At the last council meeting when the "inner circle of power" made individual declarations of virtue and righteousness, Councillor MacEachern referred to the" 57 committee meetings she attends"
She spoke of a volunteer she holds in high regard being " accused of mis-appropriating funds"
If public utterances were being "investigated" that night by a lawyer retained at public expense, these and other comments could have been specifically identified as "factually incorrect"
At the same meeting, the Mayor submitted a "memorandum" informing council she had appointed Councilllors MacEachern, Gallo and Gaertner as representatives on the 2C
planning study for an Official Plan Amendment for the lands east of The Magna Rec Centre.
The memorandum noted they were being appointed because they "volunteered"
The implication being they were the only ones to "volunteer"
That too was a specific example of a factually incorrect statement .
In my hearing others volunteered ...myself among them.
But there's more to the story:
Protocol for appointments is to ask Councillors their preference.. The Mayor confers with the Clerk . The work load is weighed and shared evenly. Stated preferences are considered and accommodated as far as possible. A Report to Council is submitted at a public meeting. It is open for discussion. And decided by Council.
Some committees are more sought after than others. They provide more exposure and contact with voters.The number and importance of committees and chairmanships look good on campaign literature.
Councillors do have the right to argue their cause . Council has the authority to approve.
In the Mormac regime, that's not how it happens. Committee appointments are dispersed like plums by the Mayor within "the inner circle of power".
When former Councillor Grace Marsh resigned, Councillor Collins Mrakas requested to replace her on the Joint Council Fire Committee.
Newly -appointed Councillor Gallo got the spot.
When The Arts and Culture Centre Committee was formed ,Councillor McRoberts expressed a particular interest. Councillor McRoberts is the only Councillor with Aurora roots.
He didn't say that. I did.
Gaertner and Granger were appointed.
When the Wells Street school committee was struck, Councillors McRoberts and Collins Mrakas expressed interest as members of the Town's Heritage Committee.
Councillor Gallo was appointed.
Councillors McRoberts, Collins Mrakas and myself expressed interest in participating on the steering committee for the 2c planning study.
Councillors MacEachern, Gallo and Gaertner have been appointed by Mayoralty Decree.
There are other examples.
I think the picture is clear.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
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8 comments:
And what of Cllr Collins-Mrakas' interest at the start of this term in serving on the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC)? She was brusquely told by the mayor that no, that was Evelina MacEachern's committee (Cllr Gaertner is the other Council representative).
Now, ACM has a Masters degree in Environmental Science and worked as an environmental consultant for a number of years. What are Cllr MacEachern's credentials in that regard? (the term "Not even close", comes to mind)
It would appear that membership in the "inner circle of power" supersedes academic qualifications and professional experience.
And they're so obsessed with optics.
The picture is very clear indeed.
Thank you Councillor Buck for the illustration.
We will all need another reminder at election time.
So Granger and Gaertner (Gatner to her Mayorship) are on the Cultural Centre Board?
Aren't they in the process of appointing a new director?
Let's hope it is indeed someone with the right credentials, and not another back-door appointment from Mayor Morris' ever-dwindling cadre of supporters.
As a voter and taxpayer, I really do appreciate having this information. I surmise that this is the kind of thing that goes on anyway from my observations at council and GC meetings. It ia very helpful to confirm my suspicions. I will not make the same voting mistakes in 2010.
Thank you Evelyn Buck for writing about this. This is not only limited to councillor appointments on committees. Last year I submitted an application to become a citizen member of the Accessibility Advisory Committee. Without getting into my professional credentials for this position, in my humble opinion I was a shoe-in for this position, and naively thought "how can they NOT choose me?" I couldn't have been more wrong. A very reputable source from within told me that unless they know you or are one of their supporters, your application is literally tossed aside, without even a thought. It was disheartening to say the least. This was a position I was very enthused about and was excited about giving back to the community but hearing the method by which members are chosen really deflated me.
To Anonymous Sept 25 10:21
I sympathise with you. As new residents in town, my husband applied for a position on the Sports and Leisure Advisory committee at the beginning of this council's term. He wanted to share his expertise and time and also brought a broad perspective from other towns, provinces and countries. He thought he would at least be considered, given his 30 years of dedication and volunteerism in sports for children, youth and adults. The response, "thanks but no thanks" was faster than a speeding bullet, i.e. nobody could have had a chance to read the complete application and his credentials before firing off the reply. It sure kills the desire to volunteer for the town doesn't it?
To Anonymous Sept 27, 4:38 pm.
Its a small comfort to know I am not alone in my rejection and I agree I too would have to think twice about volunteering for this town again (under this Council anyways).
Their loss.
Does everyone know Glenn Hubbers, our local candidate representing the federal Green Party ? He is also a power industry engineer but he was informed that he was not eligible to sit on Aurora's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) because someone in the circle of power felt his input would be “too political”. It’s too bad they were not looking for people that were well informed on power supply and corresponding environmental issues facing our community.
Shortly after Glenn’s offer to join EAC was rejected, Sue Walmer of EAC was found to be one of the authors of what I for one, considered to be a ridiculously flawed position paper on our power supply situation, that was drafted on behalfd of a group called MegaWHAT, who apparently did not understand the identified need or the viable alternatives available to Aurora to meet our long term power supply needs. Of course Glenn tried to explain this to Sue and the Mayor, as did the OPA, APPrO, power companies and me (among others), but to no avail.
The simple fact is that Sue Walmer and EAC refused multiple offers to discuss the power supply issues facing Aurora at length over the previous four years and she apparently had no clue what she was talking about which seemed to escape the Mayor, not to mention the fact she was the head of EAC and was in fact being political.
I also found it to be quite revealing when the Mayor insisted that Sue did not participate in drafting the position paper for the Mayors of York Region by MegaWHAT (I was told by the Mayor that Sue's name was added without her permission or knowledge) and then the paper was issued with Sue’s name on it --- front and center ! Shortly after the paper was widely distributed, the Mayor appeared to purred like a kitten when she introduced MegaWHAT's delegation to the Regional Council Chambers, when they marched in with Sue leading the charge, balloons and all.
The hypocrisy of the Mayor and EAC is nothing, if not transparent.
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