Gow In The Running

Monday, 16 June 2014 at 00:00

Lawrence Gow says he has five key planks in bid for a seat around the Norwich council table

NORWICH - Retired Ontario Provincial Police officer, Otterville-resident and father of two, Lawrence Gow is asking Norwich Ward 1 residents for their vote on October 27.

Gow said he has five issues he is running on, including a commitment to proactive community policing.

"The present council has been thinking about maybe going into reactive policing, it's cheaper. I would prefer that the township stay a proactive policing community."

"That's having police officers here all the time and not just responding to calls but actually policing the area in a proactive way."

Gow wants to ask the province to give municipalities more negotiation-power into provincial police contracts.

"Since we have to pay the [police] bill as local taxpayers, I would hope that we would have some say in the negotiation process," Gow said. "Maybe a representative from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario could be part of the negotiation."

Gow will call on the province to give municipalities a voice in the location of wind-turbine farms, "I am committed to a moratorium on wind-turbine farms until the province allows the local municipalities more input on whether they want them dotting their landscape or not."

"I'd like to maintain or enhance our funding for infrastructure in the township," Gow said. "We have to maintain, if not expand our infrastructure if we are going to entice people to come to [Norwich]."

Gow also wants to "promote accessibility" in Norwich.

"I know it's more of a provincial matter, but my daughter has a disability and I see it on a daily basis the resistance she has getting into different businesses.

"I'd like to approach different businesses to see if they would make their establishments more user-friendly for people with disabilities."

Gow says he brings a different type of voice to the Norwich council table, "four out of the five councillors are from the farming community. I live in more of an urban area, if you can call Otterville an urban area, it's just a small village. But I think I can offer a different perspective on some issues residing in a built-up area as opposed to living on a farm," Gow said, stressing that he is not against farming and is proud of the strong agricultural tradition in Norwich.