Tag Archives: 2010 Municipal election

01.11.14
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Should we still use a pencil or can we now click here?

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In the last municipal vote, a paltry 39% of eligible voters bothered to cast their ballot in what proved to be a bitter mayoral showdown.
The anybody-but-Barwick election of 2010 should have been motivation enough to flood the polling booths after one of the nastiest campaigns in many years.
But, when little more than a third of voters participate, you know the system is broken, or worse, irrelevant.
Is it a case of constituents who are so weary of lies and deception at all levels of government?
Do young people — especially those voting for the first time — feel politicians of all stripes are not reaching out to them?
Or, is it overall apathy on the part of voters who have given up at having their concerns dealt with?
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01.04.14
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Who is in and who has suffered enough

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With the very distinct possibility we’ll undertake a couple of trips to the polls in 2014, the wind and water are coming together for what should prove to be an entertaining year in the council chamber at city hall.
Thursday was the first day nomination papers could be filed for the Oct. 27 municipal vote and, to the best of our knowledge, no sitting member of council has taken the first step on the road to re-election.
So, let’s do a little armchair quarterbacking and go around the horseshoe and speculate on who is going to do what this year.
Starting at the top, Mayor Heather Jackson will certainly seek a second term at the helm. Will she retain her voter base and has she managed to gain the confidence of a significant number of ratepayers who shied away from her in 2010?
There is a good possibility she will be in at least a three-horse race; has she the stamina and resources to fend off challengers?
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06.15.13
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Should we be feeding one more at the council table?

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Well, this one comes right out of the blue. Tucked away at the back end of Monday’s council agenda is a notice of motion from Ald. David Warden that council consider increasing the number of aldermen to eight from the current seven.
It won’t be debated at that time but will come up for discussion at the lone July council meeting.
Much like the wrangling over the process of filling the vacant seat on council, the timing of this motion has an off odor to it.
Call for change in the middle of summer when many residents are on holiday or their attention is diverted elsewhere.
I can hear it now: Members are overworked with committee proceedings they have to deal with. Having another body on board will ease the strain.
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05.25.13
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‘Barwick 4’ found guilty in the court of public opinion

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As if you didn’t already know this, the return of Cliff Barwick to St. Thomas council is all about balance of power and, ultimately, the construction of a new police headquarters.
Prior to the departure of Sam Yusuf, you had two, equal-sized camps in the council chamber, not unlike the disfunctional council of 2003 in which deadlocked votes were the norm.
With Yusuf’s departure last month, the balance shifted and the ‘Barwick 4’ – as Mayor Heather Jackson and aldermen Gord Campbell, Tom Johnston and Dave Warden have now been christened – were able to out-muscle the remaining three members of council in filling the vacancy.
There is no doubt Barwick will bring experience and decorum to the horseshoe. And the deciding vote needed to proceed with a new facility to house the city’s police service.
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04.13.13
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Something fishy about the police headquarters vote

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Just call them the king and queen of the flip-flop. We’re talking, of course, about Ald. Lori Baldwin-Sands and Ald. Mark Cosens and which way they will lean Monday night when city council votes on the latter’s motion dealing with a new police headquarters.
Last week, Cosens filed a notice of motion that the city “build a new, modern, state-of-the-art police facility” adjacent to the Timken Centre.
The wording of the motion is a flip-flop-flip for Cosens.
We’ll elaborate.
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10.15.11
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Any misinformation in CEO debate was self-inflicted

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The hospital refers to it as a media release. Instead, Wednesday’s announcement of a new employment agreement with CEO Paul Collins is instead a feeble attempt at damage control.

The five-year pact has proven to be a poorly kept secret and follows on the heels of the hospital board’s nose-thumbing in the direction of municipal councils in St. Thomas and Elgin.

Let’s put the hospital release under the microscope.

“The board of governors approved a new, final agreement for current CEO Paul Collins.”

The key here is “final” in the hope this will deflect criticism from chairman Bruce Babcock and his board, who have taken heat for not beginning the process of finding a replacement for Collins after his retire/rehire shuffle last June.
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05.28.11
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Sutherland Press building a backdrop for ‘smear’ campaign

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The Sutherland Press building casts more than a shadow across Talbot Street . . . the moribund edifice projected a pall over last October’s mayoral race and ultimately proved a game-breaker in the final days of Cliff Barwick’s campaign.

Days before the trek to the polls, building owner David McGee dropped a bombshell — he was suing the City of St. Thomas, Barwick, St. Thomas police and other defendants for $3 million for punitive damages and aggravated damages as well as “mental distress, economic interference and, specifically, loss of income” for what the claim states was “unnecessary demolition” in July, 2008.
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04.02.11
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Behind the scenes financially after the 2010 municipal vote

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Lost in the swirl of indignation following Round 2 of public sector salary disclosures this week were revelations contained in the financial declarations of all candidates in the 2010 municipal election.

This week, we’ll take a look at the three mayoral contestants in what proved, at times, to be a nasty battle, with the beleaguered Sutherland Press building serving as a bizarre backdrop.

Suffering through a double downside was Al Riddell, who lost at the polls and in the pocket.

According to his financial declaration, Riddell poured $17,062.69 into his bid to sit as mayor, nearly double the combined amount of the other two candidates.

That works out to nearly $6 for every vote he garnered. A poor investment for a third-place finish.
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01.08.11
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Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you

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As an ardent proponent of the written word, this time of year is particularly enjoyable because of the bumper crop of flashback features recalling the past 12 months in quotes.

It’s been a tradition in this corner to greet the incoming year by surveying the past 365 days to savour the wit and wisdom of our elected representatives.

Of course, when media scribes document a response or comment to the pages for posterity, they must be prepared for the inevitable charge of being taken out of context.

Or, as one anonymous wag noted, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.”
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