Vote Mike Anthony

BLOG: Election’s Over…here’s how/where to find or reach me…

Oct 26th 2010      It’s new dawn; a new day, and looking forward to serving the city again from 2011 to 2014.  We have our inaugral meeting in december and the real heavy lifting will be underway in the new year with a full meeting schedule etc.

Again—thanks so much for your interest in the election; and visiting this site.  From here out it will be best to reach me through the City website; which links to all our emails. Here’s the link: http://www.city.north-bay.on.ca/

Or you can find me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/mike.anthony1

And of course ; my number is listed publically under “M Anthony” : 494-4668

Thanks again,

Mike

BLOG: Back for 4th Term…Grateful to serve for 4 more years!

Oct 25th—after the polls closed!

Now that Decision 2010 is “DECIDED 2010”…..Thanks so much!

I never dreamed when I was first elected 10 years ago; that I would not only repeat, not only three-peat—BUT ”FOUR-PEAT” in Public Service.  Re-elected for a fourth term,  I am grateful for 4 more years to serve the people.

The people are always right; and I’m just happy they brought me back. The public obviously wanted a shake-up; and eliminatd a few imcumbants and put Newcomer Sean Lawlor up in 2nd; and FORMER rookie (but rookie no more!) Tanya Vrebosh into third spot (she was formerly 11th)….HUGE CONGRATS TO SEAN & TANYA!!   Also for George Maroosis on his triumphant return to council; after a four year mini-retirement!  Probably good to have some fresh eyes and fresh faces around the budget table.

To Sarah Campbell and Tom Graham:  Farewell for now, and thanks for the time you put in at the council table!

There’s some question as to whether turnout was down…when you add up the votes for Mayor—last time there were about 18000 votes cast in total.  This time appears to be more in the 15,000 range.  Either way; precentage-wise we are very pleased with our share of votes: we earned 5.84% of all ballots, compared to 4.97% for 10th place, and 8.92% for the top spot.

Overall a great journey and an exciting campaign for council.  Now the real work will begin.

Thanks again to all supporters and for checking out this blog!  WE always want to do the best as we can; but really, every councillor has the SAME ONE VOTE: so we are just so grateful to return to serving the city for 4 more years.

Sincerely; “Your Friendly Neighbourhood Councillor”

Mike Anthony

It’s V-DAY, Voting Day Oct 25th

Mon Oct25th 7am

It all comes down to this.  Various polls around the city open 10am—8pm

Complete list and lots of other information found through this link to the city website:

http://northbay.ca/cityhall/council/election2010-4.asp

Or just call city hall till regular busines hours (4:30pm) at 474 -0400 for switchboard; some extensions to the clerk’s dept staff: ext 2514, ext 2506, & extension to the Senior Clerk 2510.

Have a GREAT day everyone!

Mike

BLOG: Final Hours….

Sunday night; just hours before the polls open tomorrow; at 10am Oct 25th.  More specifically, as I write these very words we are just about 24 hours before the polls close (tomorrow) Monday night: 8pm.  Today I answered a few final election emails; visited the Empire Living Centre for an hour….and then attended the Spaghetti Supper at the local Italian “centre”; the Davedi Club.  It was packed—had to be a couple of hundred folks there! Great food, great people, and many great comments from folks complimenting the campaign.  Although I hope the voter turnout is high; whatever the final percentage of the city votes; I celebrate the fact we live in a democracy that gives us the chance, the right, the priveledge to vote.

We are so fortunate.

Journey Almost Complete: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!

POSTED WEEKEND BEFORE VOTE ON MONDAY OCT 25TH

Wow…just hours before the vote.  And what a great experience…probably the most memorable for me since my first successful campaign all the way back in 2000. I just need to take the time to offically say “thanks”…Thank you to so many people and groups (in no particular order):

* All the citizens who took the time to contact/discuss issues, and show up at events

* My Support team: great help from Mike O, Katie M, Tanya R, Joyce G, Lisa H, Britt & Dan B, and others

* The people and groups that made financial donations to my campaign for re-election, “Anthony Again in 2010”

* Scott Clark and Deb Marson for their advice!

* The Chamber of Commerce and Cogeco for running the main candidates’ debate

* Cogeco for allowing each of us a 5-minute pitch to the camera to outline our platform and our concerns, broadcasting them and posting online

* The Nugget for their ongoing newspaper coverage; and for their online feature “Decison 2010” at nugget.ca where they asked each candidate 6 questions and posted all the answers

* Nugget Editors Steve Hardy & Cathy Thom for providing an opportunity for rebuttal to an opinion piece in the final days of the campaign

* To Fellow candidates who have impressed me and reached out with kindness this past week: Chris Mayne, George Maroosis, Derek Shogren, Daryl Vaillancourt.  I truly hope to work with them over the next four years

* Baytoday.ca for their usual committment to local issues; and delivering great on-line ads that promoted many campaigns (including mine)

* The various community, neighbourhood or church groups that invited us to speak to their membership…

* Local radio stations for their efforts to provide coverage; led by CKAT’s polls; and their one-on-one “face to face” debates between 2 candidates each morning over a 2 week period

* Solvent magazine for providing free ads & online links to all candidates and interviewing as many of the candidates as space & time allowed

*The staff at North Bay City Hall for handling a difficult task like the election…it’s probably one of the toughest challenges to jam into a few days, every few years

* And finally, YOU THE VOTERS who take the time to exercise a democratic right that people in many other parts of the worrld would give their lives for

Sincere Thanks to all;

From Mike Anthony, and my support team

More Election Excitement: Nugget Allows Unprecedented Rebuttal to Dave Dale’s Attack….(alternate title:The “Soundbyte guy Bites Back”)

This past 24 hours has been one of the most interesting days of the campaign.  The support and emails and phone calls were amazing!  People were responding to the “Anthony Attack” from a Nugget columnist.  The GREAT news is how much support we received in response to the personal attack in the final days of the campaign.  The real issues were how personal it got; and the fact that the time frame allowed no real possible opportunity to put each candidate under equal scrutiny.  How fair is that?  In essense it was a last minute “blitz” on our campaign; with little time to respond.  Some would say “dirty pool”; but we chose to be positive.   In response to the latest hurtful column, (see post below for link) we found ourselves heading down to the Nugget for a discussion.  First with the column writer, afterwards with Editorial bosses.

They were all gracious enough to speak at length with us…and the POSITIVE RESULT is that we were allowed a full rebuttal to the column!  As far as we know this is a first!!  It’s the first time we know of for the Nugget to allow a FULL REBUTTAL to a column on the nugget webpage; and in next day’s newspaper as well.   We address some of the past “stabs”; plus the selective nature of the latest opinion-piece by the Nugget’s primary columnist….

see the link below for our rebuttal:

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2811038 

Again we are very thankful for all the great experiences during this campaign; all the great people we met; and we are looking forward to voting day; Monday Oct 25th!!

4 days to go; and more election fun! (the Dave Dale effect!)

It’s no secret; Nugget Columnist Dave Dale has been attacking me for years.  He once made fun of my weight (used the word “waddle” in a blog…but since I’m down 75 lbs I guess that’s a tough one to use anymore).  Anyway; this too is part of politics….you need a thick skin.  And I definitely have one!!

  Below is the column Dave Dale posted on the evening of Oct 20th on the nugget website…allowed a few negative comments, then shut down the comments section for the night.  Positive responses from people who support me weren’t allowed till the next morning….some apparantly after repeated phone calls.  The column itself is in the paper on the 21st.

At any rate, I’m used to this, it’s been going on for years; and Mr Dale admitted in a recent column a few weeks back that he just doesn’t like “former reporters” entering politics.

When he gets into specifics of recent events: he neglects to mention that I changed my stance & opposed houses in Tweedsmuir park because I was OPEN-MINDED and heard the people.  I’m proud of that fact.

Also neglected: he fails to acknowledge that I DID SPEAK to the Palanagio Arena Mould issue at the last council meeting…before anyone else mentioned it.  I did the following: (a) spoke about how much we appreciated the patience of user groups, and how difficult this was for them…(b) I explained how we were going to cover the cost of the situation by deferring or postponing projects…(c) that staff was unable to use portables due to costs (the Vice Chair of Community Services agreed with me on this)…and (d) I explained all the steps that were being taken to try to ensure a problem like this doesn’t occur again.

As for political party donations ten years ago…the column neglects to mention the many other councillors who have either contributed, carry party memberships, or attended party events.  In fact almost  everyone on council has done so at one time or another; some have even run or sought nominations under party banners.

If you want to see his column, you should be able to click on it below:

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2809025

I’ve enjoyed this campaign so much; I’ve enjoyed hearing from you, and I’m looking forward to Monday’s results!

BLOG: FINAL DAYS/HOURS…WHAT A RIDE IT’S BEEN!

OCTOBER 19th, 2010     Well, here we are; winding down to the final legs of this municipal election campaign 2010.  What a priveledge it has been to once again “enter the race” to earn your votes.  This Blog is composed of four sections: 

MORE INTEREST: I have been amazed by the interest shown by people; they really seem to be “connected” to this election.  There are those that say voter turnout will be down; and point to the advance polls (down by about a thousand people) as proof.  Well; even if they are right (which I’m not convinced of yet)….it seems to me those who ARE interested,  are actually MORE interested than ever.  Those that are voting are really looking into what we have to offer, more than ever. 

STARTED EARLY & STAYED BUSY:  For me; it’s been exhilerating: both fun and intense at the same time.  In my case, the ride started early; I was one of the first to sign nomination papers way back in March.  The excitement never stopped!   I answered hundreds of emails and phone calls…probably a dozen Surveys or Polls/group questions. And all the while, trying to keep on top of regular council business as an incumbant; & the extra responsibility of being one of the 3 Committee Chairpersons that help lead council.

I was ahead of the curve again in late July; with my website up and running.  Early to some people; but not to me—-i wanted this job back; I wanted it badly and I was prepared to work for it, and to work EARLY for it.    Mid-August I had my first billboard up on Airport Rd; by the Davedi Club.  Others soon followed (2 on Lakeshore & 1 on Cassels Street).  Early September I put out my 4ftx4ft signs at some key intersections.  Just a few key spots as I believe old-fashioned signs are just that: old-fashioned.  That brings us to the topic of “technology”…

TECHNOLOGY CHANGES THE RACE: Speaking of which: This campaign also is the first to truly feel the “FACEBOOK & TWITTER EFFECT”.  I was an early user of Facebook; signing up in 2007.  But I’ve really seen changes there, too.  For almost 3 years; I had about 250—300 facebook “friends”….once my campaign started & website were up I had neared the 500 mark.  Now; with many more requests strictly due to the election “buzz” I’ve been near 800.  The number had grown quite quickly, and was very active with campaign-type comments (I answer each question or concern myself).  It was so busy, that recently I’ve had to trim some of my “out of town” contacts & stick to a truly “NORTH BAY-BASED” group of facebook friends; just around the 700 mark.

Here’s another “glimpse of the future”…. I estimate I had at least TRIPLE the number of election comments/questions/offers of support  through Facebook; as I did compared to regular email or telephone.  That’s the future of elections right there….and we lived it right here in 2010.  Just wait till next time!

READY TO SERVE AGAIN: To wrap up; it’s been exciting, it’s been stressful; it’s been fast-paced….but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.  I’ve fought harder & been more focused than ever before. I truly am “Ready to Serve YOU Again!”

BLOG: AM600 CKAT POLL & SOLVENT MAGAZINE ARTICLE

*Posted Oct 12th 2010*     This morning, long-time Morning Show Host Dean Belanger announced results of an interesting poll of North Bay radio listeners.  All through the long weekend; they ran a survey on their website.  The question was: of the 26 council candidates; if you could vote for ONLY ONE; who would that one be?  They called it their “Possible Predictor of the Next Deputy Mayor.”

Of the hundreds of votes cast; leading the pack with a virtual tie were: (drum roll please)….”Mike Anthony & Sean Lawlor”.  We were announced deadlocked at 21%.  Actually; they said Sean had one more single online email entry (Congrats to Sean; for winning that!) but when all votes were calculated we were considered tied, percentage-wise.  WOW—what a compliment! VERY HUMBLING!

SOLVENT ARTICLE:    The good news goesn’t stop with the radio poll.   Also had a great article in local website & published magazine ”SOLVENT.”  Here’s a link to the article:

http://solventmagazine.com/solventwp2/2010/10/10/interview-with-mike-anthony/

The owner/Publisher Does great work and a great job.

BLOG: A CHANGE OF MIND

POSTED August 5, 2010

Well, I’ve had plenty of questions & comments about this topic so I thought it would be good to cover it here. This blog is written about the entire notion of someone having a “change of heart”; or as some might simply put it: I changed my mind. This summer there was a pretty big buzz in the city; over a proposed rezoning issue involving ballfields. A surprise came when someone who initially supported the rezoning to build houses on the Tweedsmuir ballfield land had a change of heart. That someone is ME.

People are afraid to change sometimes; because they’ve committed to something or because they don’t want to be seen as unable to make up their mind. I worry about neither of those things. In the past 10 years on council I’ve learned what it means to make a difficult decision, and stick with it, if you believe it’s best for the overall community. The key phrase here is “IF YOU BELIEVE IT’S BEST FOR THE OVERALL COMMUNITY.”

In this most recent case it doesn’t bother me to have had a change of heart; because for me; it comes from being OPEN MINDED. I believe that open-mindedness;(abilty & willingness to listen) is one of the most important roles of a public servant. For me; I found that being open-minded meant that over the course of the several weeks; I’d heard and felt things from the community that convinced me a majority does not support the notion of eliminating recreation space. I make it very clear in the section of this website called “MIKE’S VISION” that I still believe we are a city that has room to grow; and we will grow!! But you’ll also notice in that section that I mention such GROWTH MUST BE BALANCED WITH PRESERVING OUTDOOR AREAS.

In the future I’ll still be willing to listen; and if I hear something that makes me think there’s a better way for the community, you can bet that’s the way I’ll go.  Even if it means changing my mind.

BLOG: Be Heard!!

July17 2010   Well here I am posting my first blog of my re-election campaign.  And because I consider my approachability one of my greatest strengths as a councillor over the past 10 years; there couldn’t be a better way to start things off.  The very interaction I’m about to tell you about is also the REASON I enjoy being a councillor; and why I take the job seriously.  It is a priveledge to serve you!

A gentleman left me a voicemail today; with comments about the Transit system.  I called back and helped him get the info he needed; and he seemed surprised to get the help. I guess some of you may not realize your “relationship” with your councillors doesn’t just materialize every few years when there is an election.  You pick your councillors; and you deserve to be heard by them.  Never hesitate to call for information; or for help.  I am always happy to get back to you; and I try to make it happen within 24 hours.  Whether or not I have the answer you wanted to hear I’ll get back to you.  It’s a councillor’s responsibility.  So; after the dust settles on October 25th, don’t forget that “representatives” by definition REPRESENT YOU.  Whether on email; facebook, by phone or regular old postal service feel free to contact your councillors and express your questions or comments.  I look forward to hearing from YOU.