Municipal Election 2022
Tom Harrison
Athol Ward Five
Tom Harrison lives on his family farm near Cherry Valley, overlooking East Lake. He has been in Prince Edward County since 2005 and moved here fulltime in 2012. Now a part-time teacher at Durham College, his past work experience includes 10 years in social work and teaching, a decade as a government public policy professional, and also in higher education.
Since 2017 he has been on the board of the Youth Centre (the ‘ROC’) and currently acts as its interim chair. He is a member of the Historical Association and also serves as a municipal appointee to the Historical Advisory Committee, where he has served as the vice-chair for the last year. He is also an active volunteer and fundraiser with the PEC Library. As an emerging artist, his work has appeared in Art in the County over the last couple of years. He is also a writer, who is researching for a book on Richard Nixon’s 1957 visit to Picton and the Quinte Region.
When asked about the issue of affordable housing, Harrison said: “Council should change zoning to make it more favourable for smaller homes and higher densities in developments; enforce the strict new STA rules to reduce those without licences and increase the supply of rental housing; further support the Housing Corporation’s plans for more affordable homes; seek innovative solutions and collaboration with the private and nonprofit sector, including exploring alternate models like building rent-geared-to-income units and co-operative housing.”
He added that Council should work with other governmental partners to address a widespread problem that is challenging most towns and cities in Canada. “We need affordable housing to take care of the families and others, including low-income seniors, that are already here,” he said, adding that dealing with the issue of affordable housing will attract younger families to the County.
As for tourism management, Harrison said his ward has been particularly affected by the influx of visitors. “Further steps to better manage hightraffic areas need to be taken in Athol. Local residents are rightly concerned about their safety in these spots, as well as the loss of amenities, like park access and restrictions designed to manage tourists that are now impacting them.”
While he credited the management of tourism for curbing some of the worst issues in the short term, he said, “Council needs to evaluate all changes and seek additional resources from other levels of government to improve our infrastructure to better manage tourists. It might take time to see longer-term effects of the plan. Tourism has been a vital part of the local economy on which many rely for decades, but we can do more to get a better handle on this issue now.”
While rising water bills affect many in the County, Harrison said it is not a major issue in rural areas of the County. “Most of us here in Athol rely on wells as their main water source,” he explained.
When asked if adequate attention is being given to heritage, environmental sustainability, stewardship and protection in the County, he said more attention needs to be given to these issues. “We need to strike a better balance to preserve the best of what has come before with the need to manage change for the future. We need to support to the environmental work of Council, to better support residents, farmers and businesses to increase sustainability and act as good stewards of our land. This is why my campaign is highlighting heritage, green initiatives and good governance as priorities, to have a more positive impact in this area.”
Harrison was blunt when asked about the size of council. “Council is too large,” he replied. “It is one of the largest in terms of numbers in the entire province. I would like to re-visit the issue, and will work with others to develop a consensus to fairly reduce its size for the next election.”
Tom is exactly the sort of person we can all hope to have representing us: smart, thoughtful, creative, kind, and curious. I have known Tom for many years and have always been impressed by his depth and breadth of knowledge. His experience in a wide range of areas — both formal and not — makes him extremely well-suited to being an effective Council member. He understands governance and, perhaps even more importantly, he understands people. So many of us tend to stick to our own small circles, taking comfort in the familiar. Not Tom. He relishes diversity and has an ever-expanding comfort zone that encompasses everything about The County. Farmer, teacher, lawyer, policy expert, leader — all embodied in a sincere and enthusiastic candidate. Residents of Athol, and The County as a whole, will benefit from the well-honed combination of attributes Tom brings to the table.
Thomas (Tom) and I worked for the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court for approximately the same 11 years. He was a lawyer in her office and I was her secretary. We became good friends. In fact, he just recently painted a picture for me of my hometown, with me and my “granddog” in the foreground. He is a loyal friend and thoroughly enjoys meeting new people. He was a most efficient, hard working young man, who had already been a Social Worker and Teacher before he was called to the Bar about 20 years ago. He is now embarking upon a political career with the same enthusiasm and preparedness, as is his trademark. Unlike Thomas, few politicians have formal training in their chosen field. We wish him all the success he deserves. One could not hope for a more knowledgable, personable, diplomatic representative.