Gord Adams knows the job he is running for and he knows the platform he is running on will be potentially divisive, but also, he believes, innovative to streamlining the governance of the existing six municipalities of Muskoka.
The former District Chair of Muskoka says the opportunity to reorganize and help better serve the 50,000 full-time constituents was too powerful to resist and he wants to reach the other 100,000 seasonal residents who also contribute to the tax base in the area:
Adams points to the time an amalgamation vote was taken in 2000 and lost when Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville voted against the measure. According to a study by the Canadian Urban Institute at the time, there would be an annual saving of $5 million on what was a much smaller budget at the time. The savings would be even larger now and the kicker is that based on Adam’s calculations no-one would lose their job as the workforce in the region has a large percentage in their 50s and headed for retirement:
He says if he is elected he would go to the municipalities and say to them, the voters have spoken and we need to amalgamate. If there was resistance then, he would get the province to change the legislation:
The former owner of an aircraft parts cutting company says he doesn’t even really want to discuss the money or jobs that can be saved. He says it is about running a more efficient government and running it like a business:
Ultimately it is the will of the people he says. The issue has been bandied about for over two decades but he wants voters to have their say:
Adams previously served as the District Chair of Muskoka from 1994 to 2010.