"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 2 March 2013

Pirates afloat on a windy sea.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "In Hockey Parlance":

I heard that of the small number of people in attendance at the old library, the majority were "suits" (developers?).


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 I heard half -a-dozen people were there.  Everyone was or should have been known to each other. 

The Recreation Director and Councillors Thompson and Ballard would be "suits".  Hardly  making  it  seem  a majority were developers (suits)   present.

That's  kind of deliberate misrepresemtation that keeps rumours afloat. 

A few years ago another Councillor was the target of this negative spin. It seemed effective. That was before the social media. 

I heard something else this morning.

Apparently a Code of Conduct complaint has been reported  on in the little town to the north of  us. Accompanied by a legal opinion that there is no provision in the  legislation that allows for Councillors to file complaints.

Now we know that' has not been true in Toronto. But several things have happened in Toronto which are not provided for in the legislation. 

My informant expressed the  view, the procession of complaints against  me has been calculated to  be so negative as to make me ill and drive me from my Council. seat.

The unlikelihood of that possibility  inclines me  to dismiss the
theory

And yet.

 I registered  as a candidate  for the 2003 election, days after former Councillor and Mayor John West,  

Immediately  our registration  became known, former Councillor Mac Echearn withdrew her registration with a public statement that when she saw who were the candidates she decided she had better things to do. . Like spend time  with her family.

During  two week-ends in  that campaign , a white rec vehicle toured the town sporting  banners exhorting people  not to vote for named candidates and  to vote for.others. The negatives were most prominent.   

My  name appeared on neither banner. John West's name appeared in the negative.

When the votes were counted, I had come in ahead of an incumbent with a sufficient number that a re-count was not automatic. 

On Remembrance Day, I received a phone call that my younger brother in Burlington had been hospitalised. I spent most of the campaign at his bedside . He lived long  enough  to learn  of my election.  .

Former Councillor MacEachern now retired,  attempted  to persuade the runner-up to ask for a re-count. H refused. 

He said  he was content with the people's decision. He also had no wish to be a member of the newly-elected Council which included
Phyllis Morris

Councillor Mac Eachern filed a request for a re-count.on the basis she did not believe the voting machines were accurate. 

 The re-count  showed  no variation from the original. 

Three days of staff time, plus overtime. were occupied. Estimated  cost  was in excess of twenty-thousand dollars. 

Newly elected  Councillor Kean argued there was no cost because staff would have been working anyway..

On Monday, I will obtain the legal opinion from our tiny  northern neighbour,that relates to the provision  of the act that permits   or  not a  Councllor to file a Conduct complaint  against  another Councillor. 

It does seem  a bit weird, when you think of it. . 

How would it go?

Evelyn Buck is a blackguard because it appears she said  so-an-so. 

No. I'm not.  You are.   And  you  made a record of your conduct when you  filed a formal  written complaint, so your  conduct is certified.

Furthermore, you  used  town  funds mucho plenty, to fight political battles and score political points. 

Fie Fie,  me hearty  ......you  do indeed  appear  to be  the villain.of this nasty piece.    

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK , I confess to reading those twit things on occasion just to try & figure out why some adults use them when our teenagers reject them. There is a Newmarket councillor, can't recall her name, who twits with our councillor Ballard. Hope that helps narrow down your suspects.
You mentioned a van driving around town quite a long time ago, There was one of more recent vintage taking down the addresses of people who had Buck &/or Dawe signs on their lawns. Clearly retaliation was planned. But the vote went the other way & the van returned to its base outside Aurora.

Anonymous said...

Peace. Let them blow smoke.

Anonymous said...


Does "our Nigel" still have all his old election signs

stacked in his garage?

Possibly his time is "worthless" but not necessarily that

of others.

Get out your goal-keeper's stick.

Anonymous said...

Nada....ZILCH.....that is how many developers were present.

Anonymous said...

Evelyn you may want to contact Clr.Sponga in Newmarket to confirm or deny because word on the street is the Jazz festival is off there.Too many demands perhaps?

Anonymous said...

7:36 PM
I remember that van. My son-in-law stopped it because the tail flaps were hanging open & their election signs were about to fall out onto the road. There was some suspicion that the same vehicle could be doing the nightly collection of Dawe/Buck signs but no one cared enough to waste an entire night on such nonsense in order to find out. Where did all those purloined signs end up?

Anonymous said...

8:38 AM
Do your own contacting, for goodness sake. You are so lazy letting Evelyn do all the heavy lifting. Try to add to the discussion. You aren't half bad when you work at it.