Say it ain't so....

Do you ever feel like you are trapped in a rerun of the film Poltergeist and find yourself saying "They're baaaaackkkkk!".  Here, let me show you what I'm talking about.

This stupidness was actually wandering around the Garage Sale circuit last weekend in Bolton.  Oh lawd.  The lunacy behind this should just start up a business called "Douches R Us" and rent themselves out.  As a side business they could sell tickets to their Jimmy Jones Tail Gate Party featuring their signature purple cocktails.  Drink up folks because the fun and games are only just beginning.  

This is the start of the 18 month campaign that will see Bolton beleaguered and battered as a handful of mutts will take on a sleazy, ugly, Perez Hilton meets the National Inquirer kind of behaviour right up to the next local election.  The rodents are raising their confectionery covered noggins in their ongoing efforts to parlay a one trick issue into a campaign platform.  It's gonna be one long, hot, miserable summer.    

Time to get the martini shaker out. 

Suzanne....this one's for you

For the record, I have not been fitted for a pair of customized cement shoes and I'm not on the bottom of the Palgrave pond. I'm alive, kicking and doing just fine. I've had quite a few inquiries as to my health, my state of mind and if I'm ok. I'm ok. It's actually quite comforting to get so many notes from people asking about me and wondering if coopSpeak will ever fire up again. I can tell by the metrics bar that the blog is constantly opened so I know people have wondered where I've gotten off to.

My hiatus from coopSpeak is really about two things, neither of which has anything to do with politics, elections or being afraid of that late night call. Rather it has a lot more to do with actually writing about something I truly love, which is just simply food. Long before I started coopSpeak I'd been an active social media food blogger with my coopspeak Eats blog. Writing about food and looking at the world of food through a camera lens is just a whole lot more fun than writing about local politics and the mediocrity and more so the hypocrisy that seem to be the circus here in Caledon.

A Fork in the Road....Some Food for Thought

"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised." - Chinua Achebe

It has felt like an eternity since I’ve posted anything here at CoopSpeak. My absenteeism extended out of the pre-election day threat and that ominous anonymous “We’re gonna deal with you after the election” telephone call to my home late one evening. After conferring with the local law enforcement and my family, we thought we’d just wait and see what, if anything at all, would ever materialize out of that cowardly, blocked number telephone phone call. I figured it would only be a matter of time until the human versions of Whiarton Willie stuck their heads up out of the ground; they are after all, rodents. Well it looks like that day has finally arrived.

1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9.....

Nine votes.

Today at 1:00 p.m. an official recount will be taken out at the Town of Caledon for the Ward 5 Area Councillor position. In all my years of living here in Caledon I can't ever remember there having to be a recount. Nine votes stand between being a winner or a loser. I'm quite certain, for both of those candidates, this will be a long morning. I wish both of these candidates the best of luck but in the end I am confident that the results shall remain the same.

Now here's some food for thought. If the results remain the same then Bolton will have just elected the former primary leaders of the community grassroots organization, Our Caledon Our Choice, as their area and regional representation. That coupled with the increase in voter turnout sends a very clear message to this new council about the intrinsic values of the residents of Bolton.

Let the count begin....1....2....3....4....5....

The Reflection of the Election

The purple haze that had filled my brain has slowly subsided from the landscapes of Caledon. Election signs have been picked up, blue boxes are filled with leftover brochures and those pricy little purple discs I'm quite sure have been turned in to some sort of useful household item such as drink coasters or better yet turned in to pretty little Christmas ornaments to be hung up on our holiday trees. The twinkle lights would catch the silver side of them so beautifully. This is the reflection of the election we've just survived.

The positive in this election was that voter turnout was up. Yup, apathy took a small kick in the ass and the electorate increased the voter turnout by about 12%. That's the good news. The other good news was that the people told its council that they wanted them to stick to the plan. The plan that Mrs. Groves continually insisted didn't really exist or at least, in her mind, needed to be taken back to square one. I for one am grateful that cooler heads prevailed on this. I do believe, though, that protecting the growth plans for Caledon, both residential & commercial, will be an ongoing battle. With highways such as the 410 and the 413 cutting their swaths into Caledon, and with Brampton heavily leaning up against the precious Mayfield Road divider, there will be constant pressure for development.

Do The Right Thing

“Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.” -Imelda Marcos

Today we vote, we cast our x's and tomorrow morning, we'll all get up and go about living our lives. Regardless of what happens with our local election our lives will still go on. We'll do our jobs, raise our families, keep on complaining about one thing or another but at the end of the day, life goes on. After all, there are shoes to be bought. :)

I've been writing away at this little blog for almost three years now and before votes get casted and counted I have a few last things I'd like to say about what has happened over the past six months during this electoral process.

Firstly, I truly believe that Caledon has been forever changed by what we watched unfold in front of us during this campaign. We have always been Caledon the good, the safest and the greenest place to live, work or play. Somehow that all feels a bit tainted and sullied but I'm hopeful that as the weeks pass that somehow we'll be able to regain our composure and get back to being what makes this community among communities such a special place to call home.

Christine, we'll deal with you after the election.......

That was what the voice on the other end of the telephone had to say to me this evening at 11:45 p.m. when I answered my phone.

You call me at my home, where my child lives, and you basically threaten me. You do this anonymously, calling with a private number and make this threat. You are nothing but a coward. A COWARD. How dare you. Oh you big tough guys, you can find me. So now I know you can read the phonebook. Uh huh.

I have forwarded all information to the Caledon OPP, including my cooperation to search my phone records.

Tell me, why a girl with a small town blog and a small town opinion gets a call like this? I damn well have a good idea of where this has come from and if you think, for a minute, that you can intimidate me you are sadly mistaken. Ask yourself who has the most to lose in this election?