Bio
My name is James Dougall, originally from Victoria BC, moved to alliston when I was 18 and started to work at F&P.. decided to stay in alliston as I’ve grown to love it. Met lots of people here, raised a family and am now Supervising at Honda Plant 2 for a company called Leadec. I decided I wanted to help my community and help New Tecumseth grow.
Platform
Growth pay for growth
Questions
Asked by Anonymous · 13 days ago
Would you support a bylaw to freeze municipal taxes at 2025 rates for 5 yrs to help seniors stay in and maintain there homes. Given today’s economic climate
Answer
Helping seniors stay in their homes matters to me, and keeping taxes low is one of my main promises. I have to be straight with you, though — council sets the tax rate every year, so no bylaw can lock in a freeze for five years, and I won't promise something I can't deliver. What I will do is fight to keep taxes as low as possible for everyone, and support tax relief for low-income seniors, so nobody gets taxed out of their home.
Asked by Anonymous · 17 days ago
Will you support renewed efforts to achieve train-whistle cessation at the 3rd Line crossing near Casserley Crescent?
Will you advocate for the necessary crossing safety upgrades and a formal feasibility study?
What concrete steps would you take during your term to address overnight train noise?
Answer
Yes, I support stopping the train whistles at the 3rd Line crossing. The crossing already has arms, bells, and lights, and other towns on this rail line have done it. Tottenham families shouldn't be kept up all night. If elected, I'll push council to get the process started with Transport Canada and the railway, and get it done.
Asked by Anonymous · a month ago
What do you want to achieve in the next 4 years to help New Tecumseth become more environmentally sustainable and carbon neutral?
Answer
Over the next four years I'd push for practical steps: keep development gentle instead of tall towers, protect our water and power supply by saying no to projects we can't support like data centres, and make traffic lights respond to actual traffic so cars aren't sitting idle at empty intersections. I'd also push for a real transit system connecting our towns — fewer cars on the road means less traffic and cleaner air, and it helps people get to work without needing a car.
Asked by Anonymous · a month ago
What exactly have you done for Tottenham, with all the builds more cars on our town lines and the roads have become hazards especially in winter months.
Answer
I'll be straight with you — I'm not on council, so I haven't voted on anything for Tottenham. But the concern behind the question is real: new builds put more cars on the town lines, and winter makes it worse. If elected, I'd push for development to pay for the road upgrades it creates — growth should pay for growth. That means proper winter maintenance on the town lines, traffic measures where the new traffic actually goes, and no more approving builds without the road work to handle them.
Asked by Melissa Marshall · 2 months ago
The 2026 Approved Budget directs Growth and Innovation to undertake a feasibility study for a post-secondary skilled-trades centre in New Tecumseth. It appears as a single line, with no supporting rationale, cost estimate or business case. (Page 79)
Relevant context:
Ontario colleges have cut approximately 600 programs amid $1.8B in losses since the 2024 international student visa cap.
New Tecumseth is within Georgian College’s catchment area. Georgian closed its Orillia and Muskoka campuses in August 2026, consolidating programming in Barrie, and has reduced its full-time workforce by approximately 22% with projected losses of 45M and 15-25M next fiscal.
Honda’s $15B Alliston EV expansion is permanently suspended, removing a major source of projected local skilled-trades demand.
Meanwhile, The Province’s Regional Technology Development Site for Simcoe County, Barrie and Orillia is already funded and includes Georgian College, Lakehead University and Honda. New Tecumseth is not currently part of that initiative.
For each candidate:
Do you support proceeding with this feasibility study? Why or why not?
Why pursue a separate facility rather than seek a role in the regional initiative already underway? As home to the region’s anchor automotive employer, should New Tecumseth be pursuing a seat in the existing RTDS network instead, and would you support that approach?
Answer
I support the skilled trades and I think our young people would benefit from a local place to train for local jobs, instead of travelling to Barrie or Hamilton. I support the study because that's what it's for — to show the demand, the costs, and whether we should build something here or join the regional program that's already running with Georgian, Lakehead, and Honda. I'd look at both. But I won't commit tax dollars to a town-built facility no matter the cost. The study has to prove the need first.
Asked by Melissa Marshall · 2 months ago
Funding for our new high school has been available since 2021, yet we are still years from breaking ground, while Ontario communities funded after us are already under construction. The Province did not create that delay, council vote did.
For the record: A 2023 closed-session decision delayed the project, with individual votes not readily available. In December 2024, the vote to advance the school was
YES: Norcross, Gabrek, Masters, Jacks and Foster;
NO: MacLellan, Cox and Harrison McIntyre.
Biss and Rapin recused.
Question:
If you were on Council or the Board when these decisions were made, how did you vote, and why?
That delay cost this community roughly two years. What did we gain that justified it? What materially changed about the site, plan or agreement between the 2023 decision and the eventual approval?
If elected, what specific steps will you take to move this project forward now?
Answer
I wasn't on council when these decisions were made, but I would have voted to start building the school at the Banting site. The funding has been available since 2021 while construction costs keep climbing, and I don't see what the community gained from the delay — our kids are still waiting. If elected, I'll vote to push this project forward and use every tool council has to get it moving: prioritize the town's approvals, keep the pressure on the school board, and make sure nothing on our side holds it back. We've waited far too long.
Asked by Anonymous · 19 days ago
What are the council doing to prevent young riders of e-bikes and scooters. There have been at least 2 accidents in my subdivision involving pre teens/young teens riding e-bikes hitting small children. Are parents being charged for allowing this underage use? Are licenses required to use motorized bikes and scooters in New Tecumseth?
Answer
E-bikes and scooters go too fast — I don't like them at all. Parents need to be held accountable when the rider is under 16, and riders over 16 should be fined and treated like any other motor vehicle breach. We need more police enforcement on these.
Asked by Anonymous · 2 months ago
Answer
I agree — we don't have the water or electrical grid resources to support data centres in New Tecumseth.
Asked by Anonymous · 2 months ago
Answer
I'm not a fan of flock cameras or automatic license plate readers.
Asked by Anonymous · a month ago
Accessibility issues. Our town is not accessible to get around- our town has several people in the comunity who need accessibility and don't get it. There are only 3 accessible buses in all of Simcoe County. Linx transit buses do not accommodate people who use mobility scooters. Linx transit stops are limited and Tottenham is completely inaccessible. This has been brought up to council members in the past and only one has taken the opportunity to take the time to respond. I would like to hear from all candidates, as it is not just the elderly who face these issues but families, children and parents. How can we connect New Tecumseth and make it so that EVERYONE can access resources and spaces?
Answer
We do need a better way to connect New Tecumseth so everyone can get to and from work. Honda could be part of the answer — they need workers, so they have a stake in making sure people can get there.
Questions go through a quick review before appearing publicly.