Things Can Only Improve

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Party Trappings and All That Jazz": I'm not sure if there was ever a province as ticked off at politicians as Ontario is at the moment. The lack of a viable alternative is partly responsible. Imagine having a kid who is bright, good at public speaking & hard-working & who suggests he/she might want to be a politician ! *********** We do not have to look much further than our own community or far into the past to find the source of the problem. Consider the persistent demands of a neighbourhood for the town to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to effect removal of a Bell cell phone tower erected in accordance with all the rules and regulations. A couple of decades such a demand would never have been taken seriously In the mid-nineties a base element of politics took hold starting at ground level. It was there before but never had the upper hand. The political element that encouraged residents to believe selfish and unreasonable demands were reasonable. The one that allowed an inadequate individuql to believe the only route to self-promotion was denigration of another. Every school child is familiar with the tactic. I scooted around Knowles Crescent the other day. It is one of the presttiest streets in town. Fifty-nine homes form a crescent. In the last term,a million dollars were spenton re-constructions. Curbs and storm sewers transformed it from rural to urban standards. A few homeowners became concerned and encouraged by a Councillor to believe, while the project was ongoing,their driveway grades were too steep. The Director of Public Works was pushed aside and a consultant hired to deal with the problem. A spokesperson told Council they wanted Councillor Mac Eachern to be their "go-to person" The project stalled for weeks. An additional $60. thousand was doled out in cheques to five property-owners to complete the driveways to their idea of elegance. One heque was for $10,thousand. The option, it was claimed.was for the town to be sued. Sued? For transforming an entire street into something beautiful with public resources. Hogwash!!! The cell phone tower issue is a replica of the same excess. There's no doubt some homeowners were encouraged by some Councillors to believe their demands are not ridiculous and excessive . No greater principle is involved here than the rudimentary conviction that all politics are base. Hand over the keys to the treasury and one's future will be secure. Never....ever....say No Your demand is not in the interest of the community. Even now we are paying fees, in addition to the cost of the town;s legal department, to advise that the cell tower is up. It will stay up. A contrived and extravagant witch hunt, in the form of a judicial review, to turn up a culprit within the administration won't change a damn thing. Council opted to pay for additional legal advice to avoid being held responsible for the obvious decision that had to be made. They failed the test of leadership. They flunked out. Last week I came back from Sandbanks Provincial Park to find an e-mail from a reporter in my inbox. He had been informed the Mayor and Council had received an offer of admission tickets to Rogers Cup Tennis Tournament. He had also been told because of their value, acceptance of the tickets was a breach of the Code Of Ethics and the Mayor's office should have immediately refused the tickets on behalf of the entire Council. There was no evidence anyone had accepted tickets or how much the tickets were worth. But that didn't aappear to be relevant. The reporter was adamant the Mayor had something to answer for. If I were asked to guess which Councillor was the snitch, I would say Councillor Ballard. Does it set him aside from the rest. Unfortunately no, not really. The fate of the last Council at the hands of the voters , for practising politics at gutter level and treating the electorate with total disrespect, seems not to have made any impression on the current Council. They follow precisely in their footsteps. I would encourage a young person who is bright, enjoys public speaking and thinks he would like to be a politician. There's a desperate need for candidates who believe the job is worthwhile or its own sake. It's a challenge like no other. Universities do not teach it. As newspapers duplicate the mistakes of the politicians and fail anyway. (Did anyone notice he headline about The Star unexpectedly losing 25% of revenue? ) As people switch attention fom T.V. to social media. The need can only grow for citizens willing to give what it take and accept the challenge.