Derek Clark running for Ward 3 Councillor

September 8, 2022 · 0 Comments

Clark says the role needs to be treated as a full-time job

By Zachary Roman

Derek Clark said he will work full-time for Ward 3 residents if elected as their Councillor.

Clark got his Masters of Business Administration before spending over 30 years in the private sector, finally retiring from his role as general manager of the technology company Toshiba.

He’s been living in Caledon for the past 10 years and currently works part-time for Ontario’s Ministry of Health, where he helps regulate the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario to ensure the practice of respiratory therapy is done in a safe and ethical manner.

Due to his experience in the public and private sectors, Clark said he can bring the best of both worlds to the role of councillor.

Having moved to Caledon for the rural lifestyle, Clark loves walking Caledon’s trails, and said he tries to get out and walk them every day for a couple hours. He’s translated this hobby to his campaign, and said he’s walked around and knocked on over 1,000 doors in Ward 3 already. He said the number one thing people are concerned about in Ward 3 is road safety.

If elected, Clark said he’s going to advocate for roundabouts on the north and south ends of Airport Road, more photo radar and police enforcement, and the extension of Highway 427 up to Highway 9.

Clark said traffic needs to be slowed coming into Caledon East so that it can remain a vibrant walking, hiking and biking environment. He said traffic safety is an immediate priority, and since residents all over Caledon are concerned about it, working together on traffic safety issues can be a great way to unify Caledon’s next mayor and councillors early in their term.

While much of the growth in Caledon East is spoken for, Clark said it’s important for Caledon as a whole to have infrastructure-first planning for future developments.

“We’ve got to make sure that we have enough schools, parks, sidewalks, (and) high-speed internet that’s affordable for people,” said Clark. “All that infrastructure has to be in place because if we build the homes first and don’t have the infrastructure, that’s going to create a problem.”

Clark added that Caledon East is going to need more places for people to buy their goods and services to meet demand from an increasing population.

Through his volunteering with the Rotary Club of Palgrave, Clark said he has a proven track record of advocating in Caledon. He said with Rotary, he had the opportunity to work with a great deal of community organizations in Caledon such as Caledon Meals on Wheels, Bethell Hospice, and Caledon Community Services.

“I had an opportunity to help them achieve their goals and to provide financial support,” said Clark, adding he also worked with Rotary to fundraise and fully retrofit a park in Palgrave to be accessible.

Around $80,000 was raised for that project, some of which came from the Town of Caledon itself.

Clark said he truly cares about the community of Caledon, and another piece of Clark’s community involvement in Caledon is his being a founding member of the Caledon South Asian Association. While not South Asian himself, Clark said it’s important to embrace diversity in Caledon, especially since he said the South Asian population is the fastest growing in the area by far.

“Our goal is to help the South Asian community to thrive mentally, physically and socially in Caledon, and to provide the bridge so that there’s appreciation and cultural harmony between the South Asian community and other nationalities in Caledon,” said Clark.

Clark said Caledon can no longer have Councillors who work full-time jobs in addition to being a Councillor. He said when one considers Caledon’s growth and Council’s 24 per cent compensation increase that will take effect next term, full-time Council commitment is required for a Councillor to truly be resident-focused.

Clark said he’s ready and committed to treat the Councillor role as a full-time position if elected, and said he’ll provide a 24-hour response time to constituents.

Clark said his business acumen would serve him well if elected, as one of the first things Caledon’s next mayor and council will have to contend with is the 2023 budget. He said he’ll be able to challenge and look for efficiencies in the Town’s finances, and that he’ll bring strong financial management and discipline skills to Council.

Clark would like to see more of Caledon’s tax base be commercial.

“About 20 per cent of the tax base is commercial, we need to change that. It should be 30 to 35 per cent at the very minimum,” said Clark. “We need to find ways to attract investment and employment to Caledon, so that youth have opportunities to work here… Obviously, I’d like to see some diversity from the existing warehouse situation — given my background, I’d like to see more science and technology [businesses] come to Caledon.”

While Clark said public transit all across Caledon is not feasible at this time, he said a bus that runs once or twice a day from Caledon East up to Mayfield Road on Airport Road could be a benefit to the community. He said that’s the type of thing that could be discussed with Brampton Transit as a potential benefit to both municipalities.

If elected, Clark said he wants to assemble an advisory council of community leaders from Ward 3 that he can meet with quarterly. He said there’s no performance review for councillors like there is for employees in the private sector, and meeting with a diverse group of people would be a great way to get feedback and hear new ideas.

“This is why I want to have an advisory group… so that I always have a pulse on what’s going on in the community,” said Clark. “When you have public companies, they report quarterly, there’s an opportunity for shareholders to talk to them. Why shouldn’t it be the same thing in the public sector? Residents should have an opportunity on a quarterly basis to provide feedback, and there should be a way to evaluate Councillors other than their voting record.”

Clark’s grandfather was a Member of Parliament for 22 years, so Clark grew up in a very politically active family. He said he was taught at a young age that if he wants to make things better, he needs to get involved.

“I’ve had a proven track record of advocating in Caledon,” said Clark. “If elected, I’ll continue that record of advocating for the residents of Caledon — be it for health care, transportation, smarter development, or road safety.”