"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 14 August 2010

Report Card Aurora Council 2007-2010

I've spent the morning copying and pasting and failing to publish a statement I think you need to read. It's an introduction, written by the Chief Administrative Officer, to a publication showing the accomplishments of the town's advisory committee meetings during the current term of office.

A report had already been received by Council . The Mayor complimented the CAO on the work of putting it together. She noted it was heavy reading and wondered if it could be put together in leaflet form.

So now it has. The cover page is a beautiful picture of Aurora Town Hall .

The introduction reads as follows:



This document serves to highlight the accomplishments of each council-appointed advisory committee completed during the term 2007-2010 term.

The committees included are:

Seven are listed.

The statement continues.

There is no update from the Arts and Culture Committee as it was retired earlier this year. Its
former members need to be recognized for laying the foundation for the newly- renovated and
re-opened Culture Centre in the former Church Street School building. The project has created a
centrepiece for Aurora's Cultural Community, one that will be enjoyed for many years to come.

The results listed reflect the combined efforts of many individuals. committees and Council members working to produce results that are beneficial to the residents of Aurora. Some of these items will be familiar to residents. Those of a strategic and long term nature will be valuable reminders that the on-going management of town budgets, capital expenditures, planning and services is the focus of staff under the guidance of an informed and supportive Council.

Finally, they are proof of the on-going partnership , between staff, Council, and the committees.
This partnership, along with a shared vision and hard work by all parties, has resulted in the long list of accomplishments outlined in this document.

Neil Garbe,
Chief Administrative Officer
Town of Aurora,


I read the statement over the phone to my daughter Heather who lives in Newmarket. She is clued into Aurora's affairs because it's her former home- town and I use her as a sounding board for my own perspective.

Her reaction was not immediate. I had been careful to keep inflection out of my reading. We needed to talk before she caught my drift.

The Chief Administrative Officer, who knows nothing of the first half of this term of office, has entered the political arena.

Still another example of public resources, flagrantly and shamelessly used to promote a particular political agenda.

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