Contractor Wally Braun the seventh and final entry in Ward 1 by-election
Give Wally Braun full marks for persistence.
Undaunted by three unsuccessful prior runs for a council seat in Pelham (2003, 2014, 2018), he is back again to challenge for a place in the local political arena.
Braun lives in Ward 3, but professes support for, and an understanding of, the rural dwellers in Ward 1, having grown up in Lincoln’s countryside. He has been a Pelham resident for 38 years.
With a background in general contracting, Braun specializes in the design of buildings and interiors featuring classical architecture. He has studied a broad range of courses at Brock University over the years, with concentrations in philosophy, political science, English literature, and classics. It was the latter which fueled his passion for art and architecture, and their impact on urban development.
Expansion of the commercial core of Pelham is a sore spot for Braun. He bemoans the “American-style” strip mall approach.
“Look at the way Highway 20 has been developed, with huge acreage of parking lots, which create heat islands. They're just ugly,” said Braun.
He said the problem in the past has been very little oversight over these kinds of developments, with elected officials often not having an awareness of the issues.
Braun is on record as being of the view that property developers have been “coddled,” and “given a free ride” at the expense of taxpayers.
“We do need higher density if we develop any area, but we need to ensure that it looks attractive,” said Braun. “And that's where the architectural emphasis comes in.”
We do need higher density if we develop any area, but we need to ensure that it looks attractive
He is insistent that it is possible to develop high-density lowrise structures which look appealing and are congruent with a town’s character. Current proposals for 10-storey buildings in Pelham makes his blood boil.
“Look at Paris, France in terms of population density,” Braun argued. “It has one of the highest densities in the world. What is the height limit in Paris? Any building with occupancy is limited to five storeys.”
Braun said that the “modern penitentiary” look of many contemporary storefronts could be replaced by something much more appealing, and cited the LCBO as a case in point.
“They accommodate different styles of development. The LCBO in Niagara on the Lake on historic Queen Street has a character that's consistent with the town. Corporations will accommodate our needs…all we have to do is ask,” he said.
If you look around Pelham, said Braun, it appears that the principal concern has been not aesthetics, but revenue generation. And he has serious concerns about the Town’s fiscal position.
He referenced a conversation with then-mayor Ron Leavens about 15 years ago, when Leavens was a driving force for development in East Fonthill, including a new community centre.
“I asked him, specifically, what is your maximum budget?” said Braun. “He said $9 million, with $3 million federal contribution, $3 million provincial, and $3 million from Pelham taxpayers. I said that's fine. But can you guarantee that this will be the position of all future councils after you're no longer Mayor? Of course he couldn’t…that was a rhetorical question. Well, anyway, here we are at $36 million.”
[In an interview also in this week’s edition, Leavens laments how the council and mayor after him fumbled the ball on securing outside funding for the MCC project.]
Braun insists that the real cost of the community centre was over $50 million, given that $17 million in reserves were directed to the project, which have not been replenished. He wants the Town’s Treasurer to account for this discrepancy, and if deemed necessary, an external audit to be conducted.
Although he has no campaign website yet, Braun has been busy meeting with residents in Ward 1, and has identified the hot-button issues.
“The first is taxes, the second is development, and the third is cannabis….in that order of priority,” said Braun.
“What development and cannabis have in common is that they both involve major outside financial interests coming in and taking advantage of our lack of regulation.”
What Braun is suggesting with respect to cannabis is for the Town to gain local jurisdiction over the granting of permits.
“What CannTrust did for us with their debacle was to demonstrate that the province as a regulatory body is an abject failure,” he said. “That puts us in a very good position to approach the province and say that we want to regulate this on our own. Once we get that, we can take away permits from corporations who commit violations.”
Braun said he totally supports the work of Pelham’s Cannabis Control Committee that established new bylaws for the industry in the municipality.
To control the cannabis odours, HEPA filters need to be used, said Braun. He asserted that the industry balks at implementation because the technology is expensive, and disrupts their business model, which is “very top heavy” with executive salaries.
Asked by the Voice if farmers spreading manure on their fields should be held to the same standard as cannabis producers when it comes to malodourous issues, Braun responded that the use of organic farm waste is a transient concern.
“You notice it for a couple of weeks and then it's gone,” he said. By comparison, Braun said, cannabis odour is perpetual, as the growers regularly vent their buildings to release heat, which also lets loose the pungent smell.
Speaking of farmers, Braun said that Pelham definitely needs to make more options available to local farms to ensure that they stay viable as businesses. He felt that farmers should have an opportunity to grow cannabis at a decent profit, such that they would be less inclined to sell out to developers. Agri-tourism should also be an option for rural farmers, with a provision for camping and RV parking on their property.
Prior to the border closure, Braun said many of his American friends often crossed the river to seek out dining experiences at the many upscale, winery-based restaurants on the Beamsville Bench.
“What's conspicuous to me is that they're driving right by us to get there,” said Braun. “I would like to see the development of world-class, five star restaurants in Fenwick…and encourage our farmers, with the space and cooking skills, to develop that kind of thing. The general objective is to increase the sales and profit per visit, and to attract people who are willing to spend.”
Braun has a clear vision for the Fenwick library.
“I'm a big fan of our libraries. I would like to see hours extended, with at least one staff member on duty at all times when it’s open.”
Conversation turned to COVID, and Braun indicated he was fully supportive of donning a mask and socially distancing. He lamented the “cultural backwardness” and controversial political discourse related to dealings with the pandemic, coming primarily from the far right in the USA.
“It's good to see most people in Canada getting on board with the scientists. We're effectively running a global experiment on how to control pandemics. The anti-maskers see it as a civil rights issue. They also see it as the precursor to the government forcing vaccine injections on the population. That is an hysterical perspective.”
We're effectively running a global experiment on how to control pandemics
Braun has been involved as a volunteer and coach for community organizations involving tennis and badminton, as well as competitive sailing. He previously served on a Pelham committee dealing with the regulation of billboards and portable signs, and is an advocate for the prevention of display signage that is intrusive and unattractive in the Town.
What strengths would he bring to the Pelham council table?
“On the issue of taxes, I’m pretty much a bulldog,” said Braun with a grin. He is also a self-proclaimed “policy wonk.”
“I do my research,” he said.
