"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

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Sorry About That...I Made a Mistake.

In the response to Nigel Kean's letter to The Auroran editor, I cited his surname three times. Once without an e at the end. Twice with. I've done it before. I usually take a scolding.

When it happens,I can do two things. I can post the scold and correct the error. I did both. Deciding between the two was too much effort at five-thirty a.m.

In the second post about "manipulator scorned" I referred to former Councillor MacEachern having fired up the missile launch and lobbed a few already. I gave no particulars.My readers are fastidious. They like to make sense of my stories.

In and out of office,Mac earned notoriety for vituperative e-mails to chosen recipients,usually during the witching hours.

Since the election, all has apparently been quiet on that front.Those in the know know, recognize the evil genius behind Councillor Gaertner's obvious discontent.

Some disagree but I believe Councillor Gaertner would not have chosen that path for herself. I continue to hope she will begin to enjoy being a Councillor again. I shouldn't speak for colleagues but I'm pretty sure most would endorse that concern for her well-being.

Anyway,on Monday morning the rocket pad was apparently uncovered and made ready for use. Mac the Knife is firing them off, right left and centre.

If it means Councillor Gaertner is allowed to accept her role in the town's business while Mormac does their worst, things might get better all around.

Sticks and Stones and all that

Now for the previous missing details. Councillors have been offered Blackberries. Some had their own. I accepted one. I've had it two weeks.Not yet proficient. My regular assistants have been in Florida.

Apparently the do-hickeys were obtained for next to nothing as part of a package of large and small. Councillors use means records can be maintained of e-mail communications.Do not ask me why that matters. I do not know. My Council e-mails still come to my computer but they are routed through the town system.

I think it also means if it's turned on,I can be reached wherever I am. I have no idea what might occur at the town hall to require my immediate attention. No doubt all will become clear in the fullness of time.

In the meantime, the only thing I notice is added weight in my purse.I empty my purse of change to keep weight down.In all the years of carrying a purse, I have continued to feel burdened.

Anyway, the reason for that long harangue is that Mac has fired off e-mails
to discover who decided Councillors should have blackberries? When were they approved? What budget line item did they come from? What are Councillors' numbers?

Obviously,Councillors can expect to hear wherever and whenever the fancy strikes.

Monday was an interesting day. After refusing to withdraw a false accusation and being advised staff would not be directed to respond to questions, Councillor Gaertner did not participate in the discussion.

I am told Ms. Morris tapped furiously on the keypad before her. Councillor Ballard tweeted out a Hot Off the Table headline to his Twitter about Dawe muzzling Gaertner. Mac the Knife was probably promptly apprised and after lunch and a conference, Councillor Ballard sought , without success. to challenge the presiding member's decision.

Neither Councillor Gaertner or Ms Morris returned to the chamber after lunch.

Also...after years of freezing our buns off in the Council Chamber, with the great doors wide open, we are finally closing them to keep the heat in and the cold out. People attending meetings have to open the door and close it behind them.What a novel notion.

Accusations are now flying,of a lack of openness and transparency. That reminds me to ask for a check on energy use. Imagine how furiously furnaces burned to keep that frozen chamber warm...and didn't.

For seven years we talked about conservation and carbon footprints while we passed on the opportunity to use geo-thermmal in the Church Street school and burned thousands of thermal units of natural gas with accompanying exhaust while keeping the Chamber wide open to the winter chill.

We printed and distributed thousands of leaflets to encourage people not to litter
while cutting down the trees which absorb pollution and contributed to the supply of litter.

We paid and continue to pay, huge subsidies to trundle empty buses to and from the station,in rush hours, to encourage people to use transit, while spending in excess of $75 million dollars for a constantly lit building, to store cars for twelve hours a day in our precious downtown core space.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much controversy over a closed door. Typical. The problem can be easily solved by posting a sign on the offending doors:

ALL ARE WELCOME, PLEASE COME IN!

Luckywife

Anonymous said...

Evelyn....
"Apparently the do-hickeys were obtained for next to nothing as part of a package of large and small. Councillors use means records can be maintained of e-mail communications.Do not ask me why that matters. I do not know. My Council e-mails still come to my computer but they are routed through the town system."

First of all, the handsets cost little - just look at the ads for consumers. Where they get you is the data plans and if required, the Blackberry server.

Regarding the "why it matters" comment. I think the intent, although not stated I am sure is to create a secure and reliable email archive to make sure that all corporate communications are retained for the appropriate time frame.

RIM (the Blackberry developer) was in the news over the last year with some countries that are not as free as we are threatening to not allow BB devices because the devices use encryption that would prevent the governments from seeing the traffic. The Blackberry device sends and receives all of it's email through a Blackberry Server. This server archives the messages as well for compliancy of retention rules. I would hazard a guess that Aurora's IT structure is still in it's infancy and email retention was not 100% assured. This way, Big Brother can watch.

Routing emails to your home email account is not reliable nor is it secure - they are just forwarding.

---------------

Now regarding your comments about Evelina and Phyliss and their control of Wendy. Are you saying that Ms. MacEchren and Ms. Morris are tinkering with town business? This is a serious allegation. If you are sure of this, I would suggest that you contact York Regional Police so that there can be an investigation.

Anonymous said...

I think the use of blackberries should be prohibited in the council chamber. They have no place in conducting the town's business by either those at the table or those pulling strings behind the scenes, OR in tweeting gossip and misinformation instead of paying 100% attention to the discussion.
There may be one good thing out of this: prohibiting Gaertner from asking endless questions of staff during the meeting may actually force her to ask questions and seek clarity BEFORE the meeting, which is what she should have been doing all along instead of wasting everybody's time and prolonging meetings unnecessarily.