The Chief Executive of the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce, Chris Emanuel, has confirmed that Tom Vegh will be at the “Meet and Greet” tomorrow so please come along with your questions. 

Tom told the Toronto Star that only a handful of developers gave him money in 2018.

It is unlawful for Corporations to make donations to candidates running for municipal office but their top people can do so as individuals. Does Tom Vegh think this is OK?

His Financial Statement, submitted to the Town on 27 March 2019, shows he got money from Joanne Barnet (Glenway and 600 Stonehaven); from the Kerbels (who are everywhere); from Sam Reisman and Daniel Berholz from the Rose Corporation (the big rental building at 212 Davis Drive and the King George School on Park Avenue); from multiple people at the Urban Planning consultancy Groundswell including the wife of the Principal, Brad Rogers; from Paul Bailey of Basil Developments (Shining Hill in Newmarket); from Hashem Ghadaki and Saeid Aghaei of the Times Group; from Daniel Bell of Trinistar Corporation; from Michael Rice of the Rice Group; from Salvatore Balsamo and Gino Bellisario of Condor Properties; from Michael Galego, the Chief Executive of the Agricultural Division of the Stronach Group who is responsible for managing “agricultural assets”. The list goes on.

I hope people will ask him to identify from his own Financial Statement (copies of which will be on my table) the developers who financed his 2018 campaign.

We also need a clear, definitive statement from Vegh on whether he is soliciting or accepting money in this campaign from people intimately connected with the development industry. And if not, why not?

I want to move on to other issues but Vegh has got to come clean first about who is bankrolling him.

Sign of the Times

Earlier today, I was putting up election signs across Town.

Just like 2018, the Tom Vegh signs are everwhere. Gorham was striking. There were Vegh signs stretching to the horizon – outside empty properties, outside houses being renovated. I decided to knock on doors to find out why people had Vegh signs on their property and it was a revelation. Some people had no recollection of ever being asked if a sign could go on their property. It just appeared.

In my own neck of the woods, Vegh signs are everywhere until I start to knock on doors and talk to people. Some ask me to take Vegh’s sign down and replace it with my own. Others when asked say that Vegh never did anything for them but they agreed to put up one of his signs. 

Every day for the rest of the campaign I shall make a point of knocking on the doors of people with Vegh signs and talk to them about the great man. What has he ever done for them? Why are they displaying his sign on their property? Today I found one person who spoke convincingly about Tom Vegh – he put up a sign because he had known him for years. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

I’d like Newmarket Today to come along with me as I knock on the doors of people supporting Tom Vegh. They could choose the neighbourhood.

I think it would be an education for them – as it was for me earlier today.

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