Caicco wants free bus rides for seniors. And bocce! (12 photos)

If James Caicco is elected mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, he's going to do his darn level best to make sure seniors get to ride public transit for free.

All the time.

It's just one part of a Caicco plan to help seniors living on a fixed income, especially those living in their own homes, the mayoral candidate said at his campaign launch last night.

Free transit would provide seniors more opportunities to independently get out to do what they need to do, he said.

It may even encourage them to get out and do more.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, as far as his comprehensive campaign platform, unveiled last night.

Caicco briefly touched on many of the planks in that platform in a brief but impassioned speech at the official kickoff.

He says many things in his life had come together to a point that it was now time for him to enter the race.

One of the most important factors to Caicco was his experience.

"I have too much respect for the office to enter the race before I'm ready," he told SooToday.com.

For Caicco, it's been an intense 10 years of experience with some very steep learning curves.

The two projects he looks back on as his most outstanding achievements are the Essar Centre and the Hub Trail.

As far back as 2002, when Caicco chaired the City's arena review committee, the road to the Essar Centre was been a rough one that almost ended before reaching its destination.

In 2004, with Caicco still at the head of that committee, the province closed the door on funding for the arena.

Together with Mayor John Rowswell, Caicco and the committee worked tirelessly to come up with alternatives and just kept on knocking on doors until they finally got it done.

The Hub Trail, which is now progressing ahead of schedule and well within its budget, has a similar story.

Caicco says the experiences he had working on those and other projects proved that they can be done, that he can lead the teams to do them and that those experiences can transfer into other projects.

Free bus rides for seniors is part of Caicco's plan to promote Saultites' lifestyle and improve their quality of life and it's already working in other communities, he said.

This part of the plan also includes completion of the West End Community Centre, improvements to the historic canal site and to Clergue Park, among other initiatives.

That's where Caicco gets a bit of a faraway look in his eye as he describes a waterfront park downtown with a bocce court, some water fixtures and other things Saultites will want to come and spend some leisure time on.

Quality of life also includes health care and education says Caicco.

It means an enhanced physician recruitment program, expansions to the Northern Ontario Medical School's role in Sault Ste. Marie and fostering continued growth at the Sault's postsecondary institutions.

In addition, it means engaging the youth of the community to see what they want in their City, he said.

Caicco also wants to establish a community safety and crime prevention committee to examine the root causes of crime and try to find solutions.

"We still need the police," he said. "But while they are out there enforcing the law, we need to be trying to find ways to solve the underlying problems."

That could involve dealing with any crimes that the community feels are a problem, he said, anything from graffiti to prostitution or burglaries.

Caicco envisions the police, local social agencies, community leaders and City Council members being involved with the committee and he said Sault Ste. Marie Police Chief Bob Davies fully endorses and welcomes the plan.

But the foundation of a healthy community is a healthy economy, he said.

The economy and jobs will be Caicco's first priority and he thinks the Sault is doing pretty well in that department.

But he thinks we can do better and says he knows how.

First on Caicco's to-do list is the task of developing and enhancing the City's transportation links so businesses of every size can expand and more new businesses will be attracted to the Sault.

Under that heading, the first project Caicco plans to continue to sail into is the development of a deep-water port.

He also wants to attract more entrepreneurs in the green energy business.

"Businesses from this sector like to cluster together," he said. "We've already got great representation there. Now it's time to take it further and attract more of them."

But, he says, without adequate rail, road, water and, yes, air transportation, businesses in Sault Ste. Marie will be unable to be compete globally.

Other heading on Caicco' platform:

- Government partnerships - City services - Taxes

Caicco says he already has a good working relationship with City staff and many government offices.

They don't always agree with him, but he manages to find consensus sooner or later and that's what gets things done.

"The mayor has to have good working relationships with the rest of council, other levels of government and staff, or he is an island," says Caicco.

One thing he intends to follow through on is his call for a department-by-department review of City operations to ensure value for money.

He called for this as a Ward 1 Councillor and doesn't intend to let it drop if he's elected mayor.

Caicco believes there are opportunities to increase efficiencies without sacrificing services and every little bit helps to hold steady or maybe even drop the tax levy.

"Even if it turns out we can't save very much, I believe it's important that we at least look at it," he says.

And look at it on a regular basis.

For more information on James Caicco's election platform, visit his website.

There are also links to his Facebook and Twitter pages on the site.