"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

Monday 10 March 2014

Music Maestro Please

An election is an evolving drama without a script.

In rge next six months we will watch it evolve. With  social media we will  plau a role. .

Anyone with a town address is a potential candidate.

I think Tim the Enchanter would be an excellent candidate. But I have no odea who he is.

Ka-non as well .He makes cogent points  with a calm and deliberate style.

The Masyor's chair is key.  New Councillors need  guidance. Otherwise they are floundering andcompletely dependent on the bureaucracy.

To be fair to the incumbent, no-one has ever been elected  in Aurora to the office without experience .
I don't mean management experience.  I mean knowing what people expect from you and having the wherwithall to deliver.

We have watched how  this term has turned out . It's been a sad  and expenssive disappointment.But maybe not unexpected.

And whatever it was not  ,it was better than the last

Municipal politics is not like the other two. No party platform to hide behind  or tie one's hands.
We exercise judgement ,or  fail in full view.

We have cable T.V. and U-tube and  a web site where people like  The Enchanter can dig up facts with a flick of the finger.

 I love it.

The social media has taken hold.  Views are expressed in plain unvarnished terms.with evergrowing  intensity.

It comes as a shock to those unaccustomed.

Four years is a long time to endure if  not  enjoyed.

Avoidance  offers no time or opportunity to discover where the public's intention might have  been misread.

The tendency is to blame . But wounds are self-inflicted. Words  are heard, mannerisms interpreted.
Impressions solidify.

Candidates  have six months to strut the board

The audience is already in their seats,  Lights  are dimmed . The play evolves .

New characters enter, lines are read into thescript   and  the  drama unfolds.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is great to have you there providing background with examples. And you do seems to enjoy the theatrics. I'm trying to stay positive but still tend to gag on occasion.

Anonymous said...

I think a # of scripts went back for revision after the last few council meetings.

Anonymous said...


We need a new cast.

Anonymous said...

But what happens when the audience doesn't want to see the end of the play the way the cast have written it ?

Anonymous said...

4 years ago we said we need a new cast, we got a new cast and people are still unhappy.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Anonymous said...

We also have an excellent local paper, a thing that astonishes people from other towns. I actually look forward to it, have for years, and wish the cartoonist would consider running.

Anonymous said...

I think our Mayor reasoned that the Town is a business corporation and he can run it as its CEO. But a municipality is not a business corporation. It is different in so many way. He was told this by our most experienced councillor. He chose to ignore the advice.

He was told that 26M (probably more) is too much for a public works garage. He ignored the advice. And, he was told that taxpayers feel they are paying too much for the services received. He ignored that advice.

Some CEO's don't take kindly to advice. Some feel the Captain gives advice and instructions but does not receive.

Now our CEO has to face the Board of Directors to see what they think

Anonymous said...

Women candidates, please.

Anonymous said...

@18:40
I have 2 excellent ones in mind but am letting them make their own decisions. Last time we probably pushed & encouraged too much. It created false impressions.

Anonymous said...

18:40- I'm female and I'll take any candidate that once is elected understands that there are more residents in Aurora than people that wave the Heritage and Cultural
centre flag.

Anonymous said...


Evelyn:

As the sole member of Council who thinks before they speak, does it drive you bonkers having to sit there and listen to all the gibberish that flows out of their mouths?

It would be interesting to see a list of all the studies, plans, and consultants that gushed forth from the previous term, and then compare it with what this term has done by way of continuing studies, plans and consultants, plus actual implementation, at a cost into the multi millions in some instances, and in others at a cost of a mere multi thousands.

I have never heard of a municipal government giving money to individual businesses for the purchase of paint or awnings or a pair of brass cuspidors to be used for plantings to brighten up the sidewalk, make people stop, park their cars and then rush forward and shop like mad so that the cash registers are making rock 'n roll music.

Is a heritage designation supposed to increase property value or diminish it? Has a study been done into this?

The housing market in parts of Toronto is going absolutely crazy. Ordinary houses are the subject of multiple bids - 25 in one case - and some houses are selling for $250,000 more than list price, i.e. up into the mid $900,000 area. I don't know if heritage plays a part in this.

Too bad we can't lure some of this money to our town.

But this is just more silliness, to prove that crazies live in big cities as well as in small towns. Are we still a small town or have we graduated up a notch?

Anonymous said...

16:44
I do not think Aurorans are as demanding as you indicate. The past two Councils have just bitten off far more than they can chew. I would be content with a decent budget & no unnecessary frills. I do not agree with counsellor Gaertner's contention that Council is there to " give the residents what they Want "

Sticks and Stones said...

nice job 20:39 - well said!

Anonymous said...

20:39

I am a male. My wife is a female. I have two over 18 children - one of each gender. My dog was born female, but is now a proud "it".

However, I couldn't care less about the gender of my council candidates. Whether they are male or female, as long as they have the stuff to do the job right, I will give them my vote.

I will not vote for a woman, just because she is a woman. Or a man just because he is a man.

There can be 30 woman on the ballot, if none of them have what it takes to be a councillor, they will not see my vote. Same is true for the men on the ballot.

There is no point getting women to run if they have nothing to offer.

Anonymous said...

12:18- I think that was 20:39 point.