It’s official: Disero seeking second term

Lord Mayor Betty Disero made it official Friday morning, arriving at the town hall to sign her nomination papers to run for her second term, a group of supporters accompanying her.

Although candidates need only 25 signatures to run for municipal council, Disero had a stack of papers with her representing over 1,000 signatures, which she said she had no trouble getting as she knocked on doors.

A news release prepared for the day mentioned three issues that are priorities for Disero: transparency, accountability and accessibility; managing growth; and building a strong, caring community.

Transparency, accountability and accessibility are built into the Strategic Plan, she said, and must be continued to ensure leadership with integrity and responsiveness.

“Everyone should have a voice, and every voice should matter to effect positive change.”

Managing growth means balancing the town’s heritage, culture, agriculture, tourism and economic growth through compatible development, “with changes to the zoning bylaw to preserve heritage, continue protecting against overdevelopment, and ensuring that provincially-mandated secondary suites will be well-planned and a good fit for neighbours and neighbourhoods, while providing diversity and affordability in housing.”

The zoning bylaw needs to be finished and passed, to provide more control over mass and heights of buildings, and there may be some issues that residents are not happy with, that will take time to be discussed, she said. 

She also told The Local the transportation master plan, which she still hopes to see finished this term, may have to be carried over to the next term.

Negotiating and finalizing the town’s new Official Plan, adopted by town council in October 2019, to conform with the region and province, are also on her list of priorities. “We’ve done what we can do for now,” she says.

Continuing to work with residents and community partners to build a complete community means enhancing playgrounds and parks, active transportation, daycare, wellness, age-in-place secondary suites, and further building a foundation and a framework for business to prosper, her press release says.

Finding housing suitable for retirement homes is high on her list, for those who are ready to downsize, but not ready for long-term care.

“I also still really want to see what we can do with the St. Davids pool,” she told The Local. “Maybe we can look at repairing it,” she said, but it would have to be as a long-term project, not just a temporary fix.

“During her first term as Lord Mayor, Betty has shown effective, honest leadership as she listens and works with residents, businesses, councillors and town staff,” said her campaign chair Debi Pratt. “The challenges were many, but so were the accomplishments.  Betty brings her many transferrable skills and experience of 26 years in municipal government leadership: most importantly her four years in Niagara-on-the-Lake as councillor, and her most recent term as Lord Mayor, 2018 to 2022.”

“We were dealing with COVID for a couple of years, and we didn’t get everything done we wanted to,” Disero said. But the community stepped up, and created a Migrant Workers Hub, an expansion of Niagara Nursery School, and the Central Community Church, among other projects. Council worked hard as well, with additions to parks, and the heritage trail, “and not just those on council, but with the community coming together.” 

“We’re really looking at next term to get a lot done,” she added.

“I see bright things in our future. I see tourism coming back stronger than ever, and I see the tourism strategic plan helping us interact with residents, tourism, and how we welcome tourists.”

In Disero’s virtual state of the town address, organized by the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, she spoke of the accomplishments of this term of council, which included working hard to provide excellence in customer service, and to provide a vision and plan to “carry us through to the next decade, and to determine the infrastructure necessary to provide a good quality of life for our residents.”

Engagement with residents and community members remains an important priority, she said, speaking, of much that was learned through the pandemic, including the successful curbside pickup to serve residents.

The pandemic, she said, caused two years of angst, people taking care of themselves and each other, and organizations, businesses and residents coming forward with “such generosity and compassion.”

Disero also spoke of council working with the community to provide amenities and infrastructure, ensuring the needs of the community are met, and quality of life is enhanced — including in parks and recreation, on trails, and with the library and the museum. 

The town has enhanced pickleball courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, added the skateboard park and new playgrounds, and there is discussion of disc golf on the community centre property, she said.

But she is most proud of how much was accomplished during the past term, even with a pandemic, she added. “Instead of panicking, we planned, and instead of saying, ‘no, we can’t do this,’ we did it.”

“We have done a lot, collectively, not just council, not just me, but everyone working together,” she said. 

“I am so proud of everyone to have been able to do that.”