Five questions with Paul Bell, Ward 1 candidate for Belleville council in the 2026 municipal election

Editor’s note: To help voters to be better informed, Quinteist will be asking the same five questions of all council candidates in Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County in advance of the municipal election, which will be held on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Questions were sent to all candidates on Sept. 10, 2026. We will publish their responses as we receive them. Below are the responses from Belleville Ward 1 candidate Paul Bell. You can view a roundup of all our Belleville municipal coverage and links to all completed profiles here.

1. Tell us a little bit about your professional background, including any prior municipal or other political participation, as well as about you, personally. What made you want to run for council?

It isn’t just geography. It’s in the city’s DNA, our culture. We respect legacy. We embrace growth. We’re good to people.

Belleville is a wonderful city.

Lately, I see growth, dictated by arbitrary targets imposed from Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

Decisions made at City Hall compound the humanitarian crisis on our streets.

In most cases, council votes unanimously.

That, in a nutshell, is why I want a seat on council.

Into my 30s, I worked as a singer and guitarist in bands. From early on, I ran the business as well as performing. We toured Ontario and Eastern Canada mostly.

When I wasn’t on the road, I worked as a painter. Over time, I started a small painting business. In painting, as in music, I brought value and I met payrolls.

I attended university. At U of T, I co-majored in Canadian Studies and Aboriginal Studies (First Nations). I studied the same history from two, often contradictory perspectives.

I will never vote on a motion until I know ALL the facts.

More recently, I worked as the painting supervisor for a company that builds big box stores all over Canada. Back on the road, conducting talent.

My engagement in municipal politics evolved from charity and advocacy work I’d been involved with over the years. Often, this involves working with local governments. A real-time education on the Municipal Act. How local councils can work for people. I find utility in process, not protest.

2. How would you describe your personal political ideology and/or affiliation?

Roads and sewers aren’t Liberal or Conservative, NDP or Green.

Municipally, party paradigms simply don’t apply. We need better support from Ottawa and from Queen’s Park. Tying this to party ideology is as absurd as debating the better album between Tapestry and Exile on Main Street.

A beautiful new subdivision, an ancient canopy, the new doctor who chooses not just to raise a temporary shingle, but to raise their family in Belleville; no party or ideology drives those successes.

I have opinions on just about everything.

Music, hockey, authors, definitely politics. I hold no party affiliation. I don’t begrudge any candidate who does.

We have lost councillors to party politics before their term was done. I see that as a function of those councillors having been recruited, not the other way around.

We have six Ward 1 councillors. That’s an intentional legal guardrail against partisan influence.

3. What are the three most common issues voters bring up to you as you campaign?

“We need new faces on council.”

When a resident opens their door to a candidate and is instantly reminded of their neglected road and sidewalk…

“Homelessness.”

People understand that homelessness is a national crisis.

They understand the terror of homelessness and the tragedy of severe addiction that are often comorbid.

Nobody expects Belleville council to remedy the national crisis. We wonder why council seems to falsely believe otherwise.

“Greenspace is not a luxury, it is infrastructure.”

Everyone within walking distance of 41 Octavia Street is aware that council violated their binding commitment to the community, Belleville’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

Council declared the land surplus and bypassed the Planning Committee to approve a high-density development.

No Planning Committee would have approved a proposal that violated binding tenets and was presented without a single relevant impact assessment.

The Integrity Commissioner ruled that council broke provincial open-meeting laws when they designated the waterfront parkland at 31 South John Street surplus, and tried to give it away for $0 to a private developer.

Residents want greenspace infrastructure.

They don’t understand why council is so desperate to get rid of it that they’ll meet behind closed doors, even break laws to make it happen.

The overarching themes speak to bad asset management and a profound disrespect for taxpayers.

4. What three issues are most pressing/important to address locally in your opinion?

The new council will be sworn in mid-November. As winter descends, the homelessness crisis becomes deadlier.

The new council must ensure emergency zoning approvals or temporary use permits for safe, winter warming extensions are fast-tracked in days, not months.

In coordination with Hastings County, the new council must ensure that every dollar of emergency funding goes directly to frontline, operational beds instead of steering committees and reports.

Civic pride begins with taking care of what we already own. Nobody demonstrates this better than our Parks Department.

The floral Canadian flag is among the most magnificent floral displays in the country.

The living wall in Market Square, the Corby Rose Garden.

Their dedication and skills elevate the entire community.

Council must apply the same discipline as Parks does to administering everything from bus schedules to asset management.

I don’t think many would disagree that we need to prioritize better roads, sewers… the beautiful basics.

Several of our smaller parks and playgrounds require safety fencing, clear stroller access and better transit connections. I hear this a lot. None of these upgrades require massive spending.

I prioritize improving our neighbourhood parks and playgrounds.

5. What do you feel sets you apart from other candidates?

I am a songwriter. A disciplined creative thinker. I don’t just listen to different, even abstract perspectives, I seek them out.

I’ve developed trade and academic skills. I played and coached hockey. The bands, the businesses… Teamwork. Identifying your most effective role and fulfilling it.

Like any successful band or business, a successful City council must function as a team.

The next Belleville council will have no grace period. There are extremely important decisions to be made. Course-corrections that must be undertaken.

We will require creative solutions. Creative thought.