Tony Rosa seeking re-election as Ward 5 Councillor

Rosa says it was an honour and privilege to serve as Councillor for the past four years

By Zachary Roman

Tony Rosa said his experience as a Councillor for the past four years has been extremely rewarding. 

The incumbent Ward 5 Councillor said he's been happy to support Downtown Bolton revitalization efforts, local businesses, and the Humber River Centre. “It's really nice to see things coming together,” said Rosa, who is now running for another term as Ward 5 Councillor. He added he's been happy to see the Bolton community getting back together at local festivals and events.

Rosa said when he first ran for municipal government four years ago, he heard from many residents about how Bolton's downtown core was a priority for them. Rosa said he's extremely proud of how many businesses have opened downtown during the last four years, despite a global pandemic throwing everyone a curveball.

He said Downtown Bolton has become more walkable and beautification projects like the new gazebo have given people more of a reason to visit. Rosa said there's endless possibilities downtown and that the Humber River Centre is going to be a great new community hub when it's opened.

“Moving forward, I also have other priorities I would like to continue to focus on like road safety,” said Rosa. “And to manage the growth that's coming, the Province of Ontario is saying that Caledon is going to growby 220,000 people over the next 30 years. We really need to be at the table to manage that growth, to figure out what it is exactly what we need when it comes to housing — we're in a housing crisis right now.”

Rosa said, if elected, he's looking forward to working with whoever is elected as Ward 6 Councillor (a new Councillor position created after Caledon's ward boundary update), as they'll both be representing different parts of Bolton. He said success will come from collaboration and since Bolton is the largest urban centre in the Town of Caledon, he welcomes the additional representation at the Council table.

“The consultants that were hired to look at our past practices really felt that Bolton was underrepresented,” said Rosa. “So, I really look forward to having another voice.”

Rosa said the Love Local Caledon campaign that happened over his term was dear to his heart, as he'd heard from business owners before being elected that it was hard to sustain business in Bolton. When the pandemic hit, Rosa became even more concerned.

“One of the things I discovered early on in the campaign was a lot of people didn't even know that some of these businesses existed in our community, so bringing awareness was very rewarding. I really appreciated that people followed that campaign,” said Rosa. “I'm not going to stop the campaign, it's something I'm going to continue to do. When we think ‘love local', I want to move into a different phase: Love local businesses, love local recreation, love local leisure opportunities, love local tourism opportunities, love local hospitality opportunities. I think we need to promote the Caledon brand and really have people explore and get to know their own community and invest time and… money in our area.”

The expansion of the Caledon Seniors Centre is something Rosa said he's excited for, especially since he said seniors have been living in Caledon the longest and have contributed so much to the community. He said they were hit hardest by the pandemic and it's important to re-engage them in the community. Rosa also said if elected he'll be promoting Caledon's arts and culture programs, as well as local sports and recreation.

“We're in the recovery stage of this pandemic, and it's really important for people's mental health to re-engage in their communities, connect with their neighbours, (and) get the kids out and doing healthy, active living activities,” said Rosa. “Really focus on quality of life.”

Rosa said while Caledon's villages and hamlets are all unique, it's important for them to unite and support each other's events, something Rosa said if elected he'll be trying to push for. For example, Rosa said he's going to be really pushing the Bolton community to attend an upcoming drive-in movie night in Caledon Village.

At the recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa, Rosa said he thought he had some success promoting the extension of Highway 427 North to Highway 9. Doing this would help alleviate concerns about truck traffic, something Rosa said residents are still very concerned about.

“I want to make this a very safe community, very walkable community, and a community that welcomes the rest of Caledon,” said Rosa. “My heart is truly in this role.”