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Newmarket Election Notebook: Goings-on and off the campaign trail

One regional councillor and deputy mayor candidate picks a fight, another holds first telephone town hall this campaign season.

Picking a fight

Newmarket regional councillor and deputy mayor candidate Joan Stonehocker was spotted on a protest line last Friday in Aurora chanting her support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Representatives from the Ontario Federation of Labour and Fight for $15 & Fairness confronted Ontario Deputy Premier and local MPP Christine Elliott outside a banquet hall as she arrived for a joint Aurora-Newmarket chambers of commerce event.

The group has so far collected 500 names on a petition and hopes to end an expected rollback of the new $15 minimum wage as of Jan. 1, 2019. After speaking with the group briefly, MPP Elliott undertook to meet with them personally to hear them out.

Stonehocker, who is chairperson of the Newmarket Public Library Board and founder of Cycle Newmarket, is campaigning on a platform of safe road systems, environmental sustainability, and affordable housing.

Hello, can you hear me?

Thousands of Newmarket voters may receive a call tomorrow night at 7 p.m. from regional councillor and deputy mayor candidate Chris Emanuel inviting them to participate in an interactive, telephone town hall about local election issues.

This will be the first such campaign tactic rolled out during Newmarket’s municipal election. Listeners may get a chance to ask questions of their own, while everyone on the line will be able to hear Emanuel’s answers to all the questions.

Former Newmarket Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Debra Scott will moderate the town hall, which functions like a talk-radio show, except over the telephone.

“There are key issues emerging at the doors, such as property taxes, that residents are concerned about and want to hear from candidates how they will manage their promises with fiscal responsibility,” Emanuel said. “I plan on tackling this and other issues.”

If you happen to participate in this telephone town hall scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., let us know at [email protected].

Municipal election results available online after polls close at 8 p.m.

If you’re so inclined, as long as you have an internet or wifi connection, you can watch the unofficial results of Newmarket’s municipal election roll in soon after the electronic polls close at 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 22 at the Town’s election website here.

If you want to get closer to the action with like-minded residents, you can watch live results as they come in, also soon after 8 p.m., in the Town Council Chambers, at the Municipal Offices at 395 Mulock Dr.

Advance voting begins Saturday

Reminder: Advance voting begins in the Newmarket municipal election this Saturday, Oct. 13 beginning at 10 a.m. and, if you’ve done your homework already on the candidates, casting your electronic ballot should be a breeze.

If not, don’t panic. NewmarketToday.ca has organized everything you need to know in one place to easily compare the candidates’ platforms, how to vote online or by telephone, and more. You can find it here