Stewart Bailey

North Marysburgh Ward Eight

Stewart Bailey is what many folks in the County would consider to be “from away”. By local standards, Bailey is new to the County, but feels a deep and immediate passion for his new community and wants to give back. His career at the LCBO had always hindered him from committing fully to a council run. After retiring from 33 years of service to the liquor commission, Bailey decided that 2018 was the time to devote himself fully to a new possible career around the horseshoe.

Bailey’s career with the LCBO was an interesting one. From the beginning, he gravitated towards the wines section and was quickly deemed promising by management after acing a series of wine tests and tastings. His trajectory in the company skyrocketed over the next few years, and at one point he was helping to run the largest LCBO in Canada at the Summerhill location in Toronto. Bailey’s nose was deemed so important to the LCBO that they had it insured. Bailey also spent 19 years of his time at the LCBO on the VQA board for licensees. He ended up in the County the way most do. A day-trip turned into another, and another. Six years ago this past September, Bailey and his wife came out to the County on a quick day-trip.

“We came to Picton and immediately fell in love with the place. We were at the point where we had no need for the congestion of the city. We had found that our neighbourhood had lost that sense of community that we felt was so important. By a circumstance of timing that could not be ignored, the job posting for the Picton liquor store came up the very next day. The decision was made. We moved out here eight weeks later,” says Bailey.

The County’s rich heritage became a fascination for Bailey as soon as he moved out here. One of the best parts of knocking on doors during this campaign for him has been the stories he’s been told by folks who can trace their family roots through several generations in the County. One key concern being presented is the “empty house” phenomenon brought on by too many Airbnb’s and STAs in one area, which is leading to the disintegration of communities and dark streets. Bailey says residents are also concerned about the overwhelming nature of the County’s tourism industry. Tourism itself was becoming overwhelming, and ultimately, the feeling of living in a community was slipping away. Bailey says that in North Marysburgh they are lucky to have a number of vibrant and mutually supportive communities. It would be a shame to see any of these diminished.

“As I have continued knocking on doors, I have found the same concern about empty houses and disintegrating communities, but there is also a feeling of being disconnected with the rest of the County, of being ignored. Roads are in disrepair, and no one seems to care. Speed limits on the cross roads and side roads are too high. Property owners are paying substantial taxes, but with no idea of what they are getting for it,” says Bailey.

Emergency services and health care are also big issues facing Ward Eight. Due to its geography, residents at the far end may have to endure a lengthy wait before an ambulance arrives. Bailey wants to create funding for the hospital, for roads and infrastructure, and he blieves the best way to do that is to build up the community. Bailey believes a larger permanent resident population is needed. This would increase the overall tax levy, and thus help all of these funding needs. It would also help keep schools open. Bailey would also like to see the County work with local developers to build new, attainable housing. Whatever bureaucratic hurdles and red tape that might exist need to be reduced. At the same time, developers and the County need to examine local community and environmental impacts, and available services and infrastructure, when looking for locations to develop.

For opportunities for the next council, Bailey thinks that the next group of councillors needs to understand how the municipal tax system works. They need to be able to explain to their constituents what they are getting for those taxes. They will have to figure out how to harness our largest industry, tourism, and profit from it, before it gets away from them.

“The County is changing. If we don’t make the right decisions—or if we make decisions that are based strictly on our present situation—we will make decisions that could detrimentally impact the future of this wonderful community. We will need to make the right decisions today, no matter how tough they might be, for the future of our community,” says Bailey.