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Newmarket RecordCouncil promise meter

Newmarket Record · Newmarket, Ontario

What council promised. What happened.

Every tracked commitment from Mayor John Taylor, the deputy mayor, and the seven ward councillors, each with a status and its sources. Filter by person, category, or status, or pick a slice of the meter.

Reviewed October 18, 2026. Updated each quarter from agendas, staff reports, and local coverage. How statuses and grades are decided.

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Showing 37 of 37 promises

  1. Mayor · John TaylorParks & recreation

    1. Full build-out of Mulock Farm Park as a major community destination

    Opened September 18, 2026. Construction budget $81.7 million, separate from the tax-funded land purchase.

    DeliveredDirect control
  2. Mayor · John TaylorTransit & infrastructure

    2. Secure the Mulock GO station

    Still unbuilt. Metrolinx pulled it from procurement in 2018. No opening date as of October 2026.

    In progress / delayedExternal factors
  3. Mayor · John TaylorParks & recreation

    3. Expand the trail network and build a skate park and outdoor arena for youth

    Outdoor skatepark opened in 2022. Mulock Park added a skating trail and rink in 2026.

    DeliveredDirect control
  4. Mayor · John TaylorTaxes & finance

    4. Keep property taxes below the GTA average

    The per-capita levy is rated low. The size of the gap, 10% or 18%, is not settled.

    Delivered (corroborated)Direct control
  5. Mayor · John TaylorEconomy & community

    5. Build a strong local economy: attract major employers and support small business

    Business counts rose in figures the mayor presented. No Celestica-scale employer win is on the recent record.

    PartialDirect control
  6. Mayor · John TaylorEconomy & community

    6. Build out the Town’s broadband company (ENVI)

    ENVI was sold to telMAX in 2022. The sale price was not disclosed.

    Partial / changed courseDirect control
  7. Mayor · John TaylorTransit & infrastructure

    7. Secure the Upper York Sewage Solution and force-main twinning

    The province cancelled Upper York in 2022. The replacement expansion runs into the 2030s and 2040s.

    Not delivered (as framed)External factors
  8. Mayor · John TaylorAccountability & governance

    8. Start a mayor’s newsletter, hold town halls, and reduce in-camera meetings

    One town hall in the 2022–26 term. No standalone newsletter archive was found.

    PartialDirect control
  9. Mayor · John TaylorHousing

    9. Advance affordable and rental housing, and address homelessness

    Local projects are moving. Regional homelessness counts and the subsidized waitlist grew.

    Partial / ongoingExternal factors
  10. Mayor · John TaylorHousing

    10. Deliver the Town’s housing target of 6,400 new homes by 2031

    Council rejected the provincial target of 12,000. Completions against 6,400 are not yet tracked here.

    TrackingDirect control
  11. Mayor · John TaylorTaxes & finance

    11. Keep the municipality financially sustainable and taxes competitive

    Debt relative to assessment fell. The 2026 Town levy rose 2.99%.

    PartialDirect control
  12. Mayor · John TaylorParks & recreation

    12. Complete community spaces: parks, trails, and recreation facilities

    Mulock Park, a tennis centre, the multi-use path, and downtown parking are done. Pickleball is underway.

    Partial / strong progressDirect control
  13. Mayor · John TaylorAccountability & governance

    13. Do not accept campaign donations from developers

    He said no in the 2026 questionnaire. The filing that can confirm it is due March 30, 2027.

    Stated position · verifyDirect control
  14. Mayor · John TaylorParks & recreation

    14. Build and maintain outstanding community spaces and events

    His top stated priority for the new term. Operating costs and the pickleball centre are the things to watch.

    New termDirect control
  15. Mayor · John TaylorEconomy & community

    15. A complete community: jobs, housing, culture, healthcare, and greenspace

    A broad priority. He named housing and homelessness as the regional issue, and municipal finances as the local one.

    New termExternal factors
  16. Mayor · John TaylorEconomy & community

    16. Turn the Old Operations Centre on Timothy Street into an economic and gathering hub

    His 2026 dream project. Council started a reuse process in 2023 and funded a $250,000 study for 2026.

    Early stageDirect control
  17. Mayor · John TaylorHousing

    17. Offer more incentives for affordable rental units

    He answered yes in 2018 and 2026. The Housing Action Plan names incentives as a tool. Specific by-laws are still ahead.

    Policy positionDirect control
  18. Mayor · John TaylorAccountability & governance

    18. Hold a town hall on homelessness in 2027

    He said he wants one. The 2022–26 term had a single town hall.

    New termDirect control
  19. Mayor · John TaylorTransit & infrastructure

    19. Increase enforcement on illegal e-scooters and e-devices

    He answered yes, and named e-devices as unfinished work when he was acclaimed. Provincial rules also apply.

    New termDirect control
  20. Mayor · John TaylorAccountability & governance

    20. Other yes-or-no positions from the 2026 questionnaire

    Salaries, user fees, a satellite library, term limits, cannabis stores, and social-media blocking. Each can be checked against a future vote.

    Positions to watchDirect control
  21. Deputy mayor · Tom VeghTaxes & finance

    21. Keep taxes manageable while growth is serviced

    His 2026 questionnaire names affordability and responsible growth, and seniors’ services with taxes at or below inflation. The town-wide tax comparison lives on the mayor’s record. A deputy-mayor-only tax result is not published.

    Unverified
  22. Deputy mayor · Tom VeghParks & recreation

    22. Bring downtown-style programming into neighbourhood parks

    His dream project is to put the energy of Main Street, Mulock Park, Fairy Lake, and Riverwalk into local parks, including more summer movie nights outside the core. Nothing in that list has a completion date.

    New term
  23. Deputy mayor · Tom VeghAccountability & governance

    23. Answer residents within 24 hours and take every meeting

    He says he answered every email within 24 hours, never refused a meeting, missed two council meetings, and spent about 50 to 75 percent of his office budget. Those figures are not in a town audit on this page.

    Unverified
  24. Ward 1 · Grace SimonParks & recreation

    24. A dog park, basketball courts, and Copper Hills traffic calming

    In the 2022 campaign she said residents wanted those three things and she would work on them. A later town story credits her, in the mayor’s words, with improved park spaces and speed mitigation. Which parks and which streets is not specified.

    Unverified
  25. Ward 1 · Grace SimonEconomy & community

    25. Replace the body-rub parlour category

    Council repealed the body-rub classification and adopted personal-wellness rules after a review she pushed. She told advocates who feared the trade would be driven underground that policing that risk was not the municipality’s job.

    Delivered
  26. Ward 2 · Victor WoodhouseAccountability & governance

    26. A published Ward 2 record

    No 2022 or 2026 questionnaire response from him is on file here, and the retirement stories do not list a ward promise with a result.

    Unverified
  27. Ward 3 · Jane TwinneyParks & recreation

    27. Build Frank Hollingsworth Park on the old arena site

    She calls the park her project and wants it in the next term. A June 11, 2026 open house showed a playground, spray pad, and seasonal ice. Staff said construction could start in 2027 and finish in 2028. A 2022 visioning session did not turn into construction.

    In progress
  28. Ward 3 · Jane TwinneyHousing

    28. Keep infill out of the wrong places

    She says she changed parking rules on a court and the infill policy after the old rules failed residents. The bylaw number and the before-and-after are not in the interview.

    Unverified
  29. Ward 4 · Trevor MorrisonParks & recreation

    29. Sports courts at Proctor Park

    The town built a basketball court and two pickleball courts after a survey of more than 460 people. Staff told an October 2024 town hall the pad should be ready by summer 2025. The town’s park page now lists both courts. He was the ward councillor who spoke for the project. Residents raised noise, stray balls, and parking. Staff said they would watch parking rather than expand it up front, and that two trees would be cut and replaced.

    Delivered
  30. Ward 4 · Trevor MorrisonParks & recreation

    30. A community garden at Rogers Park

    He calls it upcoming, and his campaign page still lists it as work he will do. No opening date is published.

    In progress
  31. Ward 5 · Bob KwapisEconomy & community

    31. An urban village south of Davis Drive

    He says the area studies and traffic study are the motions he drove, and that the next term is when he wants them to move. He compares the pace to Main Street, which he says took years. There is no construction start.

    In progress
  32. Ward 5 · Bob KwapisAccountability & governance

    32. Reply within 24 business hours

    He says that is his rule, including a holding reply on complicated files, and that downtown homelessness and encampments are handled behind the scenes. No log or count is published.

    Unverified
  33. Ward 6 · Kelly BroomeParks & recreation

    33. Program Mulock Park beyond the opening

    The park opened September 18, 2026. She says the follow-up she wants is culture, workshops, and programming for all ages, and she sits on the accessibility advisory committee. Programming after opening is not a delivered schedule.

    In progress
  34. Ward 6 · Kelly BroomeTransit & infrastructure

    34. Traffic safety where the warrant does not catch sightlines

    Staff first said Rushbrook Drive and Seneca Court failed the volume and collision test. She asked for a sightline review. A later report found permanent geometric limits and legally parked vehicles. Council approved the all-way stop on May 4, 2026.

    Delivered
  35. Ward 7 · Christina BisanzTransit & infrastructure

    35. Traffic safety and parking in Ward 7

    She lists both as the ward’s top issues. The questionnaire does not name a street, a study, or a project with a date.

    New term
  36. Ward 7 · Christina BisanzHousing

    36. Housing built so people can age in Newmarket

    Her dream project is universal-design housing and purpose-built communities for older adults. She also answered yes to a second library branch, developer rental incentives, and e-scooter enforcement, and no to developer campaign donations and cannabis stores.

    New term
  37. Ward 7 · Christina BisanzAccountability & governance

    37. A regular ward newsletter

    Accountability, in her words, is answering people and keeping them informed through regular newsletters. An archive of those newsletters is not linked from the questionnaire.

    Unverified

Council

All wards

Tracker grade, then 2025 pay. Portraits: Town of Newmarket.

This quarterQ4 2026

October–December

  1. Oct 9–12

    Metrolinx rail work at Mulock Drive is not a station

    The notice describes state-of-good-repair rail replacement. No construction start or opening date for a Mulock GO station has been announced.

  2. Oct 10

    2026 candidate questionnaire published

    Priorities: community spaces and events, a “complete community,” housing and homelessness at the Region, and financial sustainability locally. Dream project: the Old Operations Centre.

  3. Oct 26

    Election day, with no mayoral vote

    Taylor was acclaimed after the August 21 nomination deadline. Six other council seats are contested.

Earlier quarters

Q3 2026July–September

  1. Jul 2

    Region adopts a 2026–2035 housing and homelessness plan

    Taylor chairs the Housing and Homelessness Committee. The plan cites more than 22,000 households on the subsidized waitlist (up 49% since 2022), an average 10-year wait, and about 2,400 people homeless in 2025.

  2. Aug 22

    Acclaimed for a third term

    Second consecutive acclamation. Taylor said there is more work to do, particularly on homelessness and e-devices.

  3. Sep 3

    Mulock Park’s full cost is over $110 million, including land

    The $81.7 million construction budget plus the $24 million land purchase, financed by a 30-year debenture of about $44 million with interest. Final construction figures are due near year-end.

  4. Sep 16

    Mayor publishes self-grades for 2022–26

    A to A+ across six categories. He reports one town hall, in 2024, and plans a homelessness town hall in 2027.

  5. Sep 18

    Mulock Park officially opens

    This delivers the project he called his dream in 2018.

Q2 2026April–June

  1. Jun 1

    Council approves the Housing Action Plan

    Three goals, nine strategies, and 18 actions, carried out through the Official Plan review, zoning, incentives, and partnerships.

  2. Jun 11

    Region seeks $1.74 billion for the sewage expansion

    Once complete, the North York-Durham expansion would service about 50,000 new homes across Aurora, East Gwillimbury, and Newmarket.

Q1 2026January–March

  1. January

    2025 BMA Municipal Study released

    Newmarket’s net levy is $1,605 per capita, rated low. The total municipal burden, including water and stormwater, is $7,090, rated high.

  2. Mar 16

    $630,772 for Inn From the Cold

    Joint federal-provincial funding supports 18 transitional beds inside a 44-bed Newmarket project.

Q4 2025October–December

  1. Dec 6

    Newmarket tops a housing-starts report

    327 condo and 212 rental apartment starts in the first three quarters of 2025. A report a few months earlier had graded Newmarket an F.

  2. Dec 8

    2026 budget approved: 2.99% Town levy increase

    About $77 more a year for the average home on the Town share. With the Region and education, the total increase is $194.78.

  3. Dec 20

    Region grants $30.2 million toward 288 affordable units

    Recipients include a Newmarket project by the Trinity Coptic Foundation at 17175 Yonge Street. Taylor, as Housing York chair, said the challenge is great and homelessness is still rising.

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