"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

Thursday 14 July 2011

If Things Go As They Should

Residents who watched the  June Council meeting  and again in July, will  no doubt tune in again  in August to see how the undulating  monkey bar issue was  was played out  by council.

I was personally shocked  a motion was proposed  for instantaneous action to remove the equipment without hearing from anyone but two complainants.One of them choking so hard on tears it was truly difficult to decipher words.

At least staff are now being provided an opportunity to respond to the severe criticism of their judgment in using town resources to install a piece of playground equipment , already determined by some councillors,  to be  hazardous to  life and limb of children at play. as established by opinion of two residents taking responsibility for all town children as well as their own.

Council's  decision in August will help  form the basis of community judgment of how this  council handles the obligation to decide based on  best judgment of the interest of  community--at-large or whatever.

It's another one of those risks life presents. Council is the crucible. Also known as the fish bowl.Could be seen by some as a playground for the effete and the elite.

I think it's better television than  soap opera. I don't watch it. It's enough  to be part of it

Early months of  a  new term are  critical. Other council decisions will be made and gradually a new bed of public opinion, like coral, will be formed.... on top of what was before.

An interesting exchange happened on Tuesday. Councillor Gaertner  tried again to bring the O.M.B. decision on Westhill back to the Council table. She requested staff  summarise  requirements of the O.M.B.decision  because "people" can't understand the text of the decision as posted on the O.M.B. web site or the town's.

The Mayor  squelched the issue. The Councillor's microphone was turned off . No motion was accepted.

The rest took place off stage. Councillor Gaertner left the chamber and made her way to the women's washroom. To be followed later by two other parties from the council chamber for presumably legitimate reasons. It is said, an extract of a phone conversation was overheard as follows;

Councillor Gaertner ......."Now what will we do? Maybe we should  listen to the tape together  and make a decision from there"

It's  commonly  understood  Councillor Gaertner comes to  every council meeting loaded for bear; Specific  targets being the Mayor, myself and the O.M.B. decision on the Westhill development plan, in that order.

Every dodge known to man has been employed to get  Westhill back on the table for discussion. The last was a motion processed without notice, at ten past eleven, during a second extension of the hour of adjournment  sought for the express purpose of completing the business items on the agenda .

I left  when Councillor Gaertner started to rattle on about rights of staff to be protected from a fate worse than death by a councillor seeking to do due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers.

Councillor Thompson was absent the meeting.

The no-notice motion was to direct the Mayor to write  a letter to the Honorable John Wilkinson, Minister of Environment , requesting that he  deny a permit to Westhill to take water.

The vote was four to three. Councillors Ballard, Gaertner,Gallo and Humphryes in favour; The Mayor, Councillors Abel and Pirrie against.

Subsequently,  a letter on the Mayor's stationery, signed by the Mayor, setting out the vacuous wording of the resolution, was sent to the Office of the Ministry, proving to all who read it, the cult of jackass is alive and well in Aurora, despite  results of the recent election.

The only comfort is, the town does not have a monopoly on jackassism.

There' s plenty  to go around in government circles.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, how I love the word "jackassism"! That is just too good.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Councillor Gaertner should have a permanent seat in the women's washroom, in exchange for her seat at the Council table, together with a small, let's say, 10" TV for watching the Rogers telecast of Council meetings. She would be best to stay home for GC meetings.

She would of course have no microphone and could not bombard the other members of Council with her pungent comments that "lack both skill and wit."

The only means of communication that she might have would be a cell phone with which she could carry our her bizarre conversations with incumbent councillors from the last term, certain of whom, I must say with great glee, were turfed by the electorate. They now attempt to influence and intimidate the decent Council majority using Wendy Gaertner as there surrogate puppet.

The Buck keeps stopping her, notwithstanding WG's ignorant attempts at using the Procedural By-law by claiming points of order or of privilege, "or of something."

I cannot understand how an adult with over half a dozen years worth of Council experience does not yet grasp the fundamental rules governing our Municipal government's conduct.

It is in cases such as this where the ability of voters to recall an elected official would quickly dispense with such offending and offensive members.

Better she spend Tuesday evenings in the park supervising young children at play.

Anonymous said...

ROFLAO !

Anonymous said...

Quick! Call my lawyer ! I was laughed at and they
overheard my phone call for assistance ! I won't
tolerate such behavior from such people ! Duh !

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to the law suit that the former
council issued against West Hill when
Gallo ran to tell them the development company was
cutting down trees on their own property ?