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The Free Press interviews the East and West Ward candidates, pages 10, 14 & 15 Attersley, Emmclash PM visits riding PRIME MINISTER Brian Mulroney paid a visit to Ontario riding last Saturday, and was joined by Pro- gressive Conservative candidate Rene Soetens. Above, Mulroney and Soetens shake hands with suppor- ters as they enter the Pickering rec complex. Free Press photo Code of conduct is delayed By Mike Johnston The structure of Whitby's proposed code of conduct is very broad and may not accomplish its goal, Whitby council heard at a special meeting Monday night. Socouncil bas decided to ask for written comments from a lawyer and an accountant before approving the code. The meeting was attended by David Greenspan, a lawyer in municipal and planning law, and Gord Sedgewick, an accountant who bas been involved with municipal finances. The meeting was held by council after councillors decided they needed more information about the code drafted by Town clerk Don McKay. McKay used a similar code passed by the City of Toronto but admitted that he was unsure about some of the terms the code contained. 'This is -well intentioned but it requires considerable refinement before I would okay it for a client of mine," said Greenspan. Councillors asked questions about the meaning on many terms the code contains but repeatedly received answers that the code was very vague and broadly worded. One such question came from councillor Joe Bugelli who asked how a financial disclosure state- ment is defined. Sedgewick replied that a statement is usually a statement of a persom's net worth but he noted that such a statement may not include real estate holdings or mortgages. "You won't get the-information you are looking for the way this is structured now," said Sedgewick. He added that, under the code as now set up, a councillor who has holdings in a numbered company could, hide his or her assets while another councillor, with only income shown on a T4 slip, would have all holdings disclosed. Greenspan said the Toronto code is a "Very good first shot that will have to be interpreted by the judges." When he was asked how much need is there for a code, he replied that it is a political need rather than a legal need. He told couicil that there are gaps in the current conflict of interest guidelines but he warned council not to make a code that would interfere with the conflict of interest guidelines. "The code would have to be refined to avoid that problem," said Greenspan. After an hour of questioning, regional councillor Tom Edwards, noting that both Greenspan and Sedgewick had been unable to answer some questions, moved that the two be invited to submit written responses on the code. His motion was seconded by regional councillor Gerry Emm. "This is a mockery of the system, there is no direction," said Bugelli, who said council was issuing a "blank cheque" to the two. "We came here to.find put if there was a legal need. There is no legal need, I object to going in circles," said Bugelli. "rve heard enough to know this is useless. We don't need it. I started reading this and I said SEE PAGE 5 With the incumbent stressing leadership and the challenger appealing for change, Whitby's mayoral candidates clashed, often in heated exchanges, at last week's municipal candidates' meeting held by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. Taxes, development, affordable housing and the candidates' past record, future promises and pro- perty holdings were among the issues raised by mayoral candi- dates Bob Attersley, the current mayor, and regional councillor Gerry Emm before a crowd of more than 300 who jammed the Town municipal hall. Leading up to the mayoral encounter, the crowd also heard candidates for Whitby's four wards and regional councillor seats. During questioning about future development, Attersley, mayor since 1980, said projec- tions show continuing growth in Whitby that can't be stopped while Emm said Whitby should remain a "model community." "Whether we like it or not, we cannot stop the growth. We can't put a fence around Whitby," said Attersley, who mentioned that a "green" area still exists between Whitby and Ajax along the Hwy 2 corridor as well in Whitby s north. Emm, who had earlier stated that "We don't need a mayor with a developer's heart," but rather a mayor who will make the developer provide services, responded that Attersley had put in a plaza, at Thornton Rd. and Hwy 2, in what was another greenbelt area. "We had a greenbelt area bet- ween Oshawa and Whitby but the mayor put a plaza there," remarked Emm, a Whitby coun- cillor for 19 years, who also noted the influx into Whitby of more donut and coffee shops. But after Emm said more affordable housing could be sought during negotiation with developers, Attersley noted that Emm had supported the Perez Corporation townhouse applica- tion that was rejected by council and criticized by some council members since the units were pre-sold to investors. Attersley stated that "850 to $1,000 a month is what he (Emm) thinks is affordable, I don't." Emm responded that the IAJ HOME IMPROIMENFT See Pages A 1 - A 12 rent may not be the lowest scale of affordable housing, but "is affordable to some." On the proposed code of con- duct (which was to be considered by council on Monday this week) Emm noted, in his final state- ment, that he was the only coun- cillor who had already disclosed his entire financial holdings for public scrutiny. Attersley who disclosed his financial holdings in last week's Free Press, pointed out that he had suggested the code of conduct "long before" Emm and concluded by suggest- ing that Emm "check the regis- try" for ownership of a Green St. property. Again on the attack in his final statement, Emm said Mayor Attersley had taken credit for Whitby's accomplishments in recent years although the mayor is only one person and one of the members of council. He conclu- ded by saying that "We need a mayor responsible to the citizens' wishes, not the developer's. We need a new mayor." But also on the attack, Atters- ley held up the minutes of meet- ings as "documentation" and said SEE PAGE 2 Meet the trustees Pages 12, 13, 16, 19 Preserving a rich past Page 20