Luke was born and raised in Burlington and has lived in Ward 3 for 25 years.
The primary issue that Luke identified for the incoming council is spending. With year over year budget increases projected, and an understanding that 0% increases wouldn’t be possible, he noted proposed projects like Skyway Arena and Robert Bateman High School, along with the city’s “not very good record for projects coming in on budget.” He indicated that reserve funds have been spent down, many people are in difficulty over the past two and a half years due to loss of income, and we have a large number of seniors in Burlington.
Luke shared some concerns he’s heard about from Ward 3 residents, including noise due to pickleball on Duncaster, and coyotes (he has seen them many times, including in Mountainside Park and he indicated that there is a den behind Costco). He noted that we take our fresh water and drinking water for granted and is interested in learning more about why the water tastes different in different communities. He finds the tap water in Durham Region, for example, is better-tasting than in Burlington and sees many people still using plastic water bottles. Maybe there’s an opportunity there?
With a background in mechanical engineering and application sales and development, he feels the strengths he will bring to the council chambers include listening and following a logical process to understand problems and consider possible solutions. By asking intelligent questions, he is able to discern what is necessary, useful, and economical.
With Burlington’s 150th anniversary in 2023, he has lots of ideas about how we can celebrate our community. And he is interested in participating in a debate where the candidates can talk about the issues. Luke closed our interview by saying, “we all need a little bit more success.”
You can find Luke on Twitter at @LukeMceachern. We will update this article when his website is live.
The other candidates for Ward 3 councillor are Jennifer Hounslow and Rory Nisan.
