"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 14 April 2013

The Omens are Ominous

We are two years.four months and two weeks into the four year term.The Mayor's views,contnue to confound. Never more so than last Tuesday evening. After consultation with someone, he said, as he inclined his head towards the Clerk,Council were informed he did not have to relinquish the gavel to provide "a sunnary". At a previous meeting, he allowed the 2013 budget to slip through without note or comment or"summary" However, when a shameless boon-doggle,real estate bid to relieve the town a a precious asset is before the town ina third attempt at lobbying, the Mayor deems it worthy of a "summation" by the presiding member. The carnival huckster scheme has the Mayor's support. On other occasions, the Mayor has argued in support of a motion only to turn around at the end and do the opposite. Debate on terminating the Culture Centre contract is previous example of duplicity. Debate was ensws. A pause took pace.When the vote shouldhave been called, instead there was an amendment pbviously prompted, from Councillor Humphreys, seconded by Councillor Thompson. The Abel-Pirri motion was effectively castrated. A year of staff time was spent in negotiations for a new agreement. Also promptly neutered. Authority to control funds became meaningless when more funds were provided than the previous agreement would have allowed. A second benefit of the new agreement was scupprred with a vote to defer restoration of partial museum service in the Church Street School until the Cultural Master Plan is complete. It hasn't even begun. A MAJORITY was achieved by Mayor Dawes and Councillor Pirri votig with Councillors Ballard, Gallo and Gaertner. The huckster heritage park carnival scheme to access hydro reserve funds by an un-identified outfit,envisages the museum being located elsewhere than Church Street School. In his "summation" last Tuesday,the Mayor stated in his view the idea would be an excellent use of the hydro reserve fund. The Municipal Act defines the role of Mayor as providing "Leadership and Guidance to Council" It's not as simple as it sounds. A Mayor has power only equal to a Councillor. Each member has a single vite MAJORITY rules. Leadership within this context, requires trust. Guidance without trust is a contradictiion in terms. After two years, four months and two weeks,it may be safe to say there is less trust than before. It does not bode well.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...


It seems that some members of Council often park their brains before taking their seats at the table.

Anonymous said...

The introduction of those ' summary sessions ' has been quite a shock. It effectively allows the Mayor, still holding the gavel, to take a good solid crack at the debate. Don't know where that is in the procedural by-laws but it will be interesting to see if whoever has the chair at the GC does the same thing. Mayor Dawe cannot really object. Or can he?

Anonymous said...

I trust Mayor Dawe. I also trust that the Heritage Park will be a much better home to the Aurora Collection than a single room at the Church St School.

Anonymous said...

The first time there was a switcheroo, it was very difficult, even painful, to accept the excuse of " An Innocent in a Strange Land ". So much had been invested & I am not referring to money here. Now it is impossible to comprehend especially to those who had gotten involved for the first time in Municipal politics because it seemed essential to Aurora. That trust never did recover. Nor will it.

Anonymous said...

3:25 PM
Would you mind dreadfully if we use that single room for the period of shmoozing, scheming & construction of the Park which could well take years? It's only a ' single' room as you point out. But that's all that made it through the process. Once it was the entire building. Cut some slack here.

Anonymous said...

Put the AURA back.What B.S....trust Dawe again....NEVER.

Anonymous said...

The bold statement " I trust Mayor Dawe " gives me pause, then a gaffaw.

Anonymous said...

"Once it was the entire building."

Um, no it wasn't ... ever.

Anonymous said...

I think this boils down to 2 individuals receiving all sorts of press coverage. The Mayor has a bully-pulpit, photo-ops & letters to the editor that no one bothers to read. Councillor Ballard has his puppets & uses the media particularly the Banner as a weapon.
I believe , want to believe, that the reaction of residents will be ' neither of the above".

Anonymous said...

6:49 PM
What a picayune mind!