Candidate Name: Andy Playter
Position Sought: Councillor
Email: apmeaford@gmail.com
Phone: 519-377-2822 (Mobile)
Bio:
Andy Playter is a 50-year-old father of 5 children in a blended family. He and his wife Tracy live and work in Meaford and area. Andy is well-known as a local health care entrepreneur. His rehabilitation clinic is called Hands On Sport Therapy. Andy is a Certified Athletic Therapist whose career includes working as Head or Assistant Head Therapist for pro sports teams such as the Toronto Argonauts, the Ottawa Senators, the Toronto Marlies, the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as varsity sport teams including Wilfrid Laurier University Athletics and local teams such as the Owen Sound Attack Hockey Club. Andy serves to treat the aches and pains of many of us. Helping people is something Andy does well.
Andy has played a leadership part in advancement of the Athletic Therapy (AT) profession through involvement in the national certification committee and as president and executive member of the Ontario AT association.
Andy has gained an in-depth understanding of provincial government workings and a new appreciation of what it takes to move the wheels on the machinery of government forward, in the public interest, championing regulation of the AT profession.
Explain your primary reasons for your decision to seek election to Meaford council:
One of the driving forces to stepping out of private life to enter municipal politics is this recent declaration of “Strong Mayor” legislation. For those of us living outside urban cities, this could be culture-changing and harmful to the quality of municipal stewardship. The other reasons are concern of what we are all seeing and feeling as developers come into the area driving up home prices to the point of risking home ownership for many, plus, the need to tackle the on-going Safety and Well-Being Planning commitment to sustainable communities. That commitment includes some big issues such as crime prevention, opioid and other drug use, and the impact of climate change locally. Home prices have risen by 31 per cent in Grey Bruce-Owen Sound from December 2020 to December 2021; that’s the same percentage as Toronto. That’s not good.
Given the state of things, sitting on the sidelines no longer made sense to me. Municipal government is the level closest to each of us as citizens building neighbourhoods and communities, we want to call home. Land use planning, zoning, standing up to protect a way of life all serve as a call to action.
In your view, what should be the top priorities for the council that is elected on October 24?
Residents will have a say in what the priorities will be, but given the issues confronting municipalities, the top priorities for Meaford Council will be the Super Mayor legislation, the Housing Crisis, our Sustainable Communities commitment, land use and zoning issues and how to preserve Meaford as a character community.
Explain the role of councillor (or Mayor/Deputy Mayor) as you understand it.
Role of Mayor & Deputy Mayor
I read the Municipal Act to see what the governance requirements are for Mayor and Deputy Mayor and then I took a look at the provincial government’s proposed Super Mayor legislation to best answer this question.
The Mayor’s responsibilities are:
• To be head of the municipal council and to act as Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.
• To preside over Council meetings.
• To provide leadership to Council.
• To represent the municipality at official functions.
• To carry out the duties of the Head of Council under this or any other Act.
• To perform duties of a member of Council as outlined in the Municipal Act.
The Deputy Mayor is required to fulfill his/her normal duties as a member of Council and any standing committees to which he/she may be appointed. Plus, assist the Mayor in carrying out
Mayoral duties.
I would add that both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor should be collaborative and build a Council that functions as a team in the best interests of Meaford. Not as the super mayor legislation proposes.
Role of Councillor
As I worked through the decision to run for municipal council talking with family, neighbours, friends and mentors, the motivating factor for me was my belief the most important role of a Councillor is to be a non-partisan, collaborative fact-finder and a sound decision maker prepared to tackle the issues that will have long-term impact on Meaford and the community of residents who call this wonderful place home.
That may seem like a long-winded answer. To shorten it up, it would be that a councillor is an unbiased, non-partisan, collaborative decision maker serving the long-term best interests of Meaford residents.
