Rocco Priore
Rocco Priore
Candidate for Ward 2 Councillor
Ward 2 candidate Rocco Priore runs Country Casa, a Montessori daycare in Ballantrae, and has volunteered with several local organizations.
In written responses to Bullet Point News, he discussed speeding, delayed projects, protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine, and Council’s handling of the Ballantrae Sports Dome.
- Speeding: Priore says speeding is the top concern he hears in Ballantrae and Musselman’s Lake, and wants traffic calming scheduled where residents have asked for it.
- Delayed Projects: He wants public timelines for promised Ward 2 projects, including the new Station 5-2 in Ballantrae, which he says keeps getting pushed back.
- Responsible Growth: Priore says roads, water, schools, and fire services should come before new homes, and calls Moraine protection non-negotiable.
- Ballantrae Sports Dome: While not taking a direct position on the dome, Priore wants the agreement and all technical studies publicly released.
- Council’s Record: He credits Council for pursuing federal funding for a planned Leisure Centre expansion, but says residents were not told about the dome before it was decided on.
Please tell us about yourself and why you are running for office.
Residents may know Priore through his daycare, food and holiday drives, he suggested, or his involvement with the Stouffville Library Board and the Chamber of Commerce.
Some, he wrote, may remember him as “Princess Alena’s dad.” His daughter has lived with a life-threatening illness, and the family moved out of Stouffville to be closer to her care. He kept his business and home in town, he explained, saying the family returned several years ago.
He shared the story because some people in the race have suggested he does not live in the community. “I’d rather you hear the truth from me than a story from them,” he stated.
Priore cited 30 years of building businesses and jobs in Stouffville, and was named Citizen of the Year at last year’s Strawberry Festival. Tired of watching the same projects get studied, announced, and pushed back, he told us, “I’d rather be at the table asking every two weeks than asking from the outside.”
What is the leading issue in Ward 2, and what would you do about it as Councillor?
Aside from the Ballantrae Sports Dome, Priore identified speeding as the biggest issue he hears about at the door in Ballantrae and Musselman’s Lake, with drivers going “far too fast on roads where kids walk to school and seniors walk to the mailbox.” Close behind is a list of projects promised to Ward 2 that still have not been built.
On speeding, he would push for traffic calming at the locations residents have already identified, aiming to deliver them on a set schedule with regular reporting back on progress.
Regarding delayed projects, he would ask at every meeting where things stand, what the hold-up is, and when they will open, and make those answers public. “Not a press release. A date,” he promised. “I don’t think that’s complicated. Somebody just has to do it.”
What does responsible growth look like to you?
For Priore, responsible growth means building roads, water servicing, schools, and fire stations before new homes. Drawing on his private sector experience, he compared growth without services to a business taking on more customers than it can serve.
The Town does the same thing, he wrote, “when it approves growth and then tells the people already here to wait for the services.”
Protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine is “not negotiable for me,” he added. When applications come forward, he would ask what they mean for roads and schools, who pays for them, and whether neighbours were consulted before a decision was made.
He also wants the Town to finish what it started before taking on new projects, pointing to the new Station 5-2 in Ballantrae as one that keeps getting pushed back.
What did Council get right last term, and what is something it got wrong?
Priore credited Council with making the right call in pursuing federal funding for the planned expansion of Stouffville’s Leisure Centre, noting that families are on a waitlist for swimming lessons and Ward 2 children travel to other towns to swim.
“If the federal or provincial government will pay for part of a pool, you go get it,” he wrote.
Where he disagreed was Council’s handling of the Ballantrae Sports Dome. Whether or not consultations were held, he argued, residents did not know about them and learned of the project after it was decided. For a facility of that size, he added, the Town should knock on doors and hold meetings before the vote.
Can you please detail your position on the Ballantrae Sports Dome?
Priore declined to take a position for or against the dome until he has heard more from the people who live beside it. Views among residents he met at the door are split, he noted.
Acknowledging the Town has held public hearings, Priore maintains that residents have not had enough information, pointing to the community organizing that has occurred in an effort to get answers. He supports “full public release” of the agreement and all technical studies, as well as an independent review of site impacts paid for by the project, not taxpayers.
He has not seen independent studies on stormwater, wastewater, groundwater, or traffic, and would require them before any further approvals. Noise and lighting need “written limits with enforcement, not promises,” he added, and a site beside a public school and family homes “needs a higher bar than anywhere else.”
Priore also cautioned that cancelling the project outright could expose the Town to serious costs and legal risk, which residents deserve to understand before anyone promises to do so. Where legally possible, he would support pausing further commitments until outstanding questions are answered publicly, but acknowledged that a pause would need broad resident support to carry at Council.
If elected, Priore pledged to request the full project file in his first week, hold an open meeting in Ballantrae within 60 days, and report back to residents after every Council decision affecting the project.
