✅ 2026 Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire — Collingwood | The Shulman Report
The twenty-three questions, and where to read what each candidate said
Why this exists
Turnout in this region runs near 30 per cent, and most residents who do vote cannot name what the candidates on their ballot actually stand for. That is not the voters’ failure. It is a failure of transmission.
Two Towns, One Failure is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
On 30 August 2026 the four candidates for mayor of Collingwood were each sent the same twenty-three questions — on the wastewater plant, the water debt, the tax levy, development charges, stormwater, growth and servicing capacity, the waterfront, the arts centre, the recreation centre, and how they would run the Town. Not a survey. Written answers, in their own words, at length, against a deadline.
The Blue Mountains candidates received a parallel questionnaire the same day. The first fourteen questions are identical in both towns, so the same question can be read across two municipalities.
The ground rules
Every completed answer is published in full and unedited. Nothing is summarised, trimmed or characterised. Candidates appear in alphabetical order. Box marks are reported exactly as they appear on the returned questionnaire — including blanks, double marks and anything a candidate wrote in instead of ticking. No answer is rated or scored. That is the reader’s job.
Where a candidate did not respond, that is reported plainly, without adjective.
Jon Hillis, Kathy Jeffery and Norm Sandberg each answered all twenty-three questions.
Mayor Yvonne Hamlin did not return a questionnaire. She was sent it on 30 August in the same terms and with the same deadline as the other three. On 20 September she was written to again, with an offer to hold publication if she confirmed her answers were coming. She did not reply.
Below are the twenty-three questions as they were put to the candidates. Under each one is the link to the post carrying the answers to it. Questions were published in groups, so several questions share a link.
Election day is Monday 26 October 2026. Internet voting in Collingwood opened on 8 October.
Every post in the series: https://shulmanr.substack.com/archive
1. Priorities
Rank your top three priorities for the 2026–2030 term, 1 to 3. For each of the three, outline what you would actually do, and by when. If they compete for the same dollar in the 2027 budget, say which one gives way.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire
2. The tax levy
Over the 2026–2030 term, the average annual levy increase I will work toward is [below inflation / at inflation / inflation + up to 3% / more than inflation + 3% / I will not commit to a number]. Outline your fiscal platform. Name at least one specific service, programme or project you would reduce, defer or eliminate to hold that number — or state plainly that you would raise the levy instead, and by how much.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire
3. A municipal services corporation — and, if not, then what
On a municipal services corporation for water and wastewater, my position is [actively pursue membership / complete the analysis, then decide / oppose / undecided]. Collingwood council filed an expression of interest on 10 August 2026, reversing its 15 June decision to stay the course. That vote was [correct / incorrect, I would withdraw it / undecided]. If you would NOT join a corporation: do you expect the Province to fund this town’s next major water or wastewater project? Outline your platform.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-808
4. Capital cost control, and who is accountable when it fails
The reporting threshold at which a cost variance must come to council should be [any variance over $100,000 / over $500,000 / over 10% of budget / set by staff]. Outline what you would change in procurement, estimating, contingency and staff-to-council reporting so that a nine-figure programme cannot drift by half before council hears about it. Be specific about mechanisms, not intentions.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-808
5. Strong mayor powers
As mayor I would use strong mayor powers [yes, where useful / only in a defined emergency / no, never]. I will delegate authority over the CAO back to council [yes / no]. Outline your position on how this town should be governed, and what you would commit to in writing on day one.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-574
6. Development charges — who pays for growth
Residential development charges in this town should be [increased / held / reduced further to unlock grants / undecided]. Development charges on attainable and affordable housing units specifically should be [eliminated / reduced / deferred / unchanged]. Outline your platform. Development charges fund growth-related capital. If they fall, name what fills the hole — the levy, the rate base, debt, or projects that do not get built.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-574
7. Housing
Would you commit to a numeric target for affordable and attainable housing units, including rental, created during the term? If yes, state the target and the definition you are using. Outline your housing platform: which tools you would actually use — municipal land, development-charge deferrals, zoning, public–private partnerships, incentive programmes, strong mayor powers — and how each is paid for.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-574
8. Asset management and the renewal gap
Do you accept your town’s asset management plan’s estimate of the annual funding gap? Outline how you would close the gap between what this town owns and what it is setting aside to replace it — and if you would not close it, say so and say what fails first.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-574
9. Council, staff and professional governance
Over the term, the permanent staff complement should [grow / hold flat / shrink]. Reliance on outside consultants should [increase / stay the same / decrease]. I will support publishing closed-session subject matter and voting records to the fullest extent the Municipal Act permits [yes / no]. Outline your platform on how this town is run: the mayor–CAO relationship, where council’s role ends and staff’s begins, what you would change in the first hundred days, and how residents will be able to see what the town spends, owes and owns in a form a non-accountant can read.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-256
10. The region, and the structure of local government
Which would you actively pursue as shared or regional services? Check all that apply. On amalgamation of Collingwood and The Blue Mountains, my position is [support / study it formally / oppose / undecided]. Outline how this town should work with its neighbouring municipalities — and name one thing you would give up local control over to get a better result.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-256
11. A joint services group with The Blue Mountains
Would you support creating a joint services group with The Blue Mountains [yes / yes, if a business case supports it / no / undecided]. If yes, which services would you support being run jointly? Outline your platform. Name the savings or service improvement you would expect, how a joint group would be governed so neither town is captured by the other, and what you would not put into it.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-256
12. Regional government for South Georgian Bay
A single regional government for South Georgian Bay, at a population of roughly 100,000, responsible for water and wastewater, transportation, and other services now delivered separately. Which of these benefits do you believe it would actually deliver? Check all that apply. Weighed against the loss of local control, those benefits are [clearly worth it / worth it only on conditions I will state / not worth it / undecided]. Explain.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/2026-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-256
13. Contracting out municipal services
Would you support contracting out services currently delivered in-house [yes / yes, where a business case supports it / no / undecided]. Which would you be prepared to contract out? Check all that apply. Others you would contract out. Services you would never contract out. Outline your platform. Say what test you would apply before contracting a service out, what you would do about the staff currently delivering it, and how service quality would be held to account once it sits with a contractor.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/questions-13-through-16-collingwood
14. Performance management
This town’s present ability to measure and report service performance is [adequate / inadequate / I have not reviewed it]. Within the term, the Town should publish a scorecard of service standards against results [annually / quarterly / no]. Building a culture of performance measurement would require — check all that apply. Performance measurement should be owned by. Building this capability costs money and staff time; you would. Set out how you would build performance management into this town. Say what you would measure first, who answers for the numbers, and what happens when a measure shows a service is failing.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/questions-13-through-16-collingwood
15. The wastewater treatment plant
The Town should commit to a wastewater plant decision — site, scope and financing — by [2027 / 2028 / 2029–2030 / not in this term]. Outline your platform for new wastewater infrastructure: the Environmental Assessment, the site, how it is financed — rates, levy, debenture, development charges or a regional partner — and what happens to development approvals until capacity exists.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/questions-13-through-16-collingwood
16. The water plant, the development charges, and the debt
If development charges do not cover Collingwood’s $44.4M share, it should be funded by [a debenture on the water and wastewater rate base / the tax levy / deferring other capital / I dispute the premise]. Outline your platform. State the figure you believe represents the town’s real water and wastewater obligation, and what you will tell ratepayers about their bill between now and 2030.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/questions-13-through-16-collingwood
17. Stormwater
A dedicated stormwater charge, separate from the tax levy [support / oppose / undecided]. Outline how much of the stormwater programme you would fund, over what period, and from where. If you oppose a separate charge, say what you would fund it from instead.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-questions-17-and-18-mayoral
18. Growth and servicing capacity
Over the next term I would [accelerate residential growth / maintain the current pace / slow it / pause approvals until infrastructure catches up]. Servicing capacity is best understood as [a hard veto on approvals / a sequencing tool / a cost to be funded]. Outline your platform on growth, and be specific about who pays for the capacity that growth requires.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-questions-17-and-18-mayoral
19. The waterfront, the Terminals and the Town’s major assets
The Terminals Point definitive documents should be made public [now / when negotiations conclude / no]. Outline your platform for the waterfront and the Town’s major real property, including the municipal role in the hospital project. State your test for whether the Town should own something at all.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire
20. The Arts and Culture Centre
Do you support the Town of Collingwood providing financial support to the proposed Arts and Culture Centre [yes / yes, capped at a stated amount / only land or in-kind support, no cash / no / undecided]. Before any municipal commitment, a full public business case should be published [yes / no]. The Town should reach a decision on its role by [2027 / 2028 / 2029–2030 / not in this term]. Outline your position: what the Town’s role should be, what conditions you would attach, what share should come from private or senior-government sources, how long you expect the approval process to take and what governs that timeline, and at what point you would walk away.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire
21. The Multi-Use Recreation Centre
A multi-use recreation facility has likewise been before council, with land acquisition handled in closed session — including at the meeting of 22 June 2026 — and council has continued to consider purchasing land while keeping options open. No total public cost has been put to residents. Do you support building the Multi-Use Recreation Centre [yes / yes, at a reduced scope / no / undecided]? Do you support delivering it in partnership with the Town of The Blue Mountains [yes / yes, if they contribute proportionally / no / undecided]? If both the Arts and Culture Centre and the Multi-Use Recreation Centre cannot be afforded in this term, my priority is [the recreation centre / the arts centre / neither / both, and I will say how they are paid for]. The maximum total capital cost I would support for the recreation centre is: ____. Before any municipal commitment, a full public business case — total capital cost, annual operating subsidy and the Town’s share — should be published [yes / no]. Outline your platform: scope, site, cost, how it is financed, what a partnership with The Blue Mountains would have to look like for you to sign it, and what else in the capital plan gives way to make room for it.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-975
22. What you should be judged on
Name up to three commitments you are prepared to be held to at the end of the term. Each must carry a number and a date. Outline how you believe a mayor’s performance should be measured, and what you would consider a failed term.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-975
23. Leadership and accountability
A mayor has one vote. What distinguishes mayors is not their platform but how they work — with council, with staff, and with residents who disagree with them. Council’s only employee is the Chief Administrative Officer. The CAO is responsible for all other staff. Any accountability a mayor wants in the professional ranks has to be built through that relationship. Five situations. Choose one answer in each. A major decision has the support of a bare majority of council. A staff recommendation is competent but less ambitious than what you campaigned on. Council votes against your position on a significant matter. By the end of your first year, the organisation should feel. The larger share of your time in the first year belongs. Accountability for professional staff work should be strengthened by: check all that apply. When a major project fails on cost or on schedule, the person publicly accountable should be. In your own words, what is the job of a mayor? Say what you would do to build accountability into the professional staff role. Then name a decision in your working life where you took a position that was unpopular with the people around you, and say what it cost you.
https://shulmanr.substack.com/p/collingwood-mayoral-candidate-questionnaire-975
Two Towns, One Failure is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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