Sometimes they play favourites and don’t answer my questions. But I’m continuing the tradition I started in 2014. For now, I’m only asking about Open Air and will set aside a page just for their Open Air answers – IF they answer.
| the burg watch: As you know, Open Air remains a contentious issue, especially because of Councillor Crain’s motion to not revisit it until the end of this term. Will you remove barriers that deny people with disabilities equal access to the community when streets are closed during Open Air weekends? Lena Lazanja: In the planning/application stages of public events in Amherstburg, accessibility concerns are addressed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee to ensure that all events (including Open Air) are made accessible for residents/public. To be clear, to provide “accessibility” (for Open Air) the event organizers should focus on the proactive design and/or modification of products, devices, services, or environments to ensure they can be used equitably by everyone, including people with disabilities. The purpose of providing an equitable environment is to remove physical, technological, and systemic barriers, allowing all individuals independent and equal access. Sometimes, such barriers are not immediately recognized by event planners. For example, socio-ecomomic barriers are often overlooked, due to it being “invisible”. Many times, barriers are only fully recognized once an event is underway, through lived experience. For this reason, it is critical that organizers and committees frequently re-evaluate event plans. refer to the public’s feedback, to fully understand accessibility issues and address them properly, as they come to light. As a Councillor, I would assume that the Accessibility Advisory Committee was adept at ensuring all events including Open Air are accessible in Amherstburg, because that is their job. However, should new concerns arise, based on evidence and public input, it would be negligent of me if I did not look into the matter further. Creating and maintaining accessible environments is a team effort, so that everyone is able to enjoy what Amherstburg has to offer. Linda, I hope this answers your question. Also, I would be willing to continue to participate in your blog postings by answering any questions you might have throughout the campaign months ahead. However, I would appreciate you removing my/other candidates names from a “did not respond” section. Campaign time is a very busy time, and sometimes candidates are so inundated with information and requests, that some things slip through the cracks. We are not required to answer blog requests for public posting. Since it is voluntary, I know that we would appreciate not being singled out…as in my case, it makes me appear as though I refuse to reply, rather than a simple oversight. I appreciate your support on this. Also, for future reference, my last name is Lazanja (you have misspelled my name on your blog) the burg watch: I did not include you, as you state, in a “did not respond” section. I will not remove your name or other candidates’ names because I reported factually, the “candidates that haven’t answered to date.” You may not be familiar with my blog but in a 2014 post I acknowledged, “While the candidates have never been obliged to answer, by doing so allows for scrutiny beyond the campaign marketing materials. Some candidates’ answers are thorough, well thought out and responsive; others have ignored requests for specificity and others are misinformed.” I will always continue the tradition of naming candidates that aren’t responsive. Readers have a right to know if their concerns will ‘slip through the cracks,’ regardless of the excuse. I’m sure you can appreciate people not coming to your facebook page and telling you what content you should or should not be sharing with your readers. I have corrected the misspelling of your name, but I left your misspelling in place – another tradition to record verbatim responses.Answers and questions back from other candidates will be posted in future posts.Candidates that haven’t answered to date: Frank Cerasa |
the burg watch 