Tony Lorini

Tony Lorini

Tony Lorini thinks the city should be run more like a business.

And if he’s elected mayor, that’s what he says he’ll do.

“I basically want to bring a new atmosphere, a business atmosphere. I want to bring everything under control — spending and allocation of money,” says Lorini. “I want to freeze councillors’ and the mayor’s salaries for four years and I want to freeze taxes for four years.”

But being tight with the purse strings wouldn’t necessarily mean an end to big projects, says Lorini.

He’s also determined to see a hospital built in Vaughan and he says he’d fight to take the subway further than the currently planned terminus of Jane Street and Highway 7, all the way up to Jane and Rutherford Road, near Canada’s Wonderland.

“There’s going to be money coming in through development, user fees and ticketing. Plus, with new business and residents coming in, there will be a growth in the tax base.”

Although he’d encourage development, Lorini says he’d keep developers on a tight leash.

“I want to see retail and office develop so we can bring in long-term employment so we can develop the kind of city where people will want to come and live,” Lorini says. “But I wouldn’t be swayed by any special interests.”

Lorini says he would bring a unique perspective to civic issues.

“As a paint contractor, you’re dealing will all kinds of work. You’re dealing with industrial, residential, all kind of things. I’ve seen the city develop and grow.”

The 47-year-old father of four moved to Vaughan from North York in 1994.

Having lived in North York before then, he cites former mayor Mel Lastman as an inspiration, as well as Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion. He says he’d use both those mayors as examples on which to model his mayoralty if elected.

“They both took a no-nonsense approach … The service was very good and they were very on top of things,” Lorini says. “For the city to be getting value for their dollar, they’d do well to have me as their mayor.”

— Joshua Freeman, Vaughan Today
(The above profile appeared in Vaughan Today’s September issue)

[Note: The following is an unedited version of the candidate’s own words]

5 TOP PRIORITIES:

1. I am determined to bring back integrity, responsibility, and accountability to Vaughan’s Government – The citizens will come first

2. Sustainable long-term employment will be my main priority. My focus is to partner businesses, trades, retailers and citizens in Vaughan’s growth and development. I will promote the City of Vaughan to be a “world class” city.

3. I want to begin a new regional Hospital centre, where people can receive specialized healthcare without being turned away to other jurisdictions. Construction will have to start in my first term to meet the demands of a growing population.

4. Transportation involving the York-Spadina Subway to Jane & Highway 7 will need to be re-evaluated to reach Vaughan Mills as a tourist feature (like Toronto’s Eaton Centre). Traffic enhancement such as a integrated computer signal control centre, expanded public transit to the Subway terminals, carpools, transport and rail freight services, and efficient and proper road maintenance.

5. My Platform will be to freeze the Mayor and Councillors salaries, the city taxes, and the department budgets. My mission is to ease the burden of spiralling citizens expenses and to help them achieve a higher level of disposable income going forward. With proper Government fiscal management and greater personal income our economy can achieve faster growth with an expanded tax base.