We, the undersigned residents of Markham, call for the immediate resignation of Mayor Frank Scarpitti due to his failure to represent and serve our community’s interests. Over his 20-year tenure, Scarpitti has prioritized developers over residents, leading to significant issues in our city.

Key Complaints:

1. Favoritism Towards Developers Over Residents:
   - Scarpitti has consistently approved high-rise developments without adequate infrastructure, causing traffic congestion all over city of Markham.
   - Residents were ignored when voicing concerns about overdevelopment.
   - Notably, Scarpitti has advocated for developers in council meetings, particularly for the CF Markville Official Plan Amendment (OPA), which proposed 4,500 residential units, raising concerns about infrastructure strain.
2. Abuse of Power:
    Scarpitti completely overlooked the purpose of the council committee meeting was to hear from the people and make decisions based on collective opinions, and instead asserted his dictatorship over the council, pressuring the council into making unanimous decisions despite the strong opposition from the deputation (20 against 1) and over 3000 residents signed petition against it.
3. Disrespect and Direct Insult towards Public Interest: 
   As crucial matters were brought up by the deputation, such as increasingly wide use of portables at school and the damage it brings to children of the city, Scarpitti’s reaction included - this is the norm, has been going on in the past and will be going on in the future, and if people have problems with it people should go work this out with the provincial government. Markham has no place for a mayor that, when asked to solve a problem, ask the people to either just live with it or go solve it ourselves.
4. Coalition with developers: 
   Despite strong voices from the people to reduce the density of the development, the mayor came out of the negotiations with the developer with an increase of the number of units from 4340 proposed by the developer to 4500.
5. Lack of competency and Malpractice: 
   As the people of Markham raised concerns over development projects, in this specific case, the Markville Mall redevelopment, with detailed feasibility studies covering topics including transportation, schools, health care, environmental sustainability, and safety, the city of Markham and the project developer, who are in fact responsible for such studies, provided no evidence of such studies being completed. Yet, the project was approved
6. Decline in Public Services in Markham:
   - Overcrowded Schools with Portables are being heavily used, affecting the quality of education and outdoor space for students.
   - Traffic Congestion and Road Overload causing residents face longer commute times and unsafe intersections.
   - Lack of Healthcare and Emergency Services causing residents difficulty finding family physicians and long ER wait times.
   - Overcrowded Parks and Recreation Facilities.
   - Declining Overall Livability; city is being transformed into a crowded, less family-friendly environment, losing the balanced suburban character that once defined Markham.
7. Lack of Transparency and Accountability:
   Markham lacks a Lobbyist Registry, leaving residents unaware of who influences the mayor and council. Transparency regarding donations and lobbyist activities is needed.
8. Inadequate Leadership:
   - After 20 years, many feel Markham has stagnated, with some comparing it to Scarborough in the 1970s.
   - As Markham’s longest-serving mayor, Scarpitti’s extended tenure has led to a lack of fresh perspectives and innovative solutions.

Our Demands:

• Immediate resignation of Mayor Frank Scarpitti.
• Implementation of a Lobbyist Registry for transparency in decision-making.
• Defer approval new high-rise development plans until they align with city’s infrastructure and services capacity.
• A review of environmental policies to protect Markham’s natural assets.

We believe new leadership is essential to ensure Markham grows in a way that benefits all residents, not just developers. We call on all concerned residents to sign this petition and demand above changes for our city, for benefit of all residents and healthy community.