1. Candidate Bio:
Michael was born and raised in the Heart Lake area of Brampton. His parents were both heavily involved in community service, something that was ingrained in Michael from a very early age.
Michael attended school in Heart Lake. After completing business management courses at Humber College, Michael pursued an opportunity to manage a locally owned company. Michael’s leadership skills and innovative thinking were ideally suited for the business world but his passion for community service was beckoning him to return to his roots as a change maker for his local community.
In 2014, Michael was elected as Regional Councillor for Wards 2 & 6 in Brampton. During the course of his tenure, Michael has received numerous accolades for his work including the Brampton Board of Trade’s Top 40 Under 40 award.
Michael serves on 18 different committee’s at the City and Regional level to help keep the Region of Peel and Brampton moving forward in its development. He is the chair of the Brampton Safety Advisory Committee, the Audit Committee, Brampton Fire Services, the Waste Management Strategic Advisory Committee and the Peel Regional Police Board Ad Hoc Committee, to name a few.
Michael’s experience in policy and procedure coupled with his unrelenting drive to improve the quality of life for his community are hallmarks of his commitment to Brampton City and Peel Regional Councils. His fiscal responsibility and common sense approach have resulted in Michael having the lowest budget out of all Brampton councillors. His successful delegation to the Minister of Transportation significantly reduced the timeline for Brampton All-Day Two-Way GO, something he is continuing to work on reducing further.
If re-elected, Michael will his work for residents on a number of items including the completion of Peel Memorial Hospital, bringing a third hospital to Brampton, re-instating Brampton’s Road Watch program, implementing photo radar in school zones, finalizing plans for community watch programs and garnering more funding from the Provincial and Federal governments for community safety initiatives, transit and the Heart Lake Road Wildlife preservation.
Michael and his wife, Erin Palleschi, are raising their three young children in the Village of Heart Lake.
2. What are your three top priorities for Brampton?
Community Safety
Ensuring the safety of residents in our community is a top priority in my plans for a safer Brampton. I plan to continue working to bring back Brampton’s Road Watch Program – something I believe will significantly reduce accidents and speeding on our roadways. I will also continue supporting and assisting civilian neighbourhood watch programs to help them get fully established in our community.
I have and will continue to work to obtain funding through other levels of government to increase the police presence in our community.
I have and will continue to advocate for youth recreational programs and facilities to help encourage positive behaviours and the productive development of our young people.
Work – Stay – Play
As Peel Region’s population increases, it’s crucial to ensure that employment lands can accommodate employment growth, as well as live/work opportunities within the area. Employment lands are needed to boost opportunities for residents to work in Brampton, maintain a healthy tax base, and make Brampton a balanced and complete community.
I have and will continue to support and advocate for future employment areas in Brampton and protect the current supply of employment lands. Advancing the long-term vision for viable, prosperous and higher value employment uses is key to promoting strong employment growth across the city.
Responsible Growth
Conformity to the Provincial Growth Plan 2017, including new and revised population and employment forecasts as well as density and intensification targets has shaped the 2041 Regional Official Plan Review and the City’s Planning Vision 2040.
Planning for growth and development in key areas – near transit, in urban centres and along major corridors is essential in balancing growth throughout the city and region. I will continue to be a strong voice for the efficient use of existing and planned infrastructure, protecting environmental and agricultural resources and the creation of densities that support transit, affordable housing and complete walkable communities.
3. What is one major council decision from the previous (2014-2018) term that you agree with?
In 2017, I put forth a motion to create a Community Safety Advisory Board because I believe we need to take action in reducing the rising crime in Brampton. I received full support from council and continue to be actively involved in advocating for increased police presence and community watch groups.
4. What is one major council decision from the previous (2014-2018) term that you disagree with?
In 2015, I was the only councillor that supported the funding of Brampton Safe City Organization and the Arts council. I firmly believe removing the funding from the Brampton Safe City Organization has resulted in an increase in crime and increased speeding on our roadways.
5. Are there any other ideas from other cities that you would like to see replicated in Brampton?
There are many great ideas from other cities around the world that I think would be beneficial to our quality of life here in Brampton. For example, the “Cittaslow” movement in Italy who’s goal is to slow down the overall pace, particularly with respect to a city’s use of spaces and the flow of life and traffic through them. N
ow known internationally as the “League of Slow “Cities, the general idea is to make time to appreciate all that’s going on around us each and every day and re-connect with the simple things in life. Racing traffic is restrained by limiting automobiles and promoting leisurely transportation alternatives such as bikes and pedestrian zones. Businesses, schools and government are encouraged to improve the quality of life by allowing people to take time off for a long midday meal, promoting good food by sponsoring farmers markets and preserving our diverse culinary traditions. Noise pollution and visual blight is reduced by limiting car alarms, outdoor advertising and unsightly signs.
Another initiative I found intriguing is occurring in Vancouver where the municipal government is working with the federal government to establish creative hubs to encourage growth within a creative sector. Creating a community hub with the potential for job creation and investment in the arts and culture by bringing in a diverse mix of artists, community groups and the public is something I would like to see replicated in Brampton.
6. What are your top transportation priorities to ease congestion and gridlock in the city of Brampton and connections to other communities?
My top transportation priorities to ease congestion and gridlock are All-Day Two Way GO service continued to Mount Pleasant, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) connections to the east-west corridors and the Toronto Pearson Airport as well as the expansion of new Zum routes throughout the city.
7. What are your thoughts on the Brampton 2040 Vision and how should the city proceed with the vision?
I believe we need to continue promoting the 2040 vision heavily to those parties interested in expansion or new builds in Brampton. Future council must obtain reports from staff with a clear indicator of how items support the 2040 vision in order to proceed. In our new term of council, short term thinking such as accepting applications that sit idle only to be redeveloped fifteen to twenty years simply cannot continue. We need to ensure that all applicants work collaboratively to align with the City of Brampton to bring the 2040 vision to life with realistic targets.
8. What is your position on the city’s finances and how would you tackle demands for services and infrastructure renewal?
To tackle the ongoing demands for more services and infrastructure renewal, I believe we need to be able to harness data and digital technology to meet the challenge of doing more with less. Technology alone will not be able to solve every urban problem, but it’s a powerful and sometimes cost-effective tool for helping cities accelerate progress. Cities provide more services to residents than any other corporation in the world. If one of those services is extremely under utilized and non-essential to our residents then I would advocate for reducing or eliminating it completely to ensure fiscal responsibility.
With respect to the city’s finances and budgeting process, I am proud to have contributed to the management and creation of a budget that has received the distinguished budget presentation award from (GFOA) Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
9. What are your thoughts on how the city/region should handle the alleged uptick of spontaneous youth violence and crime in the city?
As the councilor that put forth the motion to establish the Brampton Community Safety Advisory committee where I currently sit as Chair, I have made it a top priority to try and find new ways to keep our citizens safe and young people engaged in productive activities. We need to work collaboratively as a community to take an active role in reporting suspicious activity to police as well as establish more programs to keep our youth involved in affordable and meaningful activities when they are not in school. Most significantly is our need to increase the funding we receive from other levels of government. I will continue to advocate strongly for an increase in the number of front-line officers who are equipped with the tools required to put dangerous criminals behind bars.
10. Why should voters vote for you?
As a citizen who was born, raised and who is now raising my own children in Ward 2, I am deeply connected and in touch with the needs of our community. I am
approachable, responsive and have a proven track record of having a strong voice at City Hall.
My commitment to building relationships with community leaders and residents through initiatives such as my quarterly town hall and monthly rate payers meetings provide a much needed face-to-face opportunity to take action and discuss issues and ideas for improving our city. My social media and digital communication platforms have helped engage young people in becoming more involved in community connectivity. My accomplishments over the past 4 years speak volumes.
I facilitated a greater police presence in areas where requested, contributed to the Heart Lake Rd. wild life preservation initiative, supported the one-dollar seniors bus fair, along with my council colleague brought movie nights and the Farmer’s Market to Mount Pleasant Village, spearheaded the Brampton Safety Advisory Committee, worked tirelessly to continue reducing the number of housing units in the Conestoga and Sandalwood Rd. housing development and I have the lowest expense account on council. My desire for re-election is based solely on the desire to improve the quality of life for residents of Wards 2 & 6 for your family and for mine. I believe voters should vote to re-elect me because I am the best candidate to continue advocating and representing your interests at City Hall.
Candidate contact info:
Phone: 905-497-8683
Email: votepalleschi@yahoo.ca
Website: Link here
Social Media: @votepalleschi
