Andrew Pask is taking his second run at becoming a town councillor. His first attempt was in 2006, and for the 2010 election he felt strongly that Dave Gittings was doing a great job.
Andrew was born in Vancouver, grew up in Calgary, and attended Mount Royal College specializing in Political Science. In 1991 he moved to Ottawa to become the Special Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture. The Canadian Diabetes Association lured him back to Vancouver in 1994 when he became the Manager of Fundraising. In 1997 he returned to Toronto taking on the position of National Fundraising Manager for the Juvenile Diabetes Association. For a short period he tried his hand in the e-commerce business, but in 2000 his good friend Rob Ford asked him to become his executive assistant at Toronto City Hall.
“Rob is a close friend,” states Andrew. In 2010 Rob Ford asked him to become Senior Policy Advisor for his campaign, and the Director of Council Relations when Toronto council was working with a $13 billion budget.
In 2011 he became a consultant at the public relations firm, Helen Knowlton, and in 2012 he joined Sutherland & Associates as their V.P. of Municipal Affairs.
“I can start day one, there is no learning curve for me”, indicates Pask.
“I live in the area. My wife is from Oakville, which is why we moved here to raise our family in 1999,” explained Andrew when asked why he wants to be in municipal politics. “There are big changes coming, and business needs a voice on council.“
“I’ve been a Manager of Municipal Affairs for Bell Canada, which meant that I was regularly dealing with issues in Oakville. I understand how to work through issues with business and municipalities.”
The issues facing Ward 3 are:
The redevelopment of the hospital lands which will entail getting a recreation centre with a pool, seniors programming, and park space. However, he wants to ensure that it is right-sized. Selling some of the land for mixed uses could work as well.
A healthy downtown core is top of mind for Pask. Shops owners have to understand that having a store in a core is different than having one in a mall. Council needs to figure out why the properties are vacant, and address those issues so we’ll have a healthy business for or 150th birthday.
Finally, dealing with Oakville’s high property taxes is extremely important. He is suggesting the issue needs to be studied but he is suggesting a property tax freeze for one year.
There are brilliant people, who have found solutions to problems similar to those we have in Oakville. We need to bring those ideas to Oakville.
Contact Andrew Pask
home: (905) 829-1686
mobile: (416) 428-9196
email: [email protected]
web: andrewpask.com