Fred Connors developing his mayoral platform

FALL RIVER: Fred Connors knows he has a huge hill to climb if he is to be elected the next Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). He knows he has an even bigger task to bring together regional councillors with one vision.
Connors took time away from his busy schedule on a late January Sunday afternoon to speak to The Weekly Press in Fall River.
He spoke about what his plans are; why he decided to run; and what he can offer to those in the HRM; if elected to the mayor’s chair during the October 2012 municipal election.
As the animated Connors—who freely admits to being gay—spoke, those sitting near the table inside the coffee shop where the interview was taking place could be seen quietly listening in—although avoiding any eye contact—as if to not bring attention to the fact they wanted to hear what he was saying.
He threw his name in to the mayoral race because he feels Halifax deserves better. He will be campaigning against Mike Savage who announced Feb. 6 he was running for the top job in HRM, David Boyd a Halifax taxi driver, Dalhousie student Matthew Worona, and Tom Martin of Carrolls Corner. Mayor Peter Kelly hasn’t officially thrown his name in.
“I think HRM is an amazing region; has a lot to offer; a lot of potential; and I think a lot more work needs to be done than is currently being done so we can go from being a mediocre city to a world-class city,” said Connors.
The owner of FRED Hair Salon and Cafe said great leadership needs to be demonstrated in everyday life, and that is among the reasons why he should be chosen as Mayor.
“I’ve been demonstrating in many ways for a very long time that I’m a good leader,” he said, pointing to the way he runs his business, his engagement in the community, how caring he is, and the hard work he puts in towards the causes he believes in. “I think the vision and leadership that Halifax needs is one of the causes where I can have an impact.”
He said he’s been involved with HRM city hall during the past number of years through being elected to an HRM board called the Community Liaison Committee (CLC). It’s an elected committee put in place to oversee the development of a sewage treatment site in the Gottingen Street corridor, and mitigate its impact on the community.
“Our role was to consult with the community, individuals living and working in the neighbourhood, and find out what the vision was for their community and how they felt they would be impacted by the Harbour Solutions Project, and the sewage treatment site that was to be built there,” he said. “We would then work with city staff and HRM council to help them make the best decision possible.”
The platform that Connors will base his campaign on has yet to be decided. He’s been getting out to communities throughout HRM to hear concerns from people, to form his platform.
“When I decided I wanted to run for Mayor, I also decided I wanted to get out and meet as many people as possible in the communities,” he said. ‘The reason I came out to Fall River is because I’m more interested in talking with people on their turf rather than making them come in and talking to me on my turf.
“I think one of the problems that people in communities outside Halifax are having, is feeling like they’re not being heard. The individual interest in their own communities is not a high enough priority at city hall. I think that is a big problem.”
He feels some residents voices are barely being heard inside city hall no matter how hard their representatives try. He also thinks better cooperation amongst councillors is required for things to operate smoothly.
“We’re a region that’s based on several valued communities, with each one of those distinct. People who live in those communities have a voice that needs to be heard,” he said. “Whether it’s the Musquodoboit Valley, Fall River, Ecum Secum, Cherry Brook, or St. Margaret’s Bay, each one of these communities have people who are proud to live there.
“I think what council needs to realize is that they need to be invested in the vision of the region, rather than the betterment of each individual community. I think having a council that works much better.”
Connors said he has plenty of ideas on what he wants to see HRM be, but those may not flow with what residents have for ideas. That’s where council isn’t bridging the gap currently.
“There’s all kinds of ideas I have, but they’re ideas that are important to me,” he said. “When you’re a leader, you need to be able to sit down, and listen to the ideas that are important to the people that you are leading.
“If my ideas aren’t aligned with your ideas, we’ve got to bridge the gap and come up with something that everybody can agree on.”
He doesn’t think people knowing the fact he’s gay will affect whether they get out and vote.
“It would have been a problem 20 years ago, for a gay candidate to run for mayor,” he said. “I really don’t think it will be a big indicator one way or the other.”
One issue Connors thinks needs to be addressed is the size of HRM.
“I think the problem we’re having right now is the needs of people in the farther reaches of the Eastern Shore are not consistent with the needs of those in downtown, in St. Margaret’s Bay, or in Fall River-Waverley,” he said. “I think we need to look at amalgamation, how it works, how it doesn’t work, and come up with solutions to the problems.
“Whether it’s having a rural/urban split in council so we can look at the needs of smaller communities separate from the needs of bigger communities, it’s a process that doesn’t seem to be working. I think that’s the main reason why regional council isn’t able to get anything done.”
He agreed that the community council setup is what helps smaller communities get things done in a timely fashion. Connors said if elected, he would like to piggyback on that idea with one of his own.
“I’m going to look at setting up Neighbourhood Advisory Councils, that are informal councils based on people who want to volunteer their time who would sit with me as a candidate for mayor, and if I win the election as mayor, so I can hear from them what their needs and concerns are,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people part of the political process because they are into politics more than they are in to people. We need to bridge the gap between politics and the people they’re supposed to serve.”
He said this would provide a direct conduit for the community to city hall, with only volunteers on the Neighbourhood Advisory Council, not councillors.
“They would come in and sit in a roundtable discussion with me, about their school, safety, and development needs,” he said. “Typically that goes through their councillors, but I think there are a number of avenues to get that to council but don’t necessarily need to involve their councillor.”
Connors agrees with the decision by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) in shrinking HRM council from 23 councillors and a mayor to 16 councillors and a mayor.
“I think with fewer personalities the mayor has to manage its better, so I think it’s a good decision,” he said. “For the size of HRM, we don’t need that many. Much larger cities are being run by fewer people than HRM.”
He said he hopes to become part of the communication process that is going around in the various groups in District 2.
“I think it’s very important that leadership with HRM sit down with each of those groups, such as the like-minded groups that talk about infrastructure, development, the needs, and I think the mayor needs to be part of those discussions, not just the councillor and people in the community that are invested in it.”
Connors has a website, www.fredconnorsforhrm.ca, where he will take questions, and respond with answers, even if it takes some time as he has to research the topic. He can also be found on twitter @fredforhrm.
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com