Kingston Election 2010 - Harold Hemberger

Update on the Poker Run

Jan 20

Posted by admin in Poker Run | 1 Comment

This is a letter that was submitted today to the Whig Standard

Looks like council is trying to kill the Poker Run

While I was at the Council meeting on the 19th of January, I observed various councillors saying good bye to a popular event. – The Poker Run. I am not sure if these councillors think of the economic implications this decision may have. Here is what I observed.
One councillor made a blatant class warfare, racial, sexist comment – His quote ” Poker Run is a rich white man’s event” . Guess what!! People with money will spend money which helps hotels and restaurants (plus other shops) – that means more hours available to work .Some one that spoke to me said ( not a councillor)” It will just be a few days lost work. My comment: If there are more events banned that that is even more hours. and also some people may really need and want those extra hours. Another councillor (paraphrasing) hinted that the reason the Poker Run is being selected was timing. Someone had to be first. So reading between the lines we can expect more.
Some councillors just do not want the Poker Run
One member of council is for carbon offset credits but realizes that if the boats go elsewhere that will not force them to pay for offsets, It is not going to help the environmental cause ( hats off to Councillor Foster for this piece of common sense) . I have to give credit to councillor Hector for asking if just the Poker Run is being targeted. I did also get the impression it is a class warfare among some councillors . While another councillor mentions the cycles of the government scaring us with climate doomsday and he reads off the years 50’s 70’s and 90’s, he failed to mention that the 70’s was about global cooling – nice job leaving that out. There were also a few that wanted to spend more time to determine what effect offsets may have ( at least they do not want to rush into that.) Since one councillor did hint that this could just be a start ( last month they did mention the Snowbirds) I have a question? How much of a “carbon footprint” will be left by the celebrities and people coming to visit for FebFest. . What about the bid for the Memorial Cup. What about all the cars and buses and the refrigeration for ice. Will council end hockey games at the arena for the same reason. We cannot ’Sustain’ a healthy economy if we do not allow event to come here that bring much need money to the economy. The usual strategy when banning things is incremental change because it is harder to notice. Let’s stop this banning things before it gets too late.

Harold Hemberger is running for council this year in the Portsmouth District

www.haroldhemberger.com

end of letter

One item that i would like to ad reference carbon footprint. How do they come up with the calculations. You can not honestly say engine size. If that was the case there would be no need for my car to get hooked up to get tested every 2 years. It gets hooked up because they do not know my emmissions. Right…

Donations

Jan 12

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Please contact me at donate@kingstonelections.com or call me at my campain office number (613) 877- 4540 if you would like to donate.

Harold Hemberger

If you are interested in campain finaces as it pertains to Ontario click on the link below.

http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page7045.aspx

This link replaces the entire text that was previously on this site.

Update on my view on the Poker Run

Jan 6

Posted by admin in Main Menu, Poker Run | No Comments

The following letter was emailed to Kingston This Week and The Kingston Whig Standard on Jan 6

Make correct choice regarding Poker Run

Once again SPLASH is working at the possibility of ending the Poker Run. The Poker Run offers a positive economic impact from booked hotels and restaurants being visited. SPLASH does not want to have the Poker Run but would like to “tax” participants by purchasing carbon offsets or as I would like to call them “Guilt Credits” .I have attended a few Poker Runs and when the boats are docked the boat’s engine is off. When they leave the area they do not go full throttle. They are limited to a maximum speed of 40 MPH. In other wards this is not a race. Finish time offers no advantage to this event. Once the event starts they head directly to their next stop , away from Kingston.

Last year the organisers of the Poker Run said that if Kingston makes it look like they are not welcome, they will go down the river to a community that will ( Perhaps Gananoque since they received the Casino we voted away). I have a feeling if Gananoque welcomed the Poker Run , they would not charge them “Guilt Offsets”. My belief is that we should embrace an event that is proven to have an economic benefits to our community . This is even more true during a period of economic uncertainty. Saying no to the Poker Run and/or implanting a mandatory “tax” for carbon offsets will have a negative impact on our economy. Since there is an election later this year, I suggest the voters take note of the persons that vote against our local economy. For the record I would support the Poker Run and not support carbon offsets to be imposed.

This is a response to a Kingston This Week (Jan 28) reader Article “Pull the Plug on Poker Run”

I agree it can be noisy, however it is just for a short duration, we do have other events that contribute noiseas well that do carry on for a longer duration. Problems is if we start canceling events because someone does not like them for some reason (Buskers creating a big carbon foot print because most of them are from out of the country, Blues Festival because someone hates blues, Fireworks due to loud noise, etc) we will have nothing and we can not have that. I would also like to point out that I feel I am not being hypocritical when it comes to Sustainability since I did not vote on it anyways. We have to have a balance. I am all for recycling ,LEEDS building etc. However we can not have a “sustainable” economic base if we keep on cancelling events that help bring in much needed revenue. One other very important item, these events help business such as( Hotels, Restaurants, etc) get more business and when that happens staff at these establishments also benefit. This I believe is very important.

Press Release

Jan 4

Posted by admin in Flyer / Press Release, Main Menu | No Comments

This was sent on January 4th to The Whig Standard, Kingston This Week and EMC News

This release has been written by Harold Hemberger.

Harold Hemberger has announced that he has officially registered to run for city council in the fall of this year in the Portsmouth district.

My top issues that I would like to address are:

1) Attracting business to Kingston – We need to make it easier to have business locate in Kingston. Businesses do provide much needed jobs. I am a firm believer that any government (local included) can not create jobs ( unless you work for the government). I do believe that governments can create an environment that either attracts or scares away business. We obviously have to work on attracting more business.

2) Third crossing across the Catariaqui River – Ever since I arrived in Kingston in 1987, I always heard, and experienced that we need a third crossing. A thirds crossing would reduce congestion in the downtown area as well as emergency services.

3) Reduce the need for consultants where every possible -DO we really need someone from out of town to tell us what we want in a park. I believe the citizens know better.

I believe that there is a much better way to handle the consultant issues. My idea would eliminate out of town consultants and put the choices back in the community where it belongs.

4) Build a better trusting relationship among city management. This also complements my feeling on using less consultants. We have good talent employed by the city. Let’s use them.

You can read more about my thoughts and comments ( I even request that you ask me any questions that you may have) My website is www.kingstonelection2010.com .

Harold Hemberger

Portsmouth District

About Me

Nov 13

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Hello

My name is Harold Hemberger and I will be running in the 2010 election for city council in the Portsmouth district of Kingston.

Like a lot of people, I have been playing the role of an “armchair general” providing my own comments on how council should conduct its business. After a few debates with people I know, I kept on hearing “Why don’t you run for council”. After providing some personal thought, I decided to put those words into action. I have officially registered myself as a candidate on January 4th.

I will provide on this main page the core reason why I believe we need to take a new direction for November 2010. I will ask this simple question. What is the most important idea for having a more prosperous city? Answer. Business! We must make business more welcome and remove barriers that make businesses go down the highway to another community. The best example that sticks in most people’s mind is the casino in Gananoque. Our loss, Gananoque’s gain. However, will still drive there supporting another city’s economy. This has to change. Business is the backbone any community’s economy. Businesses employ people. Employed people spend money to contribute to our economy. The more people we employ the more people that can get off social assistance. We also have to be flexible with zoning changes but at the same time be sensitive to residential zoned areas.

Another reason that I am running for city council is that I strongly believe that we need to act on a third crossing near the LaSalle Causeway. The volume of vehicles demonstrated by wait times should be proof that we need this crossing.

Another major issue is consultants. It is my belief that we are spending way too much on outside consultants. We should be using the talents we have employed at City hall as well as consulting with our own citizens.

This is just a small sample on my beliefs. Please explore the rest of this website to see various topics to have a better understanding on where I stand on various issues. Registration is only required if you want to leave a comment.

If there is a topic that I did not cover, register and ask it in the section below.

If you have Twitter you can follow me. Twitter Name: haroldhemberger

What do you want to ask me?

Nov 13

Posted by admin in Main Menu | 2 Comments

Here is the spot to ask me some questions (even if you disagree). Questions will be moderated before being posted. This is to prevent offensive post from being shown. As long as it is clean I will post any view point. Update. I decided to chance the name of people to thier initials. This is for privacy. This may encourage more people to comment

Third Crossing

Nov 8

Posted by admin in My Opinions, Third Crossing | No Comments

Note: Any text in red is a quote from the City of Kingston website and anything in blacks my viewpoint.

For those of you that do not know, Third crossing refers to another possible bridge that crosses over the Cataraqui River. Currently we have Highway 401 and Hwy #2. that serves as crossing points. The Hwy #2 crossing (better known as the LaSalle causeway connects at the end of Ontario St to the other side to Royal Military College (RMC).

I arrived in Kingston in 1987. I remember that already there was talk about a third crossing. I also remember that lots of the houses and the business park on Hwy 15 did not exist yet. Based on personal experience in from working and travelling in this area, I strongly support a third crossing.

Here are a few quotes (in red) from the City of Kingston Website

Studies dating back to 1964 have recognized the need for a third crossing of the Cataraqui River in the City in order to:

Relieve traffic congestion on the LaSalle Causeway during rush hour times and when Highway 401 is closed.
Improve access to areas of the City on both sides of the Cataraqui River.
Enhance routes for the delivery of emergency services in the City

I agree with all of the above points

Here is another quote

More recently, the 2004 Kingston Transportation Master Plan reconfirmed the increasing need for a third crossing as the LaSalle Causeway was operating at full capacity.

So far so good. The city understands that there is a need, but we are studying this to no end. I say the time for action is now.

Here is another quote:

A: Briefly stated, the purpose of this Environmental Assessment is to evaluate the need for and the feasibility of implementing additional transportation capacity across the Cataraqui River. This will involve an assessment of the following alternative solutions:

Status quo or “do nothing”; As I stated previously no longer acceptable.
Increasing the capacity of the LaSalle Causeway (Highway 2); Not acceptable as this would not reduce the traffic jam downtown.
Increasing the capacity of Highway 401 from Montreal Street to Kingston Road 15; or I do not believe this is a municipal issue. We stick need a local solution
Implementing a new crossing at a location between the LaSalle Causeway (Highway 2) and Highway 401 through either a bridge or tunnel, including but not limited to, the John Counter Boulevard — Gore Road corridor option recommended in the 2004 Kingston Transportation Master Plan. – Best choice

My initial assessment would be a bridge connecting Gore Rd in the east and John Counter in the west. This connection would also complement the widening of John Counter Blvd. ( when ever that will start is another issue). I have also looked at the report (Preliminary Constraints Analysis – from the environmental assessment) and it appears that this crossing would have minimal impact. There are a few issues that I am not sure if it would hold back building the bridge ( such as the old library building on Gore Rd and the possibilities of fish habitat).

Hopefully some of these environmental concerns will be answered during this months meeting which I plan to attend.

Quick Glance

Oct 30

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Summary of my standings

CITY WIDE

Make business more welcome
Reduce the use of consultants
Move forward on a third crossing

WITHIN PORTSMOUTH DISTRICT

Re-evaluated the speed-humps on Queen Mary Rd
suggest redesign of curb in front of Tim Horton’s (Portsmouth Village) to prevent left hand turns into Tim Hortons
If Lake Ontario Park does not pass, have real local input without out of town consultants and use the citizens to determine what is wanted

Lake Ontario Park

Oct 23

Posted by admin in Main Menu, Portsmouth Specific | No Comments

In my opinion, this project has been a waste of money on how it was handled. There are so many changes from the original master plan (September 2009) compared to the current master plan (September 2009). I believe that this could have been avoided if the planning stayed in Kingston and planned among local citizens instead of consulting with someone in Ft. Eire whom will never use the park to begin with. It seems to define logic why you should get a consulting company about 400 km away telling us what we want in a park. I am confident that local users have a better idea what they want. The city like to brag about the reduced construction cost of $300,000 -$400,000. That’s great but you could have saved time and money by keeping this local.

You can study the plans on the City of Kingston’s website at http://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/recreation/parks/lop/

You can see how I would of liked to handle it at http://kingstonelection2010.com/category/opinions/