local businessman steps into mayoral race ring
By Alison Williams - Freelance Journalist
WHITBY- It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Deep in the heart of town politics, it appears Whitby has its own Rocky-versus-Apollo battle brewing as local businessman, philanthropist and owner of Class Act Dinner Theatre, Rocky Varcoe is causing quite a stir in the 2010 Mayoral race.
Varcoe is running against incumbent Mayor Pat Perkins, as well as former Mayor Marcelle Brunelle and is putting a fresh spin on things which he hopes people will take notice of.
His goal is to make Whitby an all-encompassing town where people can live, work and play. A major component of this goal revolves around bringing businesses back to Whitby.
“What does bringing business back to Whitby do? It allows people to live, work and play in Whitby.” says Varcoe. “It allows them to stay in Whitby and at five o’ clock do you know where they’re going to be? They’ll be watching their kid play soccer, baseball or swimming instead of sitting on the 401. And that’s important to me.”
Varcoe’s business background fuels everything that he does— and he has accomplished much for Whitby. In addition to owning Class Act Dinner Theatre, he has been an active member of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, spending 7 of those years on its Board of Directors and was President in 2008. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise, having recently served as their President. Varcoe has been on the board for the Lakeridge Health Whitby Foundation and eventually their Director of Development. He played a key role on the organizing committee for the Ontario Special Olympics Spring Games in 2008. For 7 years was a key member and Chair of the Durham Tourism Leadership Team, and has served as Chair of the Durham College Whitby Expansion Fund.
These experiences have shaped a vision that is unique to Whitby politics. He sees the town “the way it needs to be seen” where citizens are shareholders and he views the town as a corporation. Varcoe notes “You’ve got to say on Election Day...every four years, I have an opportunity to change [the] Board of Directors. It’s called an election.”
So why has a man, who appears to have accomplished so much in his life, set his sights on Mayoral leadership? “Out of frustrations, that’s for sure!”
“I will never be a member of Provincial or Federal Parliament, ever!” he emphatically exclaims. “The reason why is because I have friends at that level. They go in with terrific ideas and if given the opportunity could make real changes. But they get to Queens Park or to Ottawa and they suddenly realize just how difficult it is. They’re a small fish in a big pond. They realize the system is broken in so many ways and it’s impossible for one member to change.”
Varcoe’s goal is to follow in the footsteps of one of his Mentor’s, former Whitby Mayor and local hero, Bob Attersley. In what Varcoe views as the Town’s glory years, Attersley brought extensive business growth into the area, thus creating a thriving environment.
“Bob’s time in council was so impactful because he would say to the people ‘when you don’t want me anymore, when you don’t think I’m an effective mayor, when you don’t think I can lead you anymore, I will then go back to my successful business and run it.’ It had great resonance.”
Varcoe fully understands that unlike his main competitors, he isn’t an incumbent. However, he chooses to see this as an advantage. “They say that I have no municipal political experience, that I am not a professional politician. Well to that I say exactly and that is why people should vote for me.” Varcoe adds “There’s no maintaining a status quo for me. I’m not trying to protect the way it’s always been done, since I frankly don’t believe that the old way works anymore!”
As part of his election platform, Varcoe has identified three clear priorities for Whitby. He plans on returning the Town’s sense of community, which is seen by many as being on the decline. He wants Town Hall to become a more positive, approachable and friendly entity. Finally Varcoe plans to use his business sense in balancing the Town’s budget, which hasn’t been accomplished in several years. He vows that every dollar will be spent as though it is his own, because as a Whitby resident and taxpayer as well, it ultimately is.
“When I refer to line by line, I mean that I’m going to go thru that budget line by line. I know that some things have always been done ‘certain ways’ and that’s the way it’s always been but, does it have to be that way? By going through the budget line by line I know that when I sign off on it and when council agrees on this budget, it will be responsible, viable and ultimately - balanced.”
Varcoe is aware that Whitby is a community of people coming and going. He understands that people will leave to explore the other cities, go away to school, or travel for work. He sees this as being natural, but has a message for the citizens of Whitby, past, present and future: “What I want is for them to say is that they need to get back. While they may have been away, they realize that they aren’t home. I want them to say Whitby is my home and I want to get back.”
