"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

Sunday 11 April 2010

Still On The Code

Policy Statement

This Code of Conduct is a public declaration of the principles of good conduct and
ethics that members of the Council of the Town of Aurora have decided its
stakeholders could reasonably expect from the Members of Council to demonstrate
in the performance and responsibilities as elected representation.

After each Councillor has spent six weeks or more, communicating with residents in the hopes of gaining support in the election.

After the votes have been counted and the elected realizes he/she has been chosen.

For me it's a humbling experience. At that moment, my prayer is, that I can be what people expect.I will not let them down.

I know few people who have sworn the Oath without being moved by its meaning and solemnity.

We swear before an audience. The words are plain and clear.

We sign the declaration... once.

The Code of Conduct is ten pages long and came into being during the term of office. We have required ourselves to sign it twice, as if to impress ourselves with its significance.

My sense of commitment is my own. Some might say it's fastidious. Others say I'm a stickler. I govern my own standards.

I made a solemn contract. My Oath is my bond.

The right to judge, did I fail or fulfill is for voters to decide. I acknowledge no third party intervention.

Which brings us to the Complaint Process in the Code of Conduct.

It's not complicated.

We have an Integrity Commissioner on the payroll. We have the Code of Conduct on the web-site.

We have proclaimed a duplicate standard of conduct expected of elected members.

Every other week, we conduct ourselves in front of cable cameras.

You are invited thereby, each and every one, to be the judges of our conduct.

In the Blog, we have examined various clauses in the Code.

In this post, we repeated a principle espoused in The Code.

The onus is now upon the "stakeholders" , you, to decide if the lofty principles articulated are being followed.

Pre-paid resources have been provided, at your expense, to complain of every infraction you perceive to have been committed.

Affidavits can be obtained from public records.written and video- taped. The Clerk is the keeper of the records. He is also a Commissioner of Oaths.

The election is no longer your only resource .

If you work it right, by virtue of the penalty of witholding remuneration, you can get rid of a councillor or more who may displease you within the term of office.

Courtesy of The Code and Appointment of an Integrity Commissioner, all paid for from your own pocket, you no longer have to wait for an opportunity to vote in an election.

In fact, now that we have a Code of Conduct and an Integrity Commissioner, elections themselves may become redundant.

Think of the money we can save.

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