Gus's Bio

GUS BARRON

Constituency Nominee for MLA

CALGARY MONTROSE

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Gus Barron has been actively involved in community service most of his life. To that end he has acquired a working knowledge of several languages and been in the forefront of encouraging healthy multicultural relationships in the community during his two decades as a Calgarian.

A STRONG PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE ALBERTA PARTY MEMBER

Gus has been a loyal, long-serving and long-time PC Alberta member with an abiding concern for the public. His service includes seven years on various PC boards, encompassing three years as president and two years as past president of Calgary Mountain View Progressive Conservative Association, and as a board member on the Calgary Fort Constituency board. He has also lent support in his active backing of PC policy conventions and annual conferences.

On the Federal scene, Gus realized early that a divided Conservative Movement guaranteed the Liberals a long line of elections. He then joined the United Alternative Movement to help put the Party back together. Five long years were to elapse before the Federal PCs elected a leader who caught this vision. Gus stuck to his COMMITMENT to reunite the Conservatives under one banner. This is now a reality and Gus is proud to have played a small role in smoothing the way. (more...)

PAST SERVICE

Boards and Committees

- Federation of Calgary Communities - President, Treasurer, and Board Member for 6 years
- President of Crescent Heights Community Association for 10 years
- North Central City Transit Committee
- Clean Calgary Association, Land Use Committee
- Low-Floor Accessible Bus Committee (for physically challenged residents)
- River Valleys Committee (Parks Foundation)

Accomplishments

Gus was instrumental in bringing about the following:

Gus was part of the team that was responsible for bringing the low-floor accessible buses to Calgary to service our physically challenged residents. This service has been expanded to include a much larger portion of the city.

As president of the Federation of Calgary Communities, Gus led the team to oppose the taxation of community centres by the City of Calgary. The City's proposal to tax the communities would have created an undue hardship and would have had volunteers working to pay taxes, rather than deliver services to the community residents. (more...)

CURRENT AND ONGOING PROJECTS

Alberta Gaming Research Council - Gus's knowledge of gaming and gambling led him to be appointed to the Alberta Gaming Research Council to ensure that the goals laid out in the Medicine Hat Gaming Summit were met. The long-term goal is to ensure responsible gaming in Alberta. Service to those with addictions are the Council's priority. New programs are being developed at all times in conjunction with the research to significantly reduce the social cost of addiction.

Gus's personal commitment is to significantly reduce the addictive qualities of gaming machines. His earnest belief is that government cannot rely on just the revenue stream. The cost to the community far outweighs the revenues received from gaming machines. In many studies, gaming has been identified as a voluntary tax on the poor. In the final analysis, according to Gus, the end does not justify the means when addiction is often the inevitable, and costly, outcome. (more...)

Rotary Park Rejuvenation Project - Gus played a vital role in securing the initial funding from the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) for this project. Because of the dedicated commitment of Gus and local 7th Avenue residents, the team was honoured as participants in initiating Rotary Park's redevelopment. Crime was reduced for the 7th Avenue and south residents as a direct result of this project. The park today offers a beautiful vista of downtown Calgary, the Bow River, and the Rocky Mountains. The 7th Avenue residents, along with Gus, are very proud of what a small group can accomplish with a large effort and the community's interests at heart. (more...)

Charter member for the new Lions Club in East Calgary - A brand new branch of this well-known service organization will provide its usual excellent enhanced community services for improving the quality of life for the residents of this area. On March 4, 2004, Gus was elected as 3rd Vice President of this new Club, which has taken the name of Calgary Wildrose Lions Club. The Charter will most likely be vested/granted on May 26th when the president of Lions Club International is here in Calgary.

Market-Value Taxation...is it truly fair? In 1998 the Municipal Government Act was amended at the behest of the larger municipalities in Alberta to allow the cities to use a mass assessment methodology for determining your property value for taxation purposes. The province allowed a ±10% variance. The City of Calgary has not done a proper assessment on any significant scale and is using information gained from Calgary Real Estate Board listings and/or sales. It is Gus's intention as your MLA to eliminate the use of Calgary Real Estate Board data as a tool in calculating your property tax. (more...)

GUS'S MOTTO

"I believe in being proactive, not reactive." Gus asks for your vote to help him continue to help the communities of Alberta in general, and Calgary Montrose in particular...to give Calgary Montrose effective representation in the Provincial Government...to reduce crime and take the reins of control of our community back into our own hands...to build with pride and take our place with the other communities of Calgary and Alberta.

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

Born in 1953 as a third-generation Canadian, Gus completed his schooling in Alberta. He subsequently entered the field of construction and successfully developed and operated a number of his own businesses. Eventually, he learned his way around the minefields of investing. His early hands-on training as a tradesman, plus his business acumen, keen judgment and uncanny flair for success led him to enter the world of investment financing.

All his years of hard work began to pay off, and Gus decided that he wanted to give back to the communities that supported him by running for public office.

A devoted husband and father, Gus has been married to Mei for over 20 years. The couple continue to make their home in Calgary. (back to the top)

A STRONG PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE ALBERTA PARTY MEMBER

At the Federal level, Gus served on the Canadian Alliance Board for Calgary Centre for four years as Finance VP on the executive committee. He took a major role in that very strong committee to raise over $100,000 for the 2000 Election. Gus became president in the fall of 2002 and was the last Canadian Alliance President for that Riding.

At the refounding meeting after the split of Calgary Centre, Gus was elected to the Board of one of the two new ridings, Calgary Centre North, on January 27, 2003, and later elected president... an honour to be the last in the old riding and the first in the new riding. This was a strong vote of confidence in Gus's ability to deal with tough emerging issues.

Gus is firmly committed to electing a Progressive Conservative Government at the Federal level and holding the Provincial PC Government accountable to serving the great People of Alberta... Honestly, Fairly, and, most of all, with Respect. His personal commitment is to offer the Constituents a much improved level of service and communications on their behalf.

If nominated to Calgary Montrose, Gus (and his supporters) fully believe that he can win the seat in the next Provincial election, based on his respect for the people in the community, his past service, and his future plans. (back to the top)

PAST SERVICE

Boards and Committees

Accomplishments

Gus was instrumental in bringing about the following:

Revitalization of two condominium projects in Calgary Montrose -- Penmoore Park/Pensdale Green and Penworth Court. Gus, as President and one of the Board Members, fought to borrow the funds to undertake these projects of beautification and upgraded maintenance of the exterior grounds and buildings in these complexes. Rather than put the owners under severe financial constraints by imposing a special assessment of $4,000 per unit in one complex and $5,000 in the other complex, the Board Members borrowed the money themselves and financed it over a period of time. The alternative would have forced the owners to come up with the money immediately and possibly would have forced some people out of their homes. The projects are now completed. There is a higher percentage of owner residents, and the crime rate has fallen significantly. People now show pride of ownership in their homes and in the area at large. (back to the top)

While Gus was the president of the Federation of Calgary Communities, he led the team to oppose the taxation of community centres by the City of Calgary. The City's proposal to tax the communities would have created an undue hardship and would have had volunteers working to pay taxes, rather than deliver services to community residents. A resultant amendment to the Municipal Government Act equated community associations with agricultural societies, and therefore became exempt under the Municipal Government Act. Many non-profit clubs--including the Polish-Canadian Club, the Croatian Cultural Centre, and other Multicultural clubs and societies--have also been the beneficiary of this redefinition. The equating of these organizations and the community associations as agricultural societies has saved these non-profit groups in excess of a million dollars annually and the countless hours volunteers would have to donate to pay such an unfair tax burden. (back to the top)

CURRENT AND ONGOING PROJECTS

Alberta Gaming Research Council - Gus's knowledge of gaming and gambling led him to be appointed to the Alberta Gaming Research Council to ensure that the goals laid out in the Medicine Hat Gaming Summit were met. The long-term goal is to ensure responsible gaming in Alberta. Service to those with addictions is the Council's priority. New programs are being developed at all times in conjunction with the research to significantly reduce the social cost of addiction.

The emerging issue is internet gambling, controlled offshore by, in many cases, organized crime. Once this money leaves the jurisdiction where the gambler lives, it never returns and is lost forever to the economy. Yet that jurisdiction must pick up the social costs incurred by this form of addiction. To support awareness of this devastating monetary loss, Gus was personally involved in tracking, as a test case, the revenues being lost in Southern Florida. The results showed that the sum of approximately $10.5 billion was lost to that area through internet gambling. None of that money returned to support the local economy nor defray the costs of the treatment for the addicted gamblers. (back to the top)

The Community Facility Enhancement Program grant was transferred to the Parks Foundation for administration and contract tendering. This sum of $125,000 has been leveraged (through fund-raising and canny negotiations with contractors, the City, the Rotary Clubs of Calgary, and ENMAX) into a $370,000 project. A balance currently remains of approximately $50,000 for future improvements and/or repairs on the park.

Gus is currently working with the Rotary Park Committee to formalize The Friends of Rotary Park Society to continue in park upgrades and to ensure sufficient financial resources are available for the foreseeable future. (back to the top)

New homes being built in older areas are much higher in value than the existing housing, and, as such artificially inflate the value of properties surrounding them. Thus, the older residents pay a higher tax than they should, i.e. they are paying at the rate of a new home tax, despite the fact that their home is not upgraded.

A 20% spread on the same block face occurs all too often. Gus believes that the proper definition of Market Value must be used. Market Value is determined legally as the price agreed to by a willing vendor and a willing purchaser without duress. This would force all municipalities to do proper property evaluations to determine their actual value. This step would ensure fair property taxation. Gus proposes (and will work on your behalf to bring about) a reduction from the current ±10% variance to a ±5% variance, thereby ensuring the more accurate assessment by the City Property Tax Division. This fairer assessment will help not only property owners in Calgary Montrose, but renters as well, since tax increases are one of the direct causes of rental increases. (back to the top)

GUS'S MOTTO

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