Sunday, May 30, 2010

Reading between the lines of those interviews....

I just love political campaign rhetoric. I've been voraciously reading the wannabes as they reel off all the reasons about why John Q. Public should slap down their big 'ol X right behind their name on the ballot and send them off up to Old Church Road. Over my morning Columbian Supremo I went back and re-read the Enterprise interviews with the Ward 5 candidates. What a way to start off a sunny Sunday morning.

There are some classic lines in these interviews. Trudy Valier, area councillor hopeful, referred to herself as a triple threat. First off describing ones self as a threat, especially in light of the fact that our Mayor is still under DecCon 5 security levels, is something Ms. Valier might want to rethink. Hey Trudy in the entertainment industry a triple threat is someone who can sing, dance & act. So does this mean that you want to be the Ward 5 council thespian who can tap dance and organize Karaoke Kouncil for those really tense moments and you need an ice breaker? Can't you just see it now, Trudy teaching them how to sing "My Way". I'd buy a ticket for a front row seat for that show.

I howled over the comments from Amanda Squires who thinks she needs to date her voters, buy a house with them and live together before we all say "I do". Ok. Well hey Ms. Squires, "I don't". She doesn't actually think we are buying that tripe, does she?

The two dudes in the race, Kevin Junor for area and Mark Pavilons for regional council seem to think that council is a sandbox and council needs to learn to play nicely in it together. C'mon people, share your pails and shovels and no kicking sand at the weakling councillors. It almost prompted me to send Mark and email and ask him if that sandbox sand would be the same sand used in mixing up cement for the concrete to be poured into the ground for development by his former employer. Let's read between the lines on Mr. Pee's comment about why he's decided to run. "Well the timing is right in my career." Which really means I'm looking for a job. That one was right up there with a Facebook posting by Ms. Squires that said something to the effect of "love helping people with problems....now let's get me elected so I can get paid for this....". Lovely sentiment don't you think. Speaks volumes about her character, or rather, lack of it.

"When I did well I heard it never. When I did ill I heard it ever." That truthful little adage is on the side of a cookie tin that used to belong to my Grandmother. Very wise insight for a cookie tin, don't you think? Apparently nothing, absolutely nothing works right out at the town. With the exception of only one of the interviews with area candidate, Patti Foley, every other candidate had nary a good word to say about the council. There was lots of finger pointing about the divisions, lack of leadership, lack of vision, and of course the biggie....the inability to bring the council to work together blah...blah....blah. Here's a myriad of their quotes: "I think Bolton needs a stronger voice. It’s been lacking." "We need clear and better representation at the council table.” "I want to bring hope back to Bolton, positives back to Bolton." Maybe this group of messiahs should just bypass council and go right to the middle east, Afghanistan or the U.N. where their skills could really do some good. What I find really interesting is that most of the wannabes talked about having a stronger voice for Ward 5. So are they really saying that our Ward 5 councillors actually didn't do a good job? That's sure what it sounds like to me. So let's take stock here, we've had weak representation by our Ward 5 councillor for the past four years and now that very same councillor wants the mayoral job. Hmmmmm. Now I'm confused.

When asked about the infighting, mayoral candidate, Annette Groves responded with "I will end it by realizing that there are different needs in both rural and urban Caledon and I think we need to recognize those needs." She will end it, just like that. Maybe we ought to ask her why she didn't end it long before now? There were plenty of chances when Ms. Groves could have shown some good judgement and could have been a major galvanizing force for the council but instead she chose to throw fuel on the bonfire. I'm not buying what she's selling. Leopards just don't change their spots that quickly. Annie Groves has been the eye of the council storm for the past four years and she damn well knows it. Countless times I've asked her what the hell was going on and her response to me would be "I'm telling you Christine...if you knew the truth...." I'd ask her what that truth was, please tell me, I want to know, help me to understand. No answer ever came.

To that end, what about the optics of voting for her for mayor while her husband is still involved in a lawsuit with the incumbent mayor. What's wrong with this picture? Ms. Groves made a reference in her interview about getting spending under control So, here's my question to the town. How many taxpayers dollars have gone to legal costs for the Mayor to defend her in the lawsuit against Ms. Groves husband? Doesn't this all seem rather Monty Python'ish to anyone else?

In the end, I'd like to see if I could actually find one municipal council anywhere that actually gets along. Damn if I could find one. Not in Mississauga, where Queen Hazel is under siege with the likes of rogue councillor Carolyn Parrish. Not in Toronto where buffoons like Rob Ford & George Mammolitti abound and most certainly not over in Vaughan where local politics is like a blood bath. There will always be discension in councils, there is supposed to be discension in councils. I'd worry if a council were always like minded and agreed on every single thing. How our councillors conduct themselves during that process is really what the issue is here.

Finally, I would just like to give some props to area candidate Patti Foley, whose interview in the Enterprise focused on the positives. She was the first candidate who left me feeling like Bolton wasn't going to hell in a hand basket. What a refreshing change to hear someone focus on something other than the armageddon that is Caledon council. I get the feeling that Patti believes that you don't make yourself look better by pointing out the short comings of others. It speaks loudly to her credibility and her character. Finally a local candidate with some substance. Let's hope John Q. Public has enough common sense to elect this gal to office. A girl can be hopeful.

The campaign continues. Things are just getting warmed up. Time to put some ice in the martini shaker, it's just about the cocktail hour. The bar is open.

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