(Op-ed by Peter Children)
The election for three council seats is more like hours away, November 8th is the day I have been told. I for one will be glad when it is over, the results will be devastating for this city because it will give this inept mayor the fourth vote he needs to control the council and pretty much do as he pleases. So you ask: what could he possibility want, what is it that has obsessed him….besides wanting to close the HRC.
I have been around this town for a long time, I have seen a lot of mayors come and go, but never one like this. This guy is a real piece of work. Unqualified is the first word that comes to mind. Incapable is another that would fit. But has inept as he is, he’s still got three council positions mesmerized, in the gas, in deep. How does that happen? How can an elected official like a council person be consistently derelict in their duty to their constituents to the point where it becomes almost obscene. If I had voted for one of these three people I would demand an investigation into the matter.
The only thing that kept this city from going down the toilet faster than it will after this next election was Marsters, Nelson and Weaver. Together their three votes proved a safety net, a foundation of sound thinking. After this coming election it will become a free fall. This is a city comprised of some 28,000 people, it is not a contest for control, us verses them, it should run like a well oiled machine with common goals from all sides. But it does not. From the start this mayor prevailed on the city attorney to handcraft rulings in his favor, he thought he was on a school playground where he made all the rules.
Birds of a feather flock together; we’ve all heard those words before…and they are true. We all congregate with our own kind, we seek comparability among friends with common causes we relate to. But….those who choose to enter municipal politics need to have a broader understanding of all sides, not just theirs. You cannot just push and shove your way through, you need to slow down and listen to every voice in the room. Using myself; I have never been to a hockey game in my life, and with luck I will get through life with that record intact. However I realize that others enjoy it, and I want them to have a nice facility in which to enjoy themselves while doing it. We have that at the fairgrounds already, if its not good enough then put more money into it and make it better….but don’t try and ram a twenty million dollar rink down my throat in the center of town.
We have a world class auditorium at NIACC that runs a first class series of events each year. I have had the pleasure of attending many of them. 99% of the time the room is no more than half full; are you going to tell me now that if it is downtown it will fill up. Not going to happen. The same with the proposed gasification plant proposal; this mayor wants it and will do ANYTHING to put the deal together. He is ready to sign the siding contract whether you like it or not. Well life just doesn’t work like that……..
Peter Children
