Robb Williamson

Hello my name is Robb Williamson and I am running for city council.

After university I was fortunate enough to go to St. Louis for a position with the American Youth Foundation as an Outdoor Educator and Wilderness Guide. I worked with youth as leader of survival and outdoor living. We taught them how to be one with nature and how to better our environment with outdoor education. In St. Louis I was also trained as an EMT and also a WEMT.

Upon my return to Canada I began my career in Agriculture as a Turkey Producer and am now a farm manager for the last 8 years.

I am a firm believer in helping the community we live in which is why I was a volunteer firefighter for 10 years for the Elmira Fire department. I also trained as a paramedic at Trillium College.

I understand the importance of giving a helping hand to those in this world that might need it. A few years ago I helped a young man from Africa come to Canada by supplying the funding for his way here. He stayed and worked with me for a year while he completed the necessary paperwork to begin his new life. I am very proud to have a small part in helping this gentleman make his dream come true and know that he now lives in Ontario with his wife and children.

Homeless and addiction is a couple of the other issues I have heard a lot about during this election. As someone who has had a close family member that dealt with both of these I hope to work closely with the community to come up with solutions and resources to give those struggling the opportunity to seek the help they need.

I am proud to live in the beautiful and diverse community of Stratford along with my wife. I am a hard working citizen who believes that the council is the voice of the people! No one can promise to be an expert on everything but I will give you my word that I will study and research every issue so I can make an informed decision. I am ready to work together with the other councillors, mayor and the citizens because your voice deserves to be heard.

Don’t underestimate the power of your vote! Thank you for the opportunity! I hope to have...[]

1. What will be your unique contribution to council?

I am new to the muncipal government and therefore coming in with no agenda. I am coming with an open mind to listen to all the voices of Stratford and hear all questions/concerns and to give the voice back to the citizens. Open communication between council and constituents should be top priority.

2. How will you tackle urban sprawl and protect prime agricultural land?

Being employed in the agricultural field for the last 40 years this is a big concern. I can remember sitting in grade 8 civics class and talking about this exact topic. This is a difficult problem to solve as all land surrounding urban communities in Southern Ontario is prime farm land. Cities have two choices in order to expand, grow out or grow up. We need to have a good balance of both.

3. How will you encourage businesses and individuals to respond to climate change?

One of the ways to help would be to promote walking/biking in the downtown core and utiize our trucking route. As well we should look at electric buses/taxis and city vehicles for the city.

4. What is your idea(s) to attract new industry to Stratford?

First we have to make sure that the industries we are attracting are the right ones for our city and community. As we have learned from the past there are some businesses that would not be a good fit so we have to take that into account when we are looking. We need to work on our afforadble housing so that families will be able to move to the area and be here for businesses that are looking to locate in the area. Any business that comes forward looking to settle in Stratford we need to research and investigate throughly.

5. How will you address wealth inequality, homelessness and poverty in Stratford?

Homelessness and poverty is an issue that is close to me. Having had a close family member deal with this and seeing the need growing in Stratford it is one of the big reasons I would love to work to address this. The first thing we would need to do is form a committee of council and community members. Sharing of ideas and solutions is how everyone can work together. I would like to see a men's shelter in town along with emergency shelters so our homeless have a place to go for showers, beds when needed and to give...[]

6. How will you engage and inform the public about current issues and legislation?

I will have a website that will publish items and current issues, as well as a Facebook page. I also hope that if the pubic is interested in current issues that they will reach out to my email with questions and I will response with as much information as I can.

7. Would you support term limits? Why/why not?

Yes I believe term limits are a good thing. I think there should be a limit of 2 terms so that there are fresh ideas and new people coming in to council regularly.

8. What is your plan to better engage youth in Stratford?

Youth is the leaders of tomorrow and I would love to see them more engaged in the going on of the running of the city. I was very fortunate to worked with youth when I finished university with the American Youth Foundation in St. Louis. One of the biggest things I learned from them was that they were full of great ideas and excited to share their thoughts. I would love to see a delegate from each high school at council meetings and hear what the students are interested in and questions they might have for sitting council. I would...[]