At once , Strength and A Liability

My addiction to tell all is a mixed blessing and definitely risky.It's a strength because it provides background to public decisions that have to be made. It's a liability because despite what people believe. politicians who persist in being open and frank do not always fare well.

Conventional political wisdom is never to say or do anything that might offend anyone. People are inclined to instinctive reaction. They will overlook almost anything if they have formed a loyalty.They will support and defend a rogue if they like him. They wouldn't vote for a pompous stuck-up arrogant genius, if he was the last person on earth. Mind you, they wouldn't get much chance . The high-and -mighty are inclined to look down their noses at politics and politicians.

The City of North Bay once had a long-time Mayor with a shady reputation. He was regularly a found-in and carted off in the police wagon...for gambling I believe.

I was on the Social Assistance Review Board with a councillor from North Bay. He was a good-looking man and had operated a men's wear shop in the city.

North Bay's main street was a delight. Owners knew their customers .When they went to seasonal trade shows they shopped for their clientelle. Then they phoned customers to let them know, they had something in that would suit them perfectly.

The Councillor was very well turned out. Shirts and ties perfectly complemented jackets and slacks. His hair was always perfectly coiffed and shoes polished to a high shine. Since council meetings had begun to be televised, he was sure he was handling himself better than anyone else on council.

The Mayor's reputation was terrible so the councillor put his name forward for the office.The shady little found-in whose name was known throughout Ontario, because he was a travelling man, beat him hands down. People in North Bay just liked him better. He was real. He was their Mayor.

Shortly after , the defeated one read somewhere how much money could be made from writing television scripts. He decided that couldn't be hard. He embarked on a new career. I never heard his name again after I left the Board. I don't even recall it now.

Jack Reid , Aurora's P.Eng was town engineer for the City of North Bay earlier in his career. He asked the city treasurer once how they could afford to have the Mayor going off to conferences and meetings all over the place. The Treasurer answered "Listen Reid. it saves the town money to have that little B" out of town"

The moral of the story is; practical politics are never as simple as they seem.

It's interesting to read people's ideas about how councillors should conduct themselves. Without experience, it's easy to make assumptions. It's just not realistic.

Sometimes being a politician is like being tossed about in a raging storm and others like a ship becalmed.Many prefer to create and control their own waves.Others just deal with events as they happen.

It's not hard to be loved by everyone. I've watched it done. But I can't do it. I can't resist telling people what I know, and trying to influence their view of things even when they don't want to hear it. And I know they don't want to hear it. It's not the best or easiest way to win friends and influence enemies. It's definitely chancy.But I just can't resist it.

At my grand-daughter's graduation at Queen's University three years ago, Jeffrey Simpson was convocation speaker.. I had seen him participate in an Ethics in Public Service Symposium on television. He has written books on the subject. He is also a columnist in the Globe and Mail.

His message to the graduates was that it's alright to be skeptical of government and question what you hear. It's not alright to be cynical and dismiss everything you hear. Politicians are just like the general population. . No better. No worse. In the democratic process, it's all that can reasonably be expected.

The introduction to Aurora's Code of Ethics states the public have a right to expect a higher standard of conduct from those privileged to have been elected. According to my own observations and Jeffrey Simpson' professional perspective, that's a mistake right there.

We have heard nothing of our Commissioner of Ethics for some weeks now. First, on his advice, we had an educational workshop in closed session. Three people were absent: the Mayor, Councillor MacEachern and Councillor Gallo.Their absence rendered the effort useless and a waste of town resources.

A second workshop was scheduled. Councillor MacEachern declared she would not attend as it was in closed session.

The Mayor claimed intervention. The second workshop was to have proceeded. It didn't.

A further meeting was scheduled to finalise an Agreement of Understanding between Council and the Commissioner. It wasn't clear how that could be accomplished under the circumstances. But no matter, it never happened anyway.

On Tuesday evening, in a closed meeting, on a matter not on the agenda and therefore not made public and agreed to, Councillor MacEachern sought comment from the town solicitor about legal action she intended to pursue because she claimed to have been falsely accused of a Breach of Trust.

The Mayor halted the discussion but only after she had added a few supportive comments of her own .

Ethics it seems, continue to be problematic.