Veteran trustee Di Cosola running for Regional Councillor

By Mark Pavilons

Propelled by a quarter-century of public service, Bolton's Frank Di Cosola wants to continue to service his community.

Backed by his 25 years as a trustee with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Di Cosola wants to become the first Regional Councillor for Caledon's Wards 4, 5 and 6.

He's confident in his role as an elected public servant advocating for his community, a place he calls home.

The need for a representative with experience is imperative now, he says, since Peel Region reduced Caledon's regional representation.

“The need for a publicly elected representative who has experience in public policy development, effective board and Council governance and engaging community advocacy is most critical, during this election,” he said. “I feel confident that I can successfully address the challenges and opportunities in our community at the Region and Town as Regional Councillor.”

The most evident issue, he said, is the frustrating and dangerous commute for residents, who are required to travel on our main arterial roads of Highway 50 and Coleraine Drive with an extensive amount of transport trucks. Trying to access the newly developed 427 Highway with inadequate road access is a challenge.

“This is a perfect example of poor public policy and lack of foresight from the Regional level, knowing well in advance that our community would be the primary users of this highway via Hwy. 50 and Coleraine Drive.

“Also, the consequences of increased development of warehouses and the associated increase of transport trucks maximizing the use of our roads, with limited expansion on our infrastructure to appropriately accommodate this large volume of transport vehicles.”

With Peel and provincial mandates calling for an increase in development, it's vital that the growth be managed and leveraged with practical and added value for our community, he says.

“The need for improved public transportation that connects our community to neighbouring municipalities is imperative for the versatility of our community and connectivity to other major transportation hubs, such as other GO Stations.”

Along with his experience on the school board, Di Cosola sat on several Town of Caledon external committees.

“I can immediately bring to the table a keen sense of understanding around public policy and community needs.  With the ability to navigate through political challenges to the advantage of my community, with practical experience in administrative procedural bylaws, and emotional intelligence that will assist in bridging differences of opinions into constructive decisions and course of actions, that add to the quality of living for our community and residents.”
Di Cosola's service allowed him to build leadership and stewardship skills.

He pointed to enhancing his skills by engaging in different aspects of community advocacy, with complex challenges and opportunities within my community.

Di Cosola has fostered relationships of integrity and accountability with individuals, he says, “while trying to achieve a means of improving a policy or process that will positively impacts those I represent.  These skills are all complimented by my extensive academic professional development, which have refined my practical skills.”

The advocate for Catholic education was first elected as trustee to the Toronto Catholic District School Board in 1988, serving through 1994.

In 2003, he was elected again as Trustee for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board where he was subsequently, re-elected for four consecutive terms. Frank's active participation as Trustee for Caledon/Dufferin County has been demonstrated through his involvement on school board and community-based committees, integrating his Catholic school community's needs to the forefront of educational advocacy.

He's also a strong advocate for non-profit public sector governance structures. Some of his committee work included Town of Caledon's Graffiti committee, Arts Advisory, Pan Am Hosting, School Traffic Safety Council, Active Transportation Task Force and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Torstar Community Advisory Council including, the Ministry of Education Leadership Resource Steering Committee.

Frank's experience as a Catholic school trustee is complemented by his philosophy that “learning is a lifelong journey at all levels.”

He continues to broaden and expand his school board knowledge and intellectual capacity in the areas of school board governance, integrative and strategical thinking and mediating highly emotional educational and community disagreements.

His diversity in educational knowledge combined with extensive opportunities to assist in non-profit policy consultation and development, community and government liaison has provided policies “to be rooted into effective resolutions for communities.”
Frank is a 26-year Bolton resident. He's been married for more than 29 years and has two daughters.