Clause 3 of The Code

3. Communications and Media Relations.

"Members of Council will accurately and adequately communicate the attitudes and decisions of Council even if they disagree with the majority decision of Council"

That's tricky.

If you say potaaato and I say potaeto. And that is how you see it and I do not. How exactly does one explain another person's " attitude and decision" ?

Why would I want to? Why would you want me to? The only person accountable for me is me

"Members shall show respect for the decision making process of Council"

That's easy .

Decision making is by vote. That's the deal. It's the principle we live by. The majority rules . The minority get to have their say. As often as they choose and anywhere they choose. Except in the Council Chamber. You can't keep re-hashing stuff time and time again. The rules take care of that

" Communications with the media by Members of Council shall be conducted through proper interviews or media releases. Members shall refrain from submitting letters to the editor or writing a regular column in the newspaper or hosting /co-hosting a regular television program."

This is interesting .

The Mayor is frequently quoted in the press. The Mayor of Aurora has written a weekly column in one or the other local newspaper for forty years. No-one has ever suggested that's bad conduct. I think people appreciated it.

Even this Mayor apparently committed a couple of times to writing a regular column. That she never followed through is unlikely to have had anything to do with the Code of Conduct.

Yet there it is.... in The Code;

" Members of Council shall refrain from writing a column in the newspaper"

Why is that thing in there about hosting a T.V. program? No Councillor in Aurora has ever done that. Some of us, including the Mayor, have been guests on occasion. No-one ever suggested that was discreditable. They probably didn't like what I had to say but who said they had to.

Yet it's in there. Whose values does this Code reflect?

And that bit about " letters to the editor"

Have we not seen letters to the editor from the Mayor, Councillors Gaertner. Granger and Wilson in the paper.

Of all the pesky clauses. I think that one is the most inane.

Now we have someone on the payroll to keep an eye on all publications and correct misinformation. How will that be accomplished, I wonder ?

I didn't agree to a trumped-up Code to dumb down Council when I ran for office. I did the opposite.I said I would do whatever it took to inform people of their town's business...as I see it.

I can't believe when the Province came up with this ill-written legislation to allow municipalities to adopt a Code of Conduct, they contemplated depriving elected representatives of the liberty that allowed them to be elected and the reason thereof.

If I were to attempt to explain the attitudes and decision of Council when the Code was adopted, it I am fairly sure they would not be pleased.

It could probably be filed as a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner of their choosing.