That's A Good Question

Good Morning Evelyn:
I want to ask you something about a previous blog--Last Night's Meeting.

You mentioned in your blog that the Mayor and Cllr. Gaertner were very chatty that night and that the agenda hadn't been started at 10:40 pm.

The minutes note that Cllr. Collins-Mrakas left at 10:16 and yourself at 11:01.

I reviewed the agenda and add-on and then read the minutes. Something caught my eye regarding the closed session, in the agenda the subject is noted as Litigation Re: Adena Meadows. That's it.

On page 2 of 11 of the MINUTES, first item it is noted as New Closed Session Item
Re:Potential Defamation

Council went into closed session at 11:33 pm to discuss item 1, Adena Meadows, and item 2 defamation.

Hmm. Now the wheels are turning in my devious little mind and I'm wondering if the delay in getting to the agenda was deliberate? You have made it your habit to leave the meeting if nothing is getting done and you make no bones in blog posts about why. (that is a statement, not a criticism, I don't blame you, it's nuts and I would leave to.)

Here's my question: Were all members of council informed about an add on to the closed session agenda before the meeting? I was under the impression that you had to have an agenda for closed session meetings and only topics listed on the agenda could be discussed. Am I wrong about that?

Here's what I'm thinking, and I am relying on you to set me straight if I'm wrong........This council has no legal way of barring you from participating in town business. But what if they employ skulduggery and your own habits to achieve that goal? Please review the agenda and the minutes then come back and tell me Luckywife, you've been reading to many spy novels, there is no such thing as a "shadow council" in municipal politics.

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And the last shall be first.

There is a shadow council. It hangs around and has discussions after meetings are over. It's the GOS. and has no legitimacy.

It has occurred to me pushing the town's business ever farther back might be sinister plot to make decisions after I 've left the Council Chamber

Then I think, Nah! Councillor McRoberts always hangs on until the end.

Quite simply , the Presiding member is incapable of running a meeting.

There's the obvious compulsion to refute every comment made by whoever, if it doesn't fit with the Mayor's contention.

Often a staff person will be set up to give an "expert" response to a point made in what might laughingly be called debate.

How does one call a point of order on the presiding member?

The situation is beyond redemption.

Any attempt to create order results in total mayhem. It's a public spectacle and reflects badly on one and all.

In the early months, Councillors and staff would be at the town hall until well after one in the morning and still the agenda wouldn't be completed.

If something is being accomplished I stay. If the meeting has deteriorated into round table chit-chat, I leave. Maintaining civility for three and a half hours in the face of the nonsensical
is my limit.

I feel as though I am abandoning town staff but it's better for them and for me to remove myself.

The point about the add-ons is well taken.A motion to suspend procedure to allow items to be added should require a two-thirds vote.

The add on to the add-on you noticed at the meeting referred to, was circulated by the Mayor prior to the meeting.

It was an extremely harsh critical comment on the Citizen Blog of the Mayor. I am not persuaded it had any right to be added to the in-camera agenda under any circumstances.

Politicians are criticized all the time. It's part of the territory. If it crosses the line there are legal options.

It is a civil matter.

It is not the business of the municipal administration.

But in Phyllilily land, all of the corporation's resources are hers to command.

It's how the title terminator came to be coined.

That's how it is, has been and will continue to be, until we change it.

What we have seen at the Council table is but the tip of the iceberg.

I'm On The Run

The Joint Fire Services Committee Meeting is at 10.30am. I'm a member of the committee but I just have to tell you this before I go.

Council placed a moratorium on complaints to the Integrity Commissioner from August 1st.

People tell me David Tzubouchi, Integrity Commissioner, stated in response to a question from the Mayor at the Council meeting in mid-August, there were no pending complaints.

Tzubouchi has recused himself (it's a legal term)from hearing the latest complaint against me by an employee of the municipality about something I said on the Westhill matter, a political issue.

Vaughan Integrity Commissioner, Suzanne Craig, received the complaint on August 31st.

The date on the complaint is July 29th.

Vaughan Integrity Commissioner's letter states it was received on July 3oth by David Tzubouchi who stated in public in mid-August no complaints were pending.

Vaughan Integrity Commissioner states she received the complaint on August 31st. The moratorium commenced August 1st.

Yet I am informed by Ms. Craig, the complaint is being processed.

It is a matter of serious concern to me as an elected representative of the people, how many times I have had to state I do not accept or I am unable to believe, information or advice I have received from town officials during the latter half of this term of office.

I don't do it lightly. I fully understand the implications of what I am saying.

This complaint and the manner of it's processing is yet another of those occasions.

People describe election campaigns as the silly season . It is not how I would describe it.

Gotta go!!

A Bit Of Business

David Letterman has a sheaf of pages . He shuffles through them and picks one here and there which he delivers with inimitable timing. Then he tosses it over his shoulder to the sound of a plate glass window smashing.

When I opened the envelope on Saturday afternoon containing the latest complaint against me. my inclination was to toss it . Instead I put it aside and didn't look at it again until Sunday night.

There were odd things about it.

The envelope had been sent to the town hall by priority post. It was addressed to me and marked confidential. It was stamped as received on September 17th.

Well now. The Code process calls for the Clerk of the municipality to be the conduit between complainant, the Integrity Commissioner and the person being complained about.All in a plain brown unidentifiable envelope for confidentiality.

I am reminded of the phrase; brown-paper baggery. All bottles used to have to be carried from liquor stores in a brown paper bag in formerly temperance Ontario.

The covering letter to the complaint was headed ;

Suzanne Craig
Integrity Commissioner


The writer informed me she had been asked by David Tzubouchi to take on the complaint. He had recused himself from the file. He received it on July 30th and forwarded it to Ms Craig on August 31st.

I read it on September 19th and I am required to respond by September 27th.

The Code allows ten days for response.

Jason Ballantyne had filed the complaint to the Integrity Commissioner on Jul 29th .

H e filed the harassment complaint to the Director of Human Resources in early September.

Got tired of waiting, I guess .
.
It's all very interesting.

I keep casting my mind back to David Nitkin's visit to my backyard last summer. I didn't tell you this before. He had a complaint against me.

He had called me to make an appointment as part of the process. I told him, politely, I had no intention of participating . He beseeched me to let him have ten minutes of my time. He would come to my home.

Eventually, I agreed .My two daughters were present. I do not entertain gentlemen callers alone in my home.

We spent the time on my deck in the shade of the maple tree. We drank tea and exchanged philosophies. Academics aren't the only ones, you know. Three hours and forty minutes later he left without my agreement and my advice ringing in his ears that he would not be allowed to do the job as he saw it.

He said he could not share the complaint without my agreement to participate.

Here's what I have gleaned from it all.

Mr. Nitkin's main expertise is Ethics. The workshop he held, boycotted by the Mayor and Councillor MacEachern, addressed the difference between legality, morality and ethics.

The essence of ethics are fairness, integrity and balance.

For an ethical determination to be made, many aspects of a question must be considered.

Mr. Nitkin argued "times change" I must be prepared to change. Mr Nitkin needed me to believe that. Without my participation, there would be no balance. There could be no ethical decision.

Various legal opinions provided to Council have held a Councillor is bound to certain conduct by a majority vote.

Bob Panizza , a former clerk suggested I might be in Breach of the Oath of Office by not submitting to the Code and signing the document.

I disagree. I did not surrender free will when I put my name forward for election. I bound myself to an Oath of Office before taking my seat on Council.

I never considered the Code of Conduct adopted by Aurora Council as intended to be anything but a club to silence criticism. Why would I, a person elected to hold forth on my views, agree to anything so unethical?

Consider the record:

The St Kitts woman came to Council and hurled a torrent of unfounded and unsubstantiated accusations at a Councillor, despite intervention twice from the town solicitor, that "Council has no role in this matter".

The presiding member ignored the solicitor. Instead, called for suspension of procedure to permit the comments to become part of the public record .

Subsequent minutes showed the comments absent from record.

They were challenged. The Chief Administrative Officer, stated he, the solicitor and the clerk had a conference and decided not to include the comments in the record.

I later observed "the minutes were doctored" Which they were and had to be.

The comments, made in public, heard by many, were slanderous. Published in town minutes they would have become libelous as well.

St. Kitts made the comments. Recorded in the town minutes The town would have been responsible for their publication and therefore liable.

If Council did not have the collective wisdom to "save the town harmless" which is our duty, the statutory officer and the town solicitor nevertheless could not publish the comments and bring harm to the municipality.

The minutes could not be allowed to record the slanderous comments.

The St Kitts woman was first to file a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner.

Six Councillors were next, on the pretext they were defending staff from "criticism" that "the minutes were doctored"

The lawyer retained, advised there was no provision for six members of Council to file a complaint. Six signed it anyway. I guess they figured there was safety in numbers.

Two more complaints were filed by one of the six.

The next was filed by a staff member, propelling himself head first into a political debate.

And the next was a complaint of harassment from the same staff member against the same Councillor.

When I find the policy, I will read you the definition.

I never did no such thing.

All complaints have been directed against myself.

Did I mention I believe The Code was never intended to be anything but a club to silence a critic.

Was I right or was I wrong??

P.S. Did I tell you I heard the Mayor did her damndest to get the complaint filed while she was out of the country.Her signature would not have been on it if that had happened. .

Oh Woe is Me

It's two weeks since I received a letter from Mr.Elliott, Town Treasurer/Human Resources Director. A brown envelope was left at my place at the council table. It informed me of a complaint of harassment against me by Jason Ballantyne, Manager of Communications for the Town of Aurora.

Mr.Ballantyne was apparently offended by references in my blog posts.

Next day, I received a phone call from Mr. Elliott informing me a person had been retained to deal with the complaint. He had fixed a date for a meeting .

He said "we" are putting together the substance of the complaint and it would be forwarded.

In turn, I informed Mr. Elliott he should make no further arrangements on my behalf. I am not an employee. I am not subject to his authority.

Mr. Elliott thought otherwise.

I received a bundle of my own blog posts stamped CONFIDENTIAL. and a request to keep the matter confidential.

I did keep the matter confidential. I had already removed his name from my posts and expressed regret for any distress he might have experienced.

Mr.Ballantyne is an employee. I am an elected representative . Normally, the two do not engage in dispute. It is an unequal contest.

I already posted here about the Mayor's reference in the community, to an investigation she had ordered into harassment.

I also posted on why a Councillor is not an employee.

I heard no more about continuance of the harassment complaint.

It's time for a re-cap.

The findings of David Tzubouchi, Integrity Commissioner chosen by six defendants in a law suit, on complaints filed by Councillor MacEachern ,a party to the same law suit, have failed in their desired impact.

An earlier complaint, investigated and prepared by a lawyer at taxpayer's expense, signed by the same six, repudiated by two councillors , dismissed by the first Integrity Commissioner, himself dismissed in turn, had the opposite of its intended impact.

It triggered the law suit.

The harassment complaint from a staff person, processed by town resources , is the latest in the series of attempts to discredit.

But not the last.

I have stated in every forum there is , I do not acknowledge the authority of a third party to judge my conduct as an elected representative.

I will answer to the people who elected me.

The Code of Conduct, was written and adopted, I believe, as a means to silence my voice and deny my rights under The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. From my perspective it has no credence.

The issue is before the courts.

In July, staff recommended to Council a moratorium on complaints, as in other municipalities with Codes, from August 1st. The logic being to prevent the process being "abused" for political purposes during an election campaign.

Yesterday, I received notice of yet another complaint filed by Jason Ballantyne, Manager of Communications for the Town Of Aurora.

This one is not about harassment and concern for his professional reputation before his peers.

It is a complaint about contravention of Clause 3 of The Code. About information I provided in Blog posts about the Westhill Development application.

Mr. Ballantyne has undertaken to dispute my take on the issue.

The Westhill Development appeal is currently being heard by the Ontario Municipal Board in the old library building on Victoria Street.

If you can, you should drop in and hear it for yourself.

Have I Ever Told You

I don't believe administrative decisions or recommendations are made to Council without the Mayor's imprimatur.

Since early in 2009, staff reports and recommendations appear to be substantially fewer.

It didn't used to be like that.. I am compelled to ponder the political ramifications behind everything I read. I worry and wonder about stuff going on I don't even know about.

I asked several months ago about the financial reports from the Culture Centre. The Treasurer said he had one on his desk, he was waiting to get at.At the same time, I asked when the Aurora Museum was going to be set up in its rightful place.

That Mayor skirted around that question .

I had a subsequent conversation with an official at the Centre. It seems a report was submitted in April. Also arrangements were being made for a public presentation to Council in September.

Council never saw the report from April. September is half over. Still no presentation.

A town -owned facility, in it's first year of operation, with a budget of more than half a million dollars of taxpayers' money, new spending in our budget, managed by a board without political representation.

An election, the time of accountability, is underway.

Still, there has been no public accounting of this new, much publicised and ballyhooed cultural service which costs us so dear.

What are we supposed to think? Why is the report being withheld from Council and the community?

The board is not keeping secrets. They did what the agreement required .

It's not easy to keep secrets like that. When a report is required according to an agreement and intended to be part of the public record, it's not hard to track it down.

Not everyone has a vested interest in keeping secrets.

In the current climate, I can't even be sure the entire Council is in the dark about the substance of the report.

The gang of six openly about hang around after Council meetings. They "chat" together as if they have no homes. I am fairly certain they are not engaging in social chit-chat. Therefore the conversation must perforce be town affairs.

It's not how it should be. It is how it is in the Mormac regime.

I am thinking of the library board meeting on Wednesday evening;

the pointed questions asked by a tag-team of Councillors on Tuesday about how the public are or are not informed about the business of the library;

the spurious and vexatious resolution on the agenda from Councillor MacEachern's special friend.

The subsequent Invasion of the Body Snatchers led by the Mayor .

Are we expected to believe that all came together without a plan.

Well... I hardly think so.

Answering The Phone

Kept me busy today . I had to do a bit of snooping. The computer disconnected itself
somehow. I posted a comment or three to the Aurora Citizen.

The Mayor's shill was mis- interpreting comments, I had to deal with that.

The Ontario Municipal Board hearing started on Tuesday at the Old Library. I meant to attend . But Tuesday was not the date I recalled.

OMB hearings are generally held at the Town Hall.

But we have an election happening. Tons of activity at the town hall to prepare for election worker training , advance polls, and the big day.

The Clerk is the Elections Officer the entire operation is his responsibility.

Most municipalities reduce meetings to nil prior to an election, in consideration of the extra work and the importance of getting it right.

Council was informed on Tuesday,Regional meetings are over until after the election

The regional clerk's department doesn't have to deal with agendas, reports, meetings or minutes or delegations of any kind for three months

And they don't even have to deal with an election.

Councillors can concentrate on election campaigns and meetings can't be turned into campaign circuses.

The City of Toronto had their last meeting in August.

We not only have meetings, we have endless and repetitive delegations that morph into cosy or hostile personal exchanges with the presiding member,depending on whether they are friend or foe.

Last minute add-ons to agendas which should require a two-thirds majority vote to suspend the procedure bylaw, are regularly approved by a simple majority.

Last Tuesday's adjournment was 1.15 a.m. If staff present started that day at 8.30 am, it meant their work day was seventeen and a half hours.That's not reasonable.

Beside the fact that under Provincial law, the municipality is required to legislate by Bylaw, dates, times and place where public business will be conducted.

What public can be expected to attend, when the meeting is regularly extended from
10.30pm ,the legislated hour of adjournment, until 1.15 a.m.

By no stretch of the imagination can that be described open , transparent or sane.

Anyway,the Westhill Development Application Hearing is being conducted at the old library.

Space is reserved for six weeks. Whether accommodation is provided for spectators, I do not know. Facilities are not great.The building is a dump. But that's where it's at

Anybody who has the time and interest would benefit from dropping in.

If the decision goes in Westhill's favour, there will no doubt be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth about the incompetence of board members.

It would be good for citizens to be able to form their own judgement about that.

Comments

The Aurora Library Board has it's own web site. Everything you need to know about the Board . Meetings, Agendas, Minutes are all there for anyone to access.

The Town uses the library as an information resource for our own purposes. Town Documents are displayed at the library for anyone to read.

The minutes for last night's board meeting are probably not posted yet. But the agenda likely is there. Ms Beaton's motion was circulated with the agenda beforehand.

Ms. Beaton's motion was seconded by Councillor Wilson. Both have been board members for some time . The Board meets once a month except in summer. If either member, at any time, thought the board was not following proper procedures for public business, they had the responsibility to make their objections known.

They never did.

Instead they chose the eve of an election to make unfounded accusations of impropriety against the Library and The Board.

It's not a secret Geoff Dawe is a candidate for the Office of Mayor. Mr. Dawe has been a member of the library board for the past seven years. The first term appointed by the last Council , of which the current Mayor was a member. The second term by the current Mayor and Council.

I have been a member of the Board for the same period. Nothing happening now is different to what has happened throughout that period .

You don't have to be a genius to figure out the plot.

It's a shame the Library and the Librarian have to be dragged down into the murky side of politics to serve a nefarious purpose .

By the way, Louise,The Librarian is C.E.O. and not C.A.O. as I stated before. I found that out on the Library Board website.

No...It's not

christopher watts said...

"It's not about what is between the legs. It's about what is between the ears."

Is that a Buck-ism

I love it!

way to sum it up

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I first heard that thought expressed forty years ago. By a devout young Catholic mother intent on taking on the Catholic Church ,on behalf of Catholic families, starting with the Toronto Archdiocese and the late Philip Archbishop Pocock.

Joan Donnelly of the Toronto Donnellys married Dominic McKenna and raised a family of eleven children and two foster children in a frame house they built at the top of the bank of the Holland River in Holland Landing..

As the family grew, the house expanded.

They formed a small organisation of Catholic families and I was a part of it for a while

As well as raising and working to provide, Joan and Dominic both took post secondary courses leading to B.A.s at York University. Joan became a teacher of business skills at Huron Heights High School.

Dominic died in mid- life and Joan raised the family by herself.

Last I heard of her was that she would likely join a Catholic Community out west.

I first heard the word antediluvian from Joan, in connection with the male dominated church which she was striving to make more reflective of its membership.

The community is full of heroes undertaking monumental challenges of their own free will.

Joan Donnelly Mc Kenna crossed my path and never again left my consciousness

A Comment

Anonymous said:

I have had to deal with Newmarket council over the last 3 years. I have nothing but good things to say about them. They are the most agreeable, helpful bunch that I have ever seen.

This may sound sexist and it is not the intent, but the other difference is that they are all male. Anyone that has worked with women in senior management positions would have to agree that women have a different style of management - confrontatiional most times.

16 September, 2010 9:14 AM

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Thanks for the comment. It allows me to respond.

I have served on other councils with women members. I have never served on one like this.

The group of six are three women and three men.

The common factor is a lack of intelligence, discernment and judgement.

It's not about what is between the legs.

It's about what is between the ears.

Library Board

Meetings are once a month. There are no committees. Agendas are usually brief and uncomplicated. Meetings are civil and until recently, never dis-agreeable.

Board members come through the library to attend. We can see everything going on... kids at computers. the Optimists' room where little kids are, people sitting in a good light and comfort, reading and staff busy looking after different needs. The board room may be the staff lunch room. It's nothing fancy. Staff make tea and coffee and some treats are on the table. It's a welcoming and happy place.

Being a library board member is nice? We are almost at the end of the term. The new Council will receive applications and appoint new members.

But something else was going on last night. I told you about how the Chairman and the Librarian were received at Tuesday's Council Meeting. You know.... the old right hand jab.....jab jab.

I have never understood why people are gratuitously uncivil to others. I've never gotten used to it. I don't expect it and I don't accept it. I am inclined to react to it.

Near the end of Tuesday's agenda, was a resolution from Councillor MacEachern's friend. It was an entire page of non-factual and accusatory references. It concluded with a recommendation to refer matters to the body providing finances for recommendation on "best practice" operation of the library board.

There is a Provincial Library Boards Act. It governs library board procedures. The Library Board is subject to the Library Boards Act.

Councillor John Gallo was present at the start of the meeting. As it went on ,the rest of the group appeared, one at a time. The Mayor made a point of shaking hands with Councillor Gallo when she arrived. Councillor Gaertner came last. Councillor Wilson was there already as a board member.

Board members are volunteers. They tend to be dedicated to the task.They are civil and congenial, as I said. But they are no more inclined to accept offence than any other self-respecting citizen.

The resolution was offensive and accusatory.

It was seconded by Councillor Wilson. It was on the table for discussion.

The mover stated "The motion speaks for itself, Mr.Chairman"

A pause followed to allow the seconder to indicate a desire to speak.

He did not.

I moved the question be put.

It's not a common motion. It has the effect of either halting or not permitting debate.

Considering the offensive and non-factual content of the motion,my intention was to deny deliberation. The required majority was received. No debate took place.

Councillor Wilson expressed dissatisfaction with the process.

Councillor Collins Mrakas declared the motion he seconded was offensive and should not have been accepted.

That was the end of it. Councillor Wilson left the meeting soon after

It has become the tradition, since nomination meetings became historical artifacts, for an all candidates meeting to be hosted by the Library.

The Librarian reported the organisation was proceeding and the Board were informed of the date.

Councillor MacEachern's special friend and confidant wanted to know why the Board was not organising the all-candidates meeting as in the past. It wasn't clear where the member obtained that information.

It was wrong.

Currently five board members are candidates in the election. Three Councillors are always members.

For the Board to be involved in organizing an all-candidates meeting would be entirely inappropriate.

The meeting adjourned. Several members, including myself left immediately.

As of this moment, I have no idea why the Mayor and followers chose the second to last meeting of the Library Board in a four year term to attend a board meeting.

Maybe something happened after we left.

I Heard Something

Newmarket Councillors are paid $44,000. They also receive benefits.

Newmarket has a Mayor and a Regional Councillor who are elected at large. They have wards and seven ward councillors; the same size Council as Aurora.

Aurora Councillors receive $24,000 and no benefits except for the Mayor who receives $10,000 worth of benefits.

Running in a ward must certainly be a whole lot easier and less expensive for candidates in Newmarket than it is in Aurora.

We had a whole lot of talk about a ward system in Aurora earlier. Council decided not to put the question on the ballot so it isn't an issue.There were people though who thought it would be a better system.

I found the information about Council pay in Newmarket interesting. I thought you might think so too. I would guess they don't have the same working conditions up there either.

I am a member of the Joint Council Fire Committee with three Newmarket Councillors. They certainly are more congenial. Maybe it's because they are better paid.

Nah...I don't think that's it.

Jamie Young is not running again for Mayor of East Gwillimbury. Jamie hired a lawyer with another Councillor to deal with a Code Of Conduct complaint against them. It seems Mr.George Rust D'Eye told them they shouldn't attend Council meetings because it would be a conflict of interest. So they didn't.

It was the Chief Administrative Officer who filed the complaint.

East Gwillimbury was a shambles for a while until the people said...we've had enough of this...and that was the end of it.

Jamie and his wife are expecting a new baby in a couple of weeks. Apparently that's why he's not running again.

I should see if anybody up there wants to tell the story about the Code of Conduct kerfuffle in East Gwillimbury. Last I heard the Town was in for $11ks and no good came out of it.

Union Negotiations

Everybody understands the need for confidentiality. It comes under the heading of bargaining in good faith.

Negotiations have been going on since March. By next Monday morning , the union is in a legal position to strike.

A No Board Report has been issued at the request of the union.

I have to be very careful. I can say nothing that hasn't been said in public already.

At last night's meeting, Mr. Elliott , our Chief Financial Officer,also in charge of Human Resources under the "re-org" as the Mayor likes to refer to it. and now union negotiator, was invited by the Mayor to provide Council with an update.

I am not sure why that was needed. Council had an in camera meeting one week ago and and an update at that time.

Mr. Elliott reported the possibility and proximity of a strike.

He noted a final conciliation meeting is to be held before that can happen.

He expressed confidence an agreement will be reached.

And reported management and labour relations have improved in the process of negotiations.

He doesn't know if the union are just rattling their chains.

But reports a plan is in place to go, if there is a strike.

Recreation facilities will have to be closed for safety reasons in the event of a strike.

We are advised town organisations must be informed of the possibility that facilities will not be available for the start of the season's programs in the event of a union strike.

The information was provided to Council during last night's Council Meeting.

Last Night's Meeting

We passed the hour of adjournment. Still we chatted. A motion was made to extend the hour of adjournment .

!0.40 pm.We had not yet started the agenda. Councillor Gaertner and the Mayor had things to say under Public Service Announcements which were not public service announcements. They chatted easily and comfortably about all the things they wanted to talk about except public service announcements.

I've never understood what public service announcements have to do with the Corporation's Business Agenda. It's like Council is Acting Promotional Agent for every organization in this Town and others around. .

Department Heads are chained to their chairs in rapt attention. I often wonder how they manage to fit in time off, in lieu of all the late hours they spend at Council and still manage to get their work done. I believe we have to pay after a certain number of hours off in lieu. Sometimes so many hours are owing, it amounts to an extra week off.

Add that to vacation entitlement, and it's not hard to see how Topsy grows.

So when you are sitting at home watching and listening to the amazing stuff you see and hear at Aurora Council Meetings, just imagine the ching ching of a cash register every hour on the hour.
Or a one-armed bandit ringing loudly and spilling out the winnings. You however, are not the winner.Nobody is really.

I've noticed the Town Solicitor making use of his time. He appears to be doing some editing Everyone else occupies the time trying to keep expressions blank. Even while
talking, the Mayor's eyes are everywhere, watching to see who might be exchanging glances.

It was beyond eleven pm. before items on the agenda were called for discussion. I left at ten- past eleven.

There was an item from the general committee meeting I particularly wanted to discuss.

It hadn't come up before I left the previous week which was also at ten minutes past eleven.. .

Last night. when I raised the question, the Mayor wanted to know, had I participated in the discussion at the previous meeting. I said, "I am participating now, Madam Mayor.

She asked the question again. . I gave the same answer. I am mostly polite.

Finally I said, "if you are not going to allow me to participate Madam Mayor, I will leave the chamber now"

So, she did. And I did. But even though staff were nodding in agreement with my argument, it made no difference.

Ever the optimist..... I just keep trying......you know.

After all, it's the reason I'm there. Well, you know that And I know that. The question is, do they know that. Hardly seems so.

An in- camera meeting was to follow the public meeting. We had spent four hours lazily
lounging around the table listening to the Mayor, challenging, explaining and creatively changing and embellishing the salient facts.

The Aurora Library Board presented their Strategic Plan last night.

Councillor Gaertner had some questions about whether board meetings are public? Is an agenda circulated? Is there space for the public to attend ? How does the board let the public know they can attend ?

Councillor MacEachern had some helpful comments about how the board could improve their operation so that Councillors and the public could be more aware of the library's business affairs.

There are three Councillors on the Board and all other members are appointed by Council. One of them, a special friend and close confidant of Councillor MacEachern.

It was an odd discussion. There was a hint of something.

My Goodness Me...there's nothing secret about a library . We fill shelves with books, all kinds of people come to browse happily , leave with armfuls, bring them back and get more.

We provide helpful assistance to library users and according to a survey done by the Town some years ago, library service is on a par with parks in people's esteem.

The Board's presentation was to have been made weeks ago. When cameras were still in the Council Chamber. People at home might have enjoyed hearing about the Library's Strategic Plan. Or listening to the answers o the questions. It might have been fun to guess what they are up to now.

Council had deferred the board's presentation until last night.

Prior to our previous town CAO's leave-taking, Louise the Librarian, CAO of the library, was a member of the Town's Management Team. Since then ...Not.

We never heard of a reason for the change.

Maybe it's a secret.

I heard they left the Town Hall at 1-15 a.m. this morning.

About Commuting and Families

Many Go passengers do more than just catch a train in the morning. Children have to be transported and picked up at the end of the day.Shopping has to be accommodated,

Family schedules don't necessarily accommodate a brisk walk or a leisurely bus trip.Getting off the train doesn't necessarily mean the end of a working day.

That doesn't mean it's acceptable to choke residential streets in the heart of the town with parked cars for a whole day.

If people have to use their cars , they might just as well drive a little farther to the edge of town. If it has to be on the other side of Bathurst on the edge of King, that would be fine too.

It would solve a myriad of traffic problems in the heart of Aurora.

It has been said the Town had no say in the placement of the $74million dollar Go parking garage.

I am not inclined to swallow that. Go didn't decide to spend all that money in that location without being invited and encouraged to do so by the Municipality. If not by the Council, certainly by the Mayor.

The Mayor takes credit for the "new amenity"of the Go Transit Parking Facility.

The Steering Committee chaired by the Mayor is recommending removal of parking alongside the railway tracks on Berczy Street to make way for a "linear park"

The consultants, directed by the Mayor, are telling residents in the neighbourhood, parking is a function of the roads in front of their homes. .

The convenience of one group at the expense of another is a sure way to split a community into factions.

In the past, Aurora has borrowed to provide land for industrial development to provide employment for residents in their own community.

Provincial policy requires municipalities to provide for employment lands in the planning process.

Yet, with the encouragement of the municipality, Go transit continues to swallow up ever more employment lands, produces no assessment revenue and certainly no jobs.

There were arguments against a Separate High school being built on Wellington Street and refusal to sell lands to York Region to build a Police headquarters. because no taxes would be derived.

Hundreds of police and teaching jobs and the boost they would provide to local businesses was dismissed by some Councillors as irrelevant. .

Working families are having to share homes to pay a mortgage. Others living in basements and attics, paying half their income for rent, leaving not enough for food and making them ,in this day and age, in this affluent community, dependent upon food banks is apparently acceptable.

$74 million spent on a pile of concrete to shelter cars , built on lands which should be producing jobs and revenue to reduce the burden of taxation , is in my opinion, an obscenity.

Also At Wednesday's Planning Meeting

I asked the consultants, if at any time during the study anyone had ever suggested picking up Aurora station and moving it outside of town.

At a time when people cant afford to buy enough square footage to raise their families, why are we using up ever more of the heart of our community, for space for cars to sit empty and idle twelve hours a day five days a week.

The traffic consultant looked to the Mayor for permission to speak. But the question was not answered.

Number One consultant offered that Newmarket is currently doing that. We know it has been done in Maple and East Gwillimbury as well.

In Aurora, we have a massive, out of scale, concrete structure that is apparently and predictably not being used.

Neither is it built at an angle in its space as the Fol-De-Rol Study envisions on Yonge Street immediately north of the Wellington Street intersection.

Who ever heard of a higgledy-piggledy street scape built on angles.

I can't even put a carport over my driveway because it would spoil the line of the street scape of my street.

Remember how Councillor MacEachern voted against approving in principle the Yonge-Centre development proposal until after completion of the Fol-De-Rol Study.

Councillor Gaertner didn't want a variance to a sign on the canopy of a gas station considered at the corner of Yonge and Aurora Heights, until the wonder- of- wonder study was done.

Did I tell you about the Centres of Excellence included in the study. In planning language that would be institutional use. But such mundane language is hardly fitting for the much- heralded document.

Only in Aurora, you say.

Yes but only on paper, I say. It is expensive verbiage

Mr. Givens of Malone. Givens and Parsons , Planners, waited to be last to speak at the planning meeting. He did what Planning Consultants always feel they must when addressing Municipal Councillors.He was representing several land-owners . It's necessary to be persuasive.

He was full of praise and appreciation for the excellent work done by the Steering Committee. Then he raised a point on behalf of his clients .

The Town's consultant noted sixty points in all out-standing in the concerns of the landowners.

Procedures have already begun on their behalf at the Ontario Municipal Board.

From the response given by the Mayor to their concern, it appears Smart Centres may be compelled to go the same route.

Having the Five Year Revision of the Town's Official Plan decided by the Ontario Municipal Board is not the best use of town resources.

Adopting the Revision at last knocking, after nominations are closed and before an election isn't best political practice either.

Wednesday 's Planning Meeting

Was a Statutory Meeting to provide for the public to have their input.

There have been thirty-eight previous meetings. Most comments appeared to have been made already.

The Mayor referred to many private meetings between herself, neighbourhood groups and individuals and the Director of Planning, to satisfy various concerns.

It seems not all parties received the same consideration.

A spokesperson for the prominent site of the former Price Chopper store had serious concerns with the Fol-de-Rol Promenade Study and received short shrift.

Re- development of the site is contemplated.

The study requires the building be placed at an angle and height to be limited.

The property fronts onto Yonge Street. Property to the North is under-utilised, shabby and ancient industrial. South is a dollar store, a bank and a major intersection. The rear has road frontage, faces an apartment building ,a handful of homes and overlooks a park.

The spokesperson for the proposed development spoke to economic viability and problems with requirements of the Promenade Study.

The comments were "received". I sought clarification. The points had obviously been made before. Would there be consideration or was the "stakeholder" wasting her time in making them yet again?

"Oh well, said the Mayor, we can't all get what we want, can we."

The response put a new slant on the word "stake-holder".

Word on the street from the real estate industry, there will be no more time wasted or investment made in our downtown core without a change in understanding of the meaning of the word stakeholder. I guess we know what that will take.

A spokesperson for Smart Centres spoke of their plans to continue development on the south side of Wellington at Leslie and the 404.

No change is proposed in O.P.Amendment No. 30 of the current Official Plan.

It means Smart Centre's further development is not contemplated in the revised O.P.

They're the people who had to hand over $50ks at three permit stages to a total of $150ks to ease competition from their development to the downtown core.

Concerns expressed by Smart Centre spokesperson were clearly not a concern to the Town.

Consultants were not asked to comment.

Residents from the station neighbourhood were there to speak of ongoing problems with commuter parking.

It seems the $74 million pile of concrete on Wellington Street has not provided the relief anticipated.

The Mayor explained the elevator is not working.

The Fol-de-Rol Promenade Study recommends a "linear park" alongside the railway track on Berczy Street in place of parking.

Residents detailed the problems created by parking on their streets. The consultants had some interesting answers.

The chief consultant explained it's not anticipated commuters will continue to bring cars to the station. They will walk or use buses. He didn't explain why they're not doing that now or why change may be anticipated.

One consultant offered that parking on both sides of a street is a form of traffic calming.

The first joined in again...... homeowners don't own their roads. They are publicly owned. Part of their function is to provide parking.

Residents are probably well aware of the need for visitors, service people and delivery vans to park on roads.

It's an amenity we have enjoyed and expect to continue to enjoy. Since our property taxes pay for construction and maintenance of roads , I think we can be excused for feeling a degree of ownership.

The separate problem of commuter cars parked for an entire day, thereby removing amenity customarily enjoyed by residents ,creating problems for snow-plowing and hazards for children and blocking residents driveways, were clearly not registering with either the Mayor or the consultants. I am not sure there's any real difference between the two.

The three plans combined into a Revised Official Plan are intended to be adopted by this Council on September 28th.

As of now, an election is underway. On October 25th, the electorate will exercise their single opportunity to determine membership of the next Council.

In homes,businesses and gatherings all over Aurora, people are discussing how well were they served in the last four years. Or do they need to make a change.

Results may not be assumed.

For a Council to adopt plans for the next five years, at a time when they may be on their way out of office; the plans may be part of the reason for their exit, is in my judgement more than a mite presumptuous.

I Try Not To Pay Too Much Attention

To figures. How many visits. How many views. I don't know what it means. Stats used to tell me where visits and views were from . But why should it matter...they might have been Aurora folk far from home.

When I started writing the Blog,I had no idea where it would take me or its limit.My gut told me it would be a powerful tool. Perfect for my hand.

I found myself thinking, if only people knew. then I'd realise...I can tell them

I thought things recorded in Wikipedia are there forever.I can't worry about stuff that can't be changed.

Now I find the record can be changed. I'm still not going to concern myself .. Doing what I do occupies enough of my time.

Paranoia is an occupational hazard for politicians..

Obsessing on what people think of you, needs to be strictly disciplined. Of course it matters,

But people will believe what they believe. I certainly don't have the personality to be worrying about how I am portraying myself at the same time as trying to project an idea or a rationale.

I think therein lies a path to madness.

I learned things as I went along.

I use names if there's political involvement . I think that's fair. If one holds public office, everything said, every thought expressed belongs in the public domain.

I can't know what was in a person's head when a statement was made. But I'm hearing it the way any other would hear it. It is subject to the listener's reception..

If I'm writing about it, my perspective is read. Readers still have the freedom to decide for themselves if my perspective is acceptable.

They do.

It has been an interesting journey. The upcoming election will be a measurement.

Did this blog influence readers' perception of politics?

I think it must.

Did reading a table-side view of events as they happened ,make them participants?

I hope it did.

In the years since we have had a right to vote, are people more engaged because of the social media now than they were before.

That's what I am anxious to discover.

Since I started, hundreds of thousands of public dollars have been spent. Various lawyers have been engaged. A bylaw was adopted to prohibit my freedom to speak. A person was added to the town's payroll "to read blogs and letters to the editor to correct any misinformation that might be out there".

I am still writing the Blog.

But not without cost.

When my grandfather was a young husband and father, he gathered around the kitchen table with others like him, to talk about why they had to work so hard and still not earn enough to feed their children properly. The " baillies" (police) had authority to smash open the door to his home, attack them with truncheons, to stop all talk abut the right to vote.And they did.

When my grandmother's first-born son fought and was wounded in the trenches in France and in 1917, killed at the age of twenty -two, on blood-soaked beaches at the Dardanelles, he had no right to vote.

Now I do have the right to vote . I have the means to provide my neighbours, a well rounded account of what they have a right to know without meeting in secret at a kitchen table.

Yet, in the Town of Aurora, in 2010, it remains for a court to determine that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms really means "freedom of thought,belief, opinion, expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication"

Here's A Sample

My opposition to the disposition of the former Aurora Hydro Building by a lease to the Department of National Defense is already a matter of public record.

Council's discussion and decision was made behind closed doors.It was reported out immediately and a recorded vote called .

It was not a unanimous vote.

The Chief Administrative Officer is well aware of that.

Yet he offers an opposing view in support of the outgoing Mayor's joyful approbation of the deal, in a media release from the Town's Corporate Communications ..

He is quoted;

the deal,once approved by the federal government would be a significant investment by DND in Aurora,.

"It's a great day for Aurora" said Garbe. This means the Queen's York Rangers will continue to be a part of the town for years to come The agreement-- once it's ratified by the Federal government
will generate significant income for the town over the next decade as well as provide additional working space for DND staff "

By not selling the building, Garbe said, the town retains hold on a valuable asset, while at the same time, gaining a steady income stream from DND.

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

I think that's a pile of horse puckeys.

I believe 2 million dollars in the bank, proceeds from the sale of the building, earning a comfortable rate of interest in the hydro reserve fund. would be a far better deal for the town.

I believe the sale of a 2 million dollar industrial facility into the private sector would be a hundred per cent better investment in the Town's future.

I believe assessment revenue from the facility, privately owned, plus interest from 2 million dollars in a reserve fund is a hundred per cent better than playing landlord to the federal government.

I believe twenty seven jobs, which the building previously accommodated when it was the Hydro building, are far more important to the community than the part-time officers of the Queen's York Rangers having more space to spread out for their week-end activities.

I don't believe there 's any possibility of Queen's York Rangers moving out of the Armories at the corner of our town park. It suits them very well.

I think that's a canard.

I believe it is unseemly for an outgoing Council to be making deals like this on the eve of an election.

I further believe it is entirely inappropriate for the town's Corporate Communications to be issuing media releases about puffball triumphs during an election campaign.

I believe it is a flagrant abuse of town resources and shameful in the extreme.

Why ?

Are elected officials not employees of the municipality ?

Because they are not hired and therefore cannot be fired. That's why.

Soon after a new Solicitor joined the Town's administration, the Mayor invited the officer to inform the Council of her status as an employee of the Municipality.

He obliged and declared it was so.

It's a tactic of the Mayor to set a staff person up to say something she wants to be said withot taking personal responsibility.

Some staff do it with less grace than others.

I declared I was unable to accept the solicitor's advice.

Signs were, the Mayor's objective was a complaint under an administrative policy that prohibits harassment of an employee.I think she was planning to complain about being harassed by me.

When I stated myself unable to accept the professional advice, the direction changed from a potential accusation of harassment, to shameful criticism of staff and Council's dire need to protect them from a pernicious assailant.

Me, Myself. Alone.

Councillor Gaertner asked the solicitor to outline how many years he had been a municipal solicitor.

As a strategy obviously it's better to be seen to be fighting to protect someone helpless to defend himself than engaging in the lowly art of politics.

It was hardly subtle.

The solicitor's opinion rested on an arrangement made with the Region of York about Regional Councillor benefits.

The base salary is around $50ks. Benefits are worth $10ks.

Councillors are not enrolled in the Region's benefit program. For some reason, they are enrolled in the municipality's program. So benefits are tacked on to the municipal salaries rather than the Region's. No doubt there is a reason. I just don't know it.

They are also entitled to severance pay when they retire or are defeated in an election.

There may be other benefits I don't know about.

In order for the benefit package to be paid, the Mayor of the day had to be classified as an employee.

An Aurora Councillor salary amount to about $22ks a year. There are no benefits. No severance pay . I noticed a rate on a pay slip once during the last term. It was $7.00 an hour. Hours were a fraction then of what they are now. But that's this Council's responsibility.

Aurora's part-time employees are paid $11.00 an hour. They don't get benefits either.

We provide full-time services with part-time workers because they are not entitled to benefits or vacations and we use them for statutory holidays so that we don't have to pay full-time employees time and a half.

It's cheap. A huge discrepancy exists between their remuneration and the people at the top.

But it's still better than a Councillor.

But I digress.

A couple of weeks ago I was informed of a comment made by the Mayor at the Farmer's Market.

A remark had been written about harassment

The Mayor said , she was glad it was understood because she had just ordered an investigation into harassment.

A innocent remark, you think

Well....... No...I don't think so.

That's why the question of whether an elected official is an employee of the municipality becomes relevant at this time.

Further Info on the Hydro Building

"Usually I would agree with you regarding the Hydro building, and you might be right. However, I also know that Aurora is projected to grow by about 40% over the next 20 years. The town will need more land and buildings as it grows.

Is it really logical to sell a useful building like this now, only to have to buy it (or another similar building) back at a higher price a few years from now?

There is also no guarantee you would get any industrial usage from that building if you did sell it, nor be able to replace the 27 lost jobs. This way at least the Town gets to keep a good building which they will certainly be able to make good use of in the future"

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

When this Council took office, a space needs study was underway. The parks and works facilities were under pressure.The Hydro building was being used by parks for certain functions.

That became the initial focus of the study because the decision as to its disposition was pending.

The consultants, operations staff and Director of Leisure Services supported the
recommendation.

The powers that be, whoever they may be, flatly rejected the advice received.

Space needs of public works and parks are still critical.

Meetings and Bad Cess to us

Three this week. Two on Tuesday. I left the chamber at ten minutes past eleven that night. Councillor Gaertner was solemnly engaged with the usual constant quest for information. There was no sign of an end to it. After seven years you get a sense.

The first meeting started at 5.30pm.and ended at 7pm.Two items were on the agenda. Union negotiations and disposition of the former hydro property.

We have decided to lease the hydro building to the National Defence Department and we are spending $50.000 to install a security system for our new tenant

The rent will be $131.ks a year with a twenty year lease.

The hydro building is architect designed, the facilities and property are probably worth a couple of million dollars. It was built by Aurora Hydro.

Before Power stream vacated , there were twenty seven employees in the building. $70ks a year in potential assessment revenue.. It was an asset of considerable value and should have been sold at the same time as the hydro corporation

Two million additional dollars would have been added to the hydro reserve and earning a comfortable rate of interest all this time.

There was a election. Candidate Nigel Keane said we should use it as a youth centre. It became an election issue.

Four years later, on the eve of a new election, a decision has finally been made.

In my judgement, without the least iota of benefit to the municipality.

It was that decision the Mayor desperately wanted to exclude me from last Tuesday.

The Mayor is pleased with the deal . Her Worship has apparently had discussions with the military and "the kiddies" will be re-located from wherever they are, to a building which should have realised two million dollars to municipal coffers, produced a a minimum of $70.ks in annual tax revenues and twenty seven desperately needed new jobs in Aurora.

The building is described as a liability in the CAO's report .

We have become landlords once again.

It is not our role.

Even the Province says it's not a municipal role to own real estate surplus to our needs.

If you are looking for logic....don't even think about it.

Adam And Brent And Elaine.

They've been friends through school together. Brent is a couple of years younger than Adam so he just finished high school this year. He joined Adam at Able Network yesterday.

From time to time, they'll take the bus home together to Newmarket from the corner of Yonge and Church.

Brent has good language skills and is known for sharp cheeky answers. Adam is like the big brother who keeps an eye on the younger one.

Adam was at my house this morning , busy writing up his schedule.

He and Elaine are going to have dinner together at Swiss Chalet. He sent her a written invitation. Elaine has strawberry blonde hair and "beautiful eyes". She lives in a street called Evelyn Buck Lane.

Adam phoned on his cell phone one day, on the way to help at the church, to tell Mum about Elaine's beautiful eyes.

They will all go bowling together now the Fall season has begun.

Adam will be swimming again with the Master Ducks. Elaine swims as well.

Fall is always a time of excitement with young people around. Everything starts anew.

New books. New Clothes. New teachers.New schools.

Meghan starts at Williams High this year. Her Mum and Dad's old school .

Aaron started at George Brown College downtown. He took a year to decide.Had that amazing fifty-seven day adventure in Europe and another in Jamaica. in the year between.

Robyn starts her second high school year. There's a trip to France to look forward to.

That's Robyn's third year in high school. Dammit!

Adam, Brent and Elaine have a host of things to look forward to as well.

Life is good.

Toronto City Council's Last Meeting

Was last week. No more opportunities exist for Councillors to exploit city business for political advantage in the upcoming election.

Councils past in Aurora have made no substantive decisions after candidate nominations close.Unless the matter was critical.

It was never formally adopted but the common understanding , after nominations closed no assumptions could be made about who would form the next Council.

An outgoing Council, could not saddle an incoming Council with decisions they had no part in making and might very well not support.

We received a memorandum from Town Solicitor last week explaining that if 75% of the incumbent council has registered as candidates, they have all the power they need to bind the Corporation to decisions.

Council is in the process of rushing through the 2c Secondary Plan ,the Fol de Rol Promenade Study and the Five Year Official Plan Review.

The 2C Secondary Plan as drafted so far, is already being challenged at the Ontario Municipal Board.It has to be included in the Five Year Official Plan Review which should have been completed months ago. Richmond Hill finished theirs last year and East Gwillimbury in May of this year.

Watching the election unfold in Toronto, I pick up bits and pieces of how they operate down there.

The Mayor does not preside at meetings. Council chooses a presiding member from among their number.

The Mayor appoints the Deputy- Mayor. That makes sense. Councillors are elected in wards. Highest vote count would not be relevant. But is that like appointing a successor?

The Mayor appoints his own executive committee. They have to vote with the Mayor or be replaced. I heard the executive committee is a majority of Council. Then I heard it isn't.

George Rust D'Eye told Aurora Council, we could appoint an executive committee composed of all but one Council member. And I suppose they could ,if they didn't have to explain it to the community. Anyway, they didn't. They adopted a prohibition bylaw instead.

Some Toronto Councillors have been quoted as saying it doesn't matter if Rob Ford gets elected.

They will find a way around him.

The most interesting aspect of the race though is that Rob Ford still has a comfortable two digit lead (15%) over the nearest competitor. Doesn't seem to matter how much the chattering class deplores the situation. However much mud they sling, people still seem to be responding to his message.

Taxes are too heavy. Councillors are shamelessly extravagant. People are hurting.

There are only four more days for a new Mayoralty candidate to come forward.

It's not likely.

People say David Miller could be re-elected. He thinks so too. But when he held a press conference last year, and declared he would not be a candidate for Mayor again, he sounded like a man who had been run over by a steam-roller.

Garbage stacked in the parks all summer was hard to ignore. The union contract settlement was not a victory. The pressure of those summer months must have been horrendous.

Etobicoke didn't have a garbage strike. They have a private contract. They managed that when Councillor Doug Holyday was Mayor . Rob Ford is an Etobicoke Councillor.

Etobicoke was a borough. Former Metro boroughs have long-standing grievances with Toronto.

Melding former boroughs and the city into a single community has been the challenge for whoever became or becomes the City's Mayor.

Whether or not it's possible to achieve still remains a question.

Mel Lastman barely made a dent. David Miller, the intellectual elite, didn't do much better. The computer scandal happened during his watch.

How did he come through that without a smirch.

If voters give Rob Ford a chance, how he rises to the challenge will be fascinating to watch.

Of course, I'm watching from a distance. I don't really know what I'm talking about. But... it's better than watching television.

The Race Goes To The Swift

Politics in Aurora today have a different flavour. It may be inevitable.

Civility doesn't go out of style but stuff happens and politics is about reacting and responding to events as they happen.

This Blog is part of the change in our town. Since it started, two others have emerged; The Aurora Citizen and Temporary Insanity. If there are others, I don't know about them.

People have participated with comments and questions.

Blogs are not newspapers. The discipline is not the same. Circulation is not the same. The common denominator is news. The media no longer has a controlling monopoly .They no longer decide what, if, and how much information you will receive.

I make a regular contribution to The Auroran for the benefit of residents who are not on line.

That pleases some and infuriates others. I wonder why the nasties don't choose to exercise the same freedom and publish their own blog.

It doesn't cost money. All it takes is time.And of course courage to be honest with people.

I didn't start writing the Blog until it became obvious, I had no hope of being allowed to participate in the role to which I had been elected. It was August of 2007.

Of course, I couldn't be still and quiet for that. The Blog came out of the need to be heard.

Close to a thousand political posts have been published since.

Readership growth indicates the posts are well, if not joyfully, received .

With three blogs on town affairs, one can hardly argue the concept has caught like wildfire,but it's three more than were abroad during any previous term of office.

This election may be the first to be influenced, however slightly, by the new form of news circulation.It remains to be seen.

For example, on the Citizen Blog , people keep asking about the new candidates.

Does anyone know anything about them?

It seems nobody on line does.

But Citizen Blog is a perfect opportunity for new candidates to make themselves known.

Why don't they ?

Are they not on line? That will be a serious handicap.

All communication between the town and elected representatives is by internet.

Do they have nothing to say? That's hardly likely.

Residents with problems circulate their concerns to all Members of Council. Not being on line, could be a serious disadvantage.

If new candidates are reading this blog now, I suggest you take advantage of the Citizen Blog . People clearly want to know about you . They need to know. No opportunity should be missed to respond to their interest.

The Aurora Banner will tell them..... Nothing... Nada...Nil...Zilch and Zero...except of course if they get paid.

The field though is wide open. You are registered as a candidate. Serious intent is established.The time was yesterday to make yourself known.

Start your own Blog.

Let's talk.

The race is on.

For Those Who Believe

For those who believe, no proof is necessary
For those who do not believe, no proof is possible.

The quote was sent to me with the author's name; Stuart Chase.

I don't like to use a quote unless I know something of the circumstances of how it came to be. Chase was an economist and an engineer who switched from financial accounting to social accountability and wrote several books, one of which was entitled, The New Deal.

President Roosevelt read it at the time of The Great Depression. Chase's ideas about government's social responsibilities became the root of the program known as The New Deal.

I found that and more on Google. At my fingertips.

One of the nasties accused me of plagiarism the other day because I used a biblical phrase. It was in quotes to signify it wasn't mine. I think John F. Kennedy used it in the speech (Inaugural?) where he said; "Ask not what your Country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"

The quote was "to those whom much is given, much is expected"

Whoever wrote their speeches, the Kennedy brothers knew how to deliver them with flair and conviction. They had Mojo.

I wrote a post the other day about the comment from an unnamed Liberal that the party had re-discovered their Mojo I didn't think it was a word until I checked the dictionary. Among other things, the word means "magic spell".

Now I know the word is real , I just don't believe the Liberal claim .

In terms of Mojo, I think of Winston Churchill, Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas, David Lewis, Dalton Camp, Keith, the Rainmaker, Davey and yes, Rene Levesque.

Call me traitor to English Canada if you like, I do believe Rene, the man, had Mojo.

I don't see anybody with Mojo in government to-day. Which is not to say ,they're not out there somewhere.

History demonstrates, it is monumental challenge that brings out the mettle of the man or woman in a position of authority.

I believe our Town's political situation has deteriorated to the point, recovery represents a monumental challenge. As huge as I have ever seen.

I believe nothing less than a change in the Mayor's chair is necessary to change the course.It took four years to get us where we are.

We have a hard row ahead of us . We need a strong coach to take us forward. Whether he has mojo will be revealed if he is given the challenge.

I believe Geoff Dawe is the man.

But elections are won by one vote cast at a time.

Enough of you have to believe also.

You have the time and the opportunity. This challenge is yours.

Our Mythical Mystical Museum

A reader seeks to know the whereabouts of the Town Museum.

It is no more.

Several million dollars have been spent on a state of the art museum facility but the town's artifact have no home.

Name and function of Church Street School has been changed to Culture Centre.

Va Va Va Va Voom.

The museum collection is stored in boxes in the basement.

The story has many twists and turns.

I was Mayor in 1976. The Town and Board of Education partnered and built the Administrative Centre on Wellington Street. Church Street School was vacated yet again.

The Historical Society was given the top floor to create a museum. A grant was obtained to pay rent to the town. A volunteer curator, retired, worked at the museum.

I was out of office for a while.

I returned .

Rent was no longer noted in town accounts. $50ks grant to the Historical Society was.

I never discovered the reason for altered circumstances. Full-time curator operated the museum but was not part of town staff complement.

Out of Office again. Returned again after thirteen years.

Church Street School gutted. Collection stashed in boxes at Hillary House with curator

Curator retires.

New curator appointed by Historical Society.

Historical Society fund-raised for renovations to Church Street School.

Costs projected,one million

Building costing on-going maintenance.

Building not usable.

Fund- raising reached $750ks.Stopped.

Shortfall $250ks.

I moved, a resolution for town to fund shortfall.

Approved.

Cost evolved to $2.3 million.

Plan commissioned by Historical Society for museum adopted by Town.

Project completed according to plans.

Treasurer recommends management board for eventual self-sufficiency.

Ad Hoc Arts and Culture Committee appointed.

Consultant appointed.

Councillors Gaertner and Granger appointed to committee.

Ken Whitehurst, Mayor's friend and campaign organiser also appointed.

New curator, staff resource person.

Grant of $700ks obtained for museum.

New curator resigns.

Replaced by Ken Whitehurst as paid resource, while still a committee member.

President of Historical Society endorses appointment.

Consultant reports to Council.

Business Plan presented.

President of Historical Society withdraws Society's commitment to operate museum.

Initial budget of $400ks proposed, to be weaned off by $100ks a year.

Board appointed.

Purchase of Culture agreement signed.

Annual funds to be provided on a quarterly basis on receipt of quarterly financial statement.

Staff hired.

No curator.

Facility name changed to Culture Centre.

September 2009, facility in operation

September 2010, as yet no quarterly statement presented to Council. Funds continue to be provided.

No museum.

No answer to question about museum.

Events promoted . No evidence of revenue.

July 29th, free use for event charging admission.

Town meetings switched to facility as opposed to Town Hall.

No fees paid.

Church Street School Culture Centre Board receives annual funds $340,000 ,on a quarterly basis from tax revenues, under a Purchase of Culture agreement.

Building costs $140.000 to maintain with heat,light and custodial service. Also paid from tax revenues.

A financial statement was provided to the Town in April. Not presented to Council.

A second statement to be presented in September.

General Committee agenda for Tuesday Sep.7th does not include a financial statement.

Current information indicates museum will not be given space because it does not generate revenue.

One year in operation, no evidence received to date suggest any function at the Culture Centre generates revenue.

Grand piano is much in evidence.

The sucking sound you hear is half a million tax dollars, with an increase of 3% annually, being siphoned out of the town treasury to buy culture you didn't even know you needed.

The Aurora Museum , a resource used by families, schools and generations of children for forty years and aspired for many more; the penultimate reason, for millions of dollars invested in the Town's most significant artifact of all. the Church Street School, has been displaced without as much as a by-your-leave and with no indication of intent to ever allow it to surface again.

Another Ontario Municipal Board Appeal Won

On the 10th of August, the Board gave approval for the residential development project at the corner of Tyler and Yonge.

The town's decision was not upheld.

The issue was parking . The project now has the go ahead. Without going into the records, I'd say that's probably six months of the construction season wasted.

Six months of employment that didn't happen.

Hours of legal and planning staff time occupied at the town hall, with no useful outcome.

The project could have been underway and enclosed before the snow flies. They may start now but the delay has been useless and costly and will not be recovered.

Completion will be six months delayed. Six months of assessment revenue will be lost.

How many more small businesses in the core will go under that might have survived with the spark of walk- in trade from a new residential building in the central area.

What have we learned? Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Nada... Nil...Zilch ... Zero

We have the Fol-de-Rol Promenade Study by the Mormac Cult, complete with airy-fairy fanciful pictures and notions of what might be, apropos of none of the reality that for anything to happen in the core, we are entirely dependent on a partnership with the private sector's investment and ingenuity .

Meanwhile, we spend thousands of dollars , and time defending decisions that prove to be indefensible at the Municipal Board. We cause months of delay and waste of optimum construction time. Real projects funded with private investment languish on draughtsman's boards awaiting the signal.

We add staff to the administration to stimulate economic development.What a joke.

Remember the Mayor's expedition from her office with staff taking photos of blighted sites to display on the overhead at televised Council meetings complete with critical admonitions to owners to clean up their act.

Owners who have repeatedly run the gauntlet of the tortuous public planning process again and again with a kaleidoscope of plans to meet the economically impossible ideas of a group , who may never have built as much as a tree house or financed anything but a residential mortgage but are supremely confident of their competence to spot flaws in whatever comes before them and continually marvel at their own acumen.

Just look at the record:

All those failed extravagant legal processes to obtain a consolidated board hearing , doomed from the start because the board never did have the authority to grant .

Piggy backing neighbours opposition on to ours with their lawyer and their witnesses. Doubling public expense to oppose the Westhill application to develop land that has a Town of Aurora Official Plan designation to develop. While our best and only hope is to ensure the municipality's interest is protected now and in the future.

The application for the North -east corner of Centre and Yonge has never gone to an OMB appeal because the nature of the site makes it completely dependent on a zoning compromise which in the entire period of this term of office has been willfully refused.

This October, it will be a year since we have had an application for development. Public Planning Meetings have been cancelled because there were no applications to be heard.

We know about the economic downturn. It could be that. Or it could most likely be absolute futility in trying.

We are an urban municipality. Our future as a community where everyone can afford to keep their homes, is dependent on viable growth which keeps taxes at a manageable level.

It can be done.

If that is our objective..

Freedom of Odd Information Request

Councillors were circulated during the week from the Clerk's Office.

A request has been received from an individual for copies of all e-mails exchanged between Councillors and a particular individual who is known as a prolific and somewhat careless e-mail writer.

I don't know the name of the individual making the request. It's protected under the Privacy Act.

I know the name of the second individual. I don't know if it's protected under the Privacy Act . The Clerk's office is closed on a Saturday so I can't ask. I will follow the maxim that discretion is the better part of valour and not tell.

It is a familiar name. The party is not normally jealous of privacy.

There has been no e-mail exchange with myself except, I suspect, an insulting and accusatory anonymous comment thrown in my direction here and there.

Councillor MacEachern seems slightly perturbed by the request. A comment to the clerk indicates her impression FOI requests have increased lately.

They haven't. The Clerk has only started reporting to Council . Requests received. with the year not complete, reflect fewer than other years of the term, since 2006.

The Councillor seems to know the name of the party making the requests.That's odd . It's supposed to be private. But not really. I suppose if a sufficient number of odd things happen, they are no longer odd.They become normal under the circumstances.

The Councillor wonders if the town is charging full fees.

The fees are $30. an hour for searches and an additional 25cents per page of copy. It's fixed by provincial regulations. We can't charge more.

Depending how deep the search, I imagine the cost could add up to a substantial amount. One instance I know of, the cost actually discouraged the request.

The Councillor wanted to know if the search would include third parties. That's where I lost the thread of the questions.

The request is intriguing.

How would anyone but parties to the exchange, know there had been an exchange?. Would the Clerk know if e-mails had been exchanged and could the information be with-held?

I wonder what the exchange was about. Could it be damaging? Why would it be of interest?

I wonder if an invitation to be a friend on Facebook qualifies as an exchange, even if it wasn't accepted.

I got one. I didn't accept it.

I get lots of them. I don't usually click to confirm. I'm never sure of the context and am mostly busy with other things.

But that wasn't precisely the case with the individual whose e-mail exchange with Councillors is the subject of an FOI request and of concern to Councillor MacEachern.

I didn't accept that invitation to be a friend either, so I'm guessing it wont qualify as an exchange.

The Clerk indicates he will be submitting the quarterly report soon. I look forward to seeing how comprehensive it might be.

Maybe we will read about the information elsewhere before then.

Like I said. It's intriguing.

What does the person making the FOI request know that I don't ? Why would it be worth paying for?

A Campaign Memory

I did the technical formality yesterday. I paid my hundred dollars and registered as a candidate.

They still refer to it as nomination. But it's not.

Now I have to plan a campaign.

Oh Lord !

Early this morning, I thought about the late Ron Simmons. He was a Councillor of many terms.. And a variety of occupations.

He had the Canada Post parcel delivery contract.

If a resident was receiving a parcel delivery, Ron delivered a leaflet and that was the extent of his campaign. He projected an image that he didn't take much seriously. But he did.

He was a familiar figure in his red van driving around town with a fat black cigar in his face.

And of course...he lived all his life in Aurora . He played hockey when Minor Hockey was organised by Del Babcock, principal of Church Street school and the League strung out along the route of the Yonge Street Electric Car line.

The fans went along with the team. . When they won, the car rocked from side to side all the way home from the force of the celebration.

He played with Walt Davies, also an Aurora Councillor. They grew up on opposite sides of Metcalfe Street, yards from the railway line.Went to school together. Played cowboys and Indians in Sheppard's Bush and were chased by Sheppard's guard dogs.

They tipped privies together in backyards around the town park on Halloween night

They had both been Volunteer Firefighters and sat opposite each other at the Council table .Part of the time, I occupied the Mayor's chair.

Much that I know about Aurora's past, I learned from them. We were of an age. At no time ever, did they make me feel like an outsider. It was Aurora and that's what Aurora folk were like.

And of course, he had family and many friends. There wasn't much people didn't know about Ron , his much- loved wife Betty and their good-looking boys.

He enjoyed steadfast support at the polls.

I valued his friendship.

At Risk

Of boring , I will render Clause 3 of the Code of Conduct to pieces and analyse it before your very eyes.

Now read this:

"Members of Council will accurately and adequately communicate the attitudes and decisions of Council, even if they disagree with the majority decision of Council"

Think about Council as you have known it; four years of the Mormac cult and outsiders; McRoberts, Collins Mrakas and Me.

If compelled to tell about the attitudes and decisions of the Cult, how would that be portayed?

Songs of praise, warm and fuzzy compliments, expressions of marvel at their ingenuity or something less ?

What would be added to the public debate ?

Am I responsible for their decisions as well as my own and required to offer righteous rationale in the face of my own lack of conviction?

I don't think so. They should hope I will not do that.

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

"Members shall show respect for the decision-making process".

Which one is that?

The Procedure Bylaw adopted as first item of business of every new Council , required by Provincial Regulation? Stating dates of meetings for the year ahead? Fixing start time and the hour of adjournment? To complete town business within a known framework? So all may know when public decisions shall take place under a known brand of Rules of Order?

Or the process where meetings neither start nor end on time,are used to showcase the amazing talents and attributes of the Presiding Member ? Where rules favouring friends and supporters are made on the fly? And recesses are called when the chair is challenged and doesn't know what to do next?

I attended a Barnum and Bailey Three Ring Circus in London, England once. I came away with a migraine headache that lasted for days.

I saw the musical "Cats" and loved the songs and dances but the simulated smoke and clanging garbage cans had a similar effect.

A Council Meeting as currently presided is a trial of endurance. It generates no respect.

Would that it were different.

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

"Official information related to decision and resolutions made by Council will normally be communicated to the community and the media in an official capacity by the Mayor or designated staff member or through a press Release issued by the Corporation".

Majority decisions , duly recorded, are decisions of the Corporation. The Town's Corporate Communications division exists, funded by tax dollars to relay Corporate decisions to the public.

It has not been designated as the public relations arm of the Mayor's Office.

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

"Information concerning adopted policies, procedures and decisions of the Council shall be conveyed openly and accurately."

Responsibility for so doing, is a function of administration. It has no bearing on conduct of a Councillor.

The sentence is a filler.

Our Procedural Bylaw is full of stuff like that.

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

"Confidential information will be communicated only when and after determined by Council"

Provincial regulations set out those items of public business that may be held confidential.

Because of potential for litigation against the municipality, some items may never be released.

Regulations require "reporting out" of other matters when concluded by Council. Time limit for so doing is not specified. That's a flaw.

Yet the regulations do not anticipate Council keeping secrets for political advantage.

Corporation safeguards are the only imperative.

The clause denies the principle of openness and transparency.

It is not supportable.

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

Clause 3. of the Code is cited in the MacEachern's complaint filed with David Tsubouchi.

It was cited in the Commissioner's decision .

Further

The document I have is the original presented by The Clerk for Council's consideration on September 4th 2007.

Clause 3 was argued . No direction was given to change it.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since then

The Clerk retired in November 2008. A new clerk took office one week prior to his retirement. Hardly time for a complete understanding of works in progress. .

An Integrity Commissioner was appointed prior to the Clerk's leaving after an interview with the Mayor and Clerk not authorized by Council.

A new CAO took office in January. On the same day, the Treasurer submitted his resignation. He stayed until the budget was approved in mid April.

A new solicitor arrived about the same time.

Shortly after, a contract was signed with the Integrity Commissioner.

In July a complaint , prepared by a solicitor at a cost of $50,000, was filed by six members of Council including the Mayor.

In early August , a decision was forwarded to the clerk's office and distributed by the deputy-clerk who was acting in the absence of the vacationing Clerk, to Councillors in their mail boxes

It was scooped back up soon after.

I attended the town hall the following day to collect what was mine; the Integrity Commissioner. had notofied me it was there. A reporter with a camera came with me.

The new solicitor, Acting CAO, for the vacationing CAO , after a couple of consults with the Mayor while I was in the reception area. subsequently informed me, the deputy clerk had not been appointed Acting Clerk. He had been appointed Acting CAO and I would not be provided with the Integrity Commissioner's decision.

The following Monday, the Clerk returned I attended upon her and was provided with the Integrity Commissioner's decision.

Several things happened about the same time. The Clerk, who signed a five year contract the previous November, decided she would rather be retired after all and promptly took her leave.

The Mayor denied and has since consistently denied seeing the Commissioner's decision before the decision was made to strip him of his authority.

The Mayor and the same five Councillors, who signed the complaint prepared by a solicitor and publicized in several venues and is syill posted on the Town's web site, met and stripped the Integrity Commissioner of his authority.

The Commissioner's decision was refused to Councillors McRoberts and Collins Mrakas because they had refused to sign the complaint.

All I can tell you about the Code of Conduct is that it originally contained the clause requiring members of Council to refrain from communicating.

There is no record of direction to remove it.

It was already removed prior to being posted on the web site.

Not even Hercule Poirot, with all his little gray cells ticking at peak performance, would be able to fathom this mystery
.

Response To The Question

September 4th 2007 General Committee Meeting Agenda Item 8

I've had no success in copying and pasting the Clause but it is there in it's entirety.

You are correct however. The last sentence does not appear on the document posted on the web site.

There is something odd about that. A paper trail exists from the first submission of the Clerk.

It does show a recommended deletion of a section of the preceding Clause 2 Confidentiality.

Nowhere is there recommended a deletion from Clause 3. Communications

It's possible there was a slip of the finger on the computer.
There 's nothing to indicate that happened. Nor can it be ruled out.

Councillor Collins Mrakas and myself both disagreed with Clause 3. It was debated .
There was no agreement to delete it and since such direction is not in the record, our recollection seems to be accurate.

Clause 3 in its entirety is repeatedly contradictory and senseless . Deletion of the last clause makes it somewhat less obnoxious. Yet in terms of legislative language it is an embarrassment to the municipality.

Comment to a Post on Charter of Rights and Freedoms

First, I am a supporter. I believe two things. First, that you have been mis-treated by the GOS, particularly its two leaders (MORMAC). Second, I believe that MORMAC are manipulative and tend toward underhandedness and skullduggery in their dealings.

That said, I think you posted an inaccuracy of some material semantic value re: the code of conduct. Specifically, you included in a blog what you held out to be Clause 3 of the Code of Conduct. I reproduce your version below, in quotes.

"Clause 3. Communications and Media Relations.


Members of Council will accurately and adequately communicate the attitudes and decisions of Council even if they disagree with the majority decision of Council.

Members shall allow respect for the decision making process of Council

Official information related to decisions and resolutions made by Council will normally be communicated to the community and the media by council in an official capacity by the Mayor or designated staff member or through a press release issued by the Corporation.

Information concerning adopted policies,procedures and decisions of Council shall be conveyed openly and accurately.


Confidential information will be communicated only when and after determined by Council.

Communications with the media and Members of Council shall be conducted through proper interviews or media releases. Members shall refrain from writing letters to the editor or writing a regular column in the newspaper or hosting or co-hosting a regular televised program."

This is not accurate Ev. The official version, the link to which which I include below, while overly constraining in my view, is not as bad as what you wrote. There are actually 2 clause 3s, one for council, and one for committees, with the committee one only commenting on publishing news columns etc., but not with the imperative to "refrain from" etc.


http://www.e-aurora.ca/aurora/index.aspx?ArticleID=56&lang=en-CA

I can't imagine that this has been altered from an original version that more resembled your version. Can it? Do you have a version that includes your stronger wording?

Yes I do.

AN ELECTION MANIFESTO

I am a Candidate for Council again.

I believe:

I am as good as the best and better than the rest

I believe:

Every person, man woman or child, deserves fair and equal representation.

Whether or not they vote

Regardless of their means.

I believe:

In political debate, differences should be celebrated.

The right to speak frankly and freely should be encouraged.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be at the forefront of our thinking.

The morass of animosity should be kept distant .

Civil interaction should be a goal.

I believe;

A community is strengthened by its past.

We have a solid foundation to build for the needs of the present with an eye to the future.

Common sense, practicality and community have been the guiding principles

As solid today as they were one hundred and fifty years ago.

I believe:

We are each a steward of the environment. Individual actions comprise the whole.

Among the worlds people, we are most fortunate.

"To those who have been given much, much is expected".

I believe:

AN ELECTION IS A CELEBRATION OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS AND A RENEWAL OF COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY.

I BELIEVE :

AURORA DESERVES THE BEST AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME.