Zeeshan Hamid's Urban Village Blog

A better place to live
[Some blog posts: urban plan | character | random thoughts | attachment]
1. Come up with an urban plan that enhances Milton’s charm before it is lost forever. Turning into a mini-Mississauga dooms Milton into a state where property values in Milton will always be less than they are in Mississauga.
2. Get serious about upgrading the Milton District Hospital. I do not have to tell Miltonians about the state of our hospital. It is a cause worth fight for.
3. Improve social offerings: Provide a wider diversity of activities provided that they do not cost tax-payers additional money (fund them by user-fees). Investigate quarterly and yearly passes for activities.
4. Aesthetics are important. Communities should be designed with aesthetics in mind. Add “Miltonness” into all new subdivisions.
5. Think trees.
6. The ability to retain residents is critical. For that Milton needs housing for every age and income demographic.
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A better place to work
1. The Town Council needs to come up with a business plan to attract high-paying employers.
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Easier to get around
1. From lack of sound barriers where needed to an abundance of uncoordinated traffic lights to an absence of a proper transit system, Milton’s infrastructure planning needs work.
2. Initial infrastructure in new subdivisions must include transit, walking trails, biking trails and all other necessities of life, not just roads
3. Either a municipality has a working transit system or it does not. There is no halfway.
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Transparency and accountability in governance
1. Every committee should publish its meeting minutes.
2. Votes should be recorded by default.
3. The town should have a blog where councillors commit their positions, in writing.
4. Milton should embrace social networking.
5. All Council meetings should be broadcasted on the internet.
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Be frugal, very frugal, with tax spending
1. My wife says that other than charitable causes I am “careful with money” (yes, she uses quotes). My employer will tell you that I am far more careful with other people’s money than I am with mine. That is a good thing.
2. I will not take the ability to impose taxes lightly. It is your money, not mine.
3. Handling public fund is a great responsibility and I intend to be frugal with tax-money, far more frugal than I am with my own money.
4. Maintaining low taxes will directly lead to better property values. I would rather have higher property values than higher taxes.
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Help with the Campaign: See how you can help.

15 Responses to “Platform”

Joseph Janakovic on January 4th, 2010 5:50 pm:

Hi Zhamid, this is great! I completely support your candidacy and I know – based on your track record on the Villager – that you’ll do the best job possible representing us. I couldn’t give you a better endorsement.

-joe (Gecko on the ‘Villager)

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Julie Smith on January 4th, 2010 5:53 pm:

Congrats! You have my vote. I will be happy to volunteer if time permits.

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Kashif Abrar on January 4th, 2010 9:40 pm:

Hi Zeeshan, Great to hear it ‘officially’ now. You and my friends and family friends living in escarpment area will support you. My family is available to volunteer and contribute in your campaign.

Wishing you all the best.

Kashif

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Tom on January 5th, 2010 7:22 am:

You seem to have all the credentials for a good town councillor. The last one – frugality – will be particularly welcome addition but the other parts of your mandate are solid too.

Good luck with your campaign!

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Haroon Butt on January 5th, 2010 9:26 am:

Great work Hamid. You would be an excellent addition to the Milton Council. You have my vote.

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Zeeshan Abbasi on January 5th, 2010 12:45 pm:

Awesome news Zeeshan! You have my support, and if you need anything from my end, please do not hesitate to let me know.

If the leadership skills you have displayed thus far are any indication, you should do well as representing us on the Milton Council.

Best of luck, and once again you can count on my support.

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Zahra Duran on January 6th, 2010 9:45 pm:

way to go Zeeshan, im so proud of u. I know u will do great :)

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Kashif Mobeen on January 7th, 2010 5:00 am:

Great Zee
Me and my friends will definitely vote for you…
Best of luck………hope U will win and we get very good representative(HVE) in Milton Town council.
(kashsaba on the villager)

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Fwad Malik on January 7th, 2010 12:59 pm:

Your plan seems promising. I’m especially interested in the urban planning plan. I see some good ideas, and your vision of Milton’s growth is quite appealing. I very much hope to see you on the Milton Council

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Ali on January 8th, 2010 9:55 am:

That’s great news. Congratulations on the initiative and good luck with the voting.

You’ll have my vote as the plan is aligned with my wish list.

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Brenda McIntosh on January 9th, 2010 2:35 pm:

Great to hear that you are running for council.
We are new to Milton, and have been following your posts on the Hawthorne Villager website.

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Zeeshan Hamid on January 10th, 2010 8:13 pm:

Thanks everyone. Words cannot express how honoured, humbled, flattered and touched I am by your support. They are a true encouragement. I promise to do my utmost to live up to your expectations.

Zeeshan Hamid

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Jan Mowbray on January 30th, 2010 12:38 pm:

Somebody asked me if I thought Zeeshan Hamid would be a “useful” person on council. Let me say this: I believe Zeeshan will be more than useful: I think he will be a hard-working councillor, a fully-informed councillor – a councillor who will do his homework on the issues.

That I hope to be part of the council, goes without saying. I would be proud to work with Zeeshan.

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