Carol Ricciuto, Ward 2, Grimsby 2022

Carol Ricciuto, Ward 2, Grimsby 2022

I am Carol Ricciuto – candidate for Ward 2.

My husband and I have lived in Grimsby for 41 years and seen the changes and the exclusions that have happened in this town.

The environment is a great concern of mine, but so is the growth and development of our town.

The people of Ward 2 encompass not only below the escarpment but above as well.

We are not separate entities, we are all a part of Grimsby.

Our past councils have made that split by non-inclusiveness of all of the towns’ peoples opinions.

A councillor should be part and parcel of the opinions of the whole town. One ward should not be enhanced over another, nor should there be a lack of concern for the town as a whole.

Our town is a beautiful place and we need to be able to draw people here through such things as the farmer’s market, events set in town, the hawk-watch and even possible future programs through swimming, theatre or celebrations.

Draws such as the Bruce Trail and Beamers Conservation area with its lookouts and nature are there to build a greater appreciation and knowledge of environmental issues.

Regaining the trust in our town council is going to be hard for the voters of Grimsby.

This last council, in my opinion, was a debacle.

A faction of 5 took the high ground and left our town broken by stomping on the ethics and standards of what a council should be doing and how a council should act.

Those five may state that they did ‘some’ good things for the town, but, they lost my trust when, after being in for only 5 months, they voted themselves a raise! At the start of the pandemic…at a time when businesses were closing, when people were losing their incomes and wondering how they were going to continue in this unprecedented time!

Their greed and lack of concern for the town of Grimsby, in my opinion, was always in the forefront of their minds.

And, in my opinion, they’ve continued in that vein leaving us all shaking our heads at what they would do next.

I would like to see any future voting of raises for the town Council be done so that the current council is voting the raise for the next council. NOT for themselves.

I would like to see the people of Grimsby be heard whether their issues are ‘non-urgent’ or ‘urgent’ because to each and everyone their issues are top priority for them.

I would like to see that these people are allowed to voice whatever it is, with respect, and be told that it ‘can be done’ or it ‘can’t be done now’ or it ‘can’t be done at all’ and explained why.

There should be no reason that a respectful, timely and fair answer cannot be given for all questions relating to the problems of the towns people.

After all, that’s what a council is there for.