"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, 10 May 2014

Election means something or it doesn't

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It's time again":

I have a ? please
Who votes for the board of the Farmers' Market ?
Do they even have to be residents of Aurora ?
Sorry, that was 2 questions

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 10 May 2014 09:15


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It would be logical to assume , since the town requires an elected  executive,vendors would be electors. 

Vendors need not be Aurora residents. 

There may not  have  been an election in the last two seasons. 

 Since the Market  is governed by Bylaw and the Bylaw requires it, the question needs to be answered.

Who  answers for the Market in dealing with the town? 

In the grand scheme of things the question may not be of vital importance. It is valid nevertheless.

Is  someone  without validity dominating the Market?

Some  extremely mean-spirited comments have been received though not published.

I  have my doubts.

*****************

I received a Certificate  a couple of weeks ago. It was due  in 2013.

It recognizes twenty-five years of public service.

It doesn't say anything about  my having been  a person of privilege and higher standard.

Those words are bandied about on a regular basis. The last pontification  on the subject
was  by the Honorable Charles Sousa  referring to unbecoming conduct by the Mayor of Toronto.

Mr. Sousa is  Provincial Finance Minister and a member of the Liberal cabinet, whose seat was saved  in the last election by an expenditure of $1.2 billion  of public resources.

That was  $1.2 billion worth of privilege. Most certainly a higher standard of something.

Also  a different standard.

If  Tim Hudak gets elected ,we will all know why .

The last election in Aurora produced  a similar result.

Which brings me back to a Certificate for twenty-five years of public service. It represents a number of  elections and terms of varying lengths.

I never have aspired to privilege. I 'm content to be who I am inclined to be. It's easier than trying to be someone I'm not.

I think voters should have people like themselves to represent them. It's one reason I run for office,

It's the surest way I know of electing someone who always thinks like I do.

If others  feel the same and vote for me.... well...I don't think I need aspire higher .

I think most candidates should be content with that.

I've never been acclaimed to office. Always elected. Voters always had a choice.

When  I speak  for someone, I know I have their authority.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would have been nice if your certificate had come with something you could spend, eat or drink.

Anonymous said...


I beg to differ.

If Tim Hudak gets elected I will NOT know why.

Anonymous said...

Uh, excuse me. Twenty-five years ? That cannot be right. Surely they can count ?

Anonymous said...

Are there a lot of octogenarian Scotswomen in Aurora?

Anonymous said...

12:36-Really?..where have you been in the last 11 yrs?

Anonymous said...

I think there might have been a lot of amateur detecting going on at the market this morning. It doesn't hurt to have a look at how things operate every so often. Pity that an individual is caught up in the middle of what appears to be an easily remedied situation.

Anonymous said...

Well done Evelyn! 25 yrs of integrity... Aurora has been and will continue to be very lucky to have you.

Anonymous said...

You're right, 15:20. That individual just accepts the assigned spot - done!

Anonymous said...


The problem I have with elections is that we know the candidates either too well, or not at all. And neither situation makes an intelligent selection easier.

While one says that one knows someone too well, what do we really mean? The odds are that this person has made a few speeches, debated beyond the high-school level, has been involved in public policy making. But do we remember the policy that was made, was it a help or a hindrance?

Possibly we don't know this person well at all; fragments of appearances have penetrated our minds, the odd column in a paper lingers.

And what about the "not at all?" Is this such a bad thing, to find a person about whom we know nothing but who has the potential to perform good deeds for his/her constituents, and surprise us in the process?

How do we come to trust a person, because, after all, that's what we are really voting for? You can't measure it, or weigh it, it defies quantification.

But without it, those we know or those we don't are likely going to screw us big time.

Anonymous said...

15:20
It would appear that 12:36 goes to the highest bidder with our money.

Anonymous said...

The Mayor might be able to prevent councillors from " micro-managing " but I am unable to see how he can prevent residents from sticking their oars in local water. The town somehow manages to keep more than 60 soccer fields in play. We should be able to include all qualified residents who want to work at the market.

Anonymous said...

Is the remedy a proper election?

Oliver said...

Yes 17:57 and it should include those who require accommodations.

Anonymous said...

I think the remedy might be to maintain peace within the park and not to try to shoe-horn an individual into an awkward position just because you can. The town has the final authority over a group of people unelected by its entire population. Even if some potential voters sit on their hands.
Have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

16:09- I’ve found that it takes some time for a voter to get to know a candidate. It all depends on how much time you want to invest. A couple of tweets, a few articles in the “neutral” Error Banner, how many degrees they've acquired, the number of signs that are posted around town with a picture, is not getting to know a candidate. It’s your money that you’re entrusting to these people. Spend some time in getting to know all you can about who you’re willing to hand over your money, just like you would any potential investment.

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day Councillor Buck!!

Anonymous said...


Today is Mother's Day.

Children should be honouring their mothers and mothers should be appreciating their children.

But there are two elections hanging over us all; one soon, the other still months away.

What if Mothers could select their children by ballot from within a large enough group and vice versa? A slightly different type of election.

Would the resulting families be better than those that exist?

This is a theoretical question without the possibility of a reasonable answer.

But it is quite interesting.




Anonymous said...

Ditto, 10:25

Anonymous said...

I hope you had a great day, Evelyn. I just learned that if you get tulips you are supposed to drop a penny in the water. Bet you already knew that. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Boy, that would be a straightforward solution and an end to the drama! Good idea.