It's been a crazy month in the Gauthier household and now it's time to concentrate on the final push towards our moving day. So for the time being, I'm going to be doing more reading and less writing. There are some changes to the blog on the horizon as well, but all in time. My friends will be informed when the changes are solidified.
Candidates should start sending those flyers out introducing yourselves as Ward 3 Candidate Paul Tetley has done with us already. Those who want to satiate the voters' need for someone who can bring change should be introducing themselves at least a month ago. Now people in Stoney Creek know who Pablo Bustamante is because he participated in Stoney Creek's Canada Flag Day Parade.
And most of all, stay civil and make yourself available. And please, at least leave your e-mail address on the Municipal Election website.
Good luck to all and we'll be ready to do some more next weekend!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Fred Eisenberger and Opportunity - They don't mix!
Emma Reilly at the Spec has an interesting report from this morning's paper. Obviously, the Chamber of Commerce is unhappy, especially when a big decision as planning a center of economic activity is being deferred. Not a big surprise there on both fronts. Typical council move, followed by typical outrage on the part of the Chamber.
"So Ren," you ask. "What's the kicker?"
Well here it is. Here are a couple of passages in the story.
So Fred is not just boring. He's clueless. Oh but when money comes to their table to pork-barrel, they waste no time!
I have another idea of why this was deferred. The Aerotropolis plan by the nature of it, is controversial. Just like Copps Coliseum, they are planning on making land available for commercial use around the airport, little knowing whether or not a major player would take on the opportunity.
And there have been plenty of arguments for and against it. One group is concerned with the loss of farming land. Understandable, but tell that to the developers who have already started building homes around the airport.
Another is concerned with who will even come to the table if the opportunity showed itself. It's a point I made and I have said on other blogs that the plan should be looked at for what it is - a plan to manage growth should the need arise. The little understood thing about plans like these are that this is what is done at City Hall on a daily basis. They plan growth and zoning to facilitate growth in certain areas and the area around the airport is no different. A lot of this is psychological really.
And of course the other point that we have to ponder is how much longer will air travel be around? As oil sources are getting more difficult to find to the point we're taking dumb risks, à la BP, we have to wonder if there will be some sort of fuel to do what jet fuel is doing right now. A lot can happen over a while. There are other forms of fuel out there and we just need to find it, but for the time being jets are the way to go and they are doing everything they can to prevent this multi-billion dollar industry from going down the tubes.
The Aerotropolis if used correctly will manage the growth, should a need arise, but let's at least ensure that the horse is in front of the cart.
But here's my point altogether. The city has squandered five years on this and the fact that this is being deferred yet again is not a good indication. It's more than a sign that it won't happen, to the delight of some. It's a sign that the city hasn't changed a bit.
"So Ren," you ask. "What's the kicker?"
Well here it is. Here are a couple of passages in the story.
Hamilton businessperson Ron Foxcroft said the delays are rooted in a council full of career politicians.So what did Fred say about this?
"That's their only job. That is maybe not always a healthy thing," he said.
"When it's your livelihood, sometimes the vote doesn't go for the betterment of the city."
Eisenberger also doesn't believe the city has a pattern of waffling on controversial decisions.Well ain't that a knee-slapper? When I did 10 tough questions with Cal DiFalco, he asked me what made me upset about Hamilton and here's a couple of excerpts.
"Council is pretty decisive on most issues," he said. "I haven't seen anything that suggests that there's been dithering."
When great things happen, they take too long and great visionaries are dead before they’ve realized their visions coming to fruition. Victor Copps may not have seen the NHL come to Hamilton, but he wasn’t around to see the cool new facility with his name on it. Jack McDonald was lucky. It took almost a half a century to once and for all finish the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
...
The city has a history of deferring major challenges, including the downtown core, to future councils. It frustrates people like me who care about the direction this city is taking, because either it seems that they don’t care or they don’t want to be the one who makes the decision to see it end up in failure. They just don’t seem to want to try to do something. And the problem will not take care of itself.
So Fred is not just boring. He's clueless. Oh but when money comes to their table to pork-barrel, they waste no time!
I have another idea of why this was deferred. The Aerotropolis plan by the nature of it, is controversial. Just like Copps Coliseum, they are planning on making land available for commercial use around the airport, little knowing whether or not a major player would take on the opportunity.
And there have been plenty of arguments for and against it. One group is concerned with the loss of farming land. Understandable, but tell that to the developers who have already started building homes around the airport.
Another is concerned with who will even come to the table if the opportunity showed itself. It's a point I made and I have said on other blogs that the plan should be looked at for what it is - a plan to manage growth should the need arise. The little understood thing about plans like these are that this is what is done at City Hall on a daily basis. They plan growth and zoning to facilitate growth in certain areas and the area around the airport is no different. A lot of this is psychological really.
And of course the other point that we have to ponder is how much longer will air travel be around? As oil sources are getting more difficult to find to the point we're taking dumb risks, à la BP, we have to wonder if there will be some sort of fuel to do what jet fuel is doing right now. A lot can happen over a while. There are other forms of fuel out there and we just need to find it, but for the time being jets are the way to go and they are doing everything they can to prevent this multi-billion dollar industry from going down the tubes.
The Aerotropolis if used correctly will manage the growth, should a need arise, but let's at least ensure that the horse is in front of the cart.
But here's my point altogether. The city has squandered five years on this and the fact that this is being deferred yet again is not a good indication. It's more than a sign that it won't happen, to the delight of some. It's a sign that the city hasn't changed a bit.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Letters: Cal writes 'em, the Spec gets 'em and they print 'em
Cal DiFalco is a resident in the Fruitland Rd. area concerned about increased truck traffic. His area wants change because the truck traffic is bordering close to INSANE. And with nothing being said and no assurances having been made whatsoever he has become rather unhappy with the councilors in and around his ward.
He writes:
There has been a glaring lack of consultation with stakeholders with regards to routing trucks. We can see that when there's a huge disconnect between city officials and the chamber of commerce. Daniel Rodrigues brought it out in the open in his post on Raise the Hammer:
Does anybody at the city want to explain this disconnect?
He writes:
And he does have a point. Increasingly, our city is becoming more of a place to live as opposed to a place to work. The people who live and work in the city are the lucky ones. But there is something that's been really concerning me lately with all this talk about routing trucks...
There has been a glaring lack of consultation with stakeholders with regards to routing trucks. We can see that when there's a huge disconnect between city officials and the chamber of commerce. Daniel Rodrigues brought it out in the open in his post on Raise the Hammer:
Staff wanted to know why the industry didn't attend the Public Information Centres (PICs). We asked, "Why didn't PW staff walk across the hall to Economic Development and ask for the list of carriers and manufacturers, and call them for their input?"Public information centres in theory are great, but they are generally done at night, outside business hours. At the same time, how do we know when there is a call for public input. The city doesn't really say much to the Chamber of Commerce and so we hear nothing of it, until the announcements are made and we are busy wondering what the hell happened.
Not to sound like a 'tail-wagging-the-dog' scenario, but the PICs are 'public information centres', and we are speaking about roughly 30 companies who carry the majority of truck use on our streets. Surely a collaborated effort would be warranted.
Does anybody at the city want to explain this disconnect?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Well at least I know someone's reading...
The only serious challenging mayoral hopeful, Mahesh Butani, made sure this afternoon that I knew that he posted a comment on my post regarding Fred Eisenberger's quest for re-election. I actually read it yesterday while looking over my recent posts.
I was informed of a few events, including one in which a couple of bloggers were asked to remove some entries which contained some incendiary content. Not wanting to get in trouble with the parties concerned they acquiesced. End of story. It's too bad, but it is understandable.
So I have to ask, who's reading this anyway? Put in a comment below...
I was informed of a few events, including one in which a couple of bloggers were asked to remove some entries which contained some incendiary content. Not wanting to get in trouble with the parties concerned they acquiesced. End of story. It's too bad, but it is understandable.
So I have to ask, who's reading this anyway? Put in a comment below...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Let's Welcome our Next Contestants!
The mayoral race has just got a little more crowded with the entry of Glenn Hamilton into the fold. Now there's good reason to be concerned. As the house gets a little more crowded in the race, nobody has really stood out. We know that there are so far only two serious candidates, namely Fred Eisenberger and Mahesh Butani. While I know that nobody plays to lose, it's time for the mayoral candidates to make their views known before the kids get out of school, because come the summer, nobody's going to pay attention.
In my 10 tough questions with Cal DiFalco, I pointed out a candidate that is running a good campaign so far. I am seeing that Pablo Bustamante began his campaign for ward 10 with a good splash and now he has a good reason to keep the momentum going.
Bernard Josipovic has now entered the race there and unfortunately that's all we know. No other information has been provided at the city website, which make me wonder. Is the guy serious about running? While other candidates have opened lines of communication, this one gave none.
I will have to start laying out rules on how to be successful in a campaign, and here's one: If you want to run for public office, you have to make yourself accessible to the public in some way. If you are not going to make yourself available to discuss your platform with the media, what makes you think you're going to win?
I hope that Bernard will make himself available in some way, otherwise he should just quit now and spare us the trouble. He needs to take this seriously.
In my 10 tough questions with Cal DiFalco, I pointed out a candidate that is running a good campaign so far. I am seeing that Pablo Bustamante began his campaign for ward 10 with a good splash and now he has a good reason to keep the momentum going.
Bernard Josipovic has now entered the race there and unfortunately that's all we know. No other information has been provided at the city website, which make me wonder. Is the guy serious about running? While other candidates have opened lines of communication, this one gave none.
I will have to start laying out rules on how to be successful in a campaign, and here's one: If you want to run for public office, you have to make yourself accessible to the public in some way. If you are not going to make yourself available to discuss your platform with the media, what makes you think you're going to win?
I hope that Bernard will make himself available in some way, otherwise he should just quit now and spare us the trouble. He needs to take this seriously.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Kollek bows out
Dundas city council candidate, Julia Kollek has withdrawn her candidacy. That puts Russ Powers in the driver's seat for acclamation.
As stated on her Facebook wall:
I for one was disappointed to have heard this. Dundas desperately needs a new candidate who can give Russ Powers a run for his money.
My best wishes go to Julia Kollek in her future endeavours and I hope she will run again.
As you may have heard, I’ve decided to withdraw my candidacy for the Dundas seat on City Council at this time. This wasn’t an easy decision – and I thought long and hard over this.
A big thank you to all of you here, my campaign team, family, friends and supporters who have been fantastic in their encouragement – and I look forward to continuing to serve the community.
I for one was disappointed to have heard this. Dundas desperately needs a new candidate who can give Russ Powers a run for his money.
My best wishes go to Julia Kollek in her future endeavours and I hope she will run again.
Your money, their re-election...
As reported by CATCH and comments solicited by Cal DiFalco and The Hamiltonian, I would like to give you my thoughts on the social assistance rebate from the province to the city and how its intent has been made.
Spending-wise, it's badly misplaced, but at the same time, if there are projects in certain areas that need to be done, this is the time to do it. But giving politicians the choice on where to spend it in their wards is even worse. Where the money should be spent should actually be left to the city management, who have a better idea of the city's priorities so it should really be left up to them on where to allocate it.
Timing-wise, it stinks. In an election year, it gives the incumbent another unfair advantage over the newcomers who probably have far more to offer. It's enough that in certain areas there's too many candidates, which already gives the incumbent an advantage. What more do they need to help their chances to get elected?
It doesn't look good for anyone who uses this money. Woe betide the councilor who succumbs to this temptation!
Spending-wise, it's badly misplaced, but at the same time, if there are projects in certain areas that need to be done, this is the time to do it. But giving politicians the choice on where to spend it in their wards is even worse. Where the money should be spent should actually be left to the city management, who have a better idea of the city's priorities so it should really be left up to them on where to allocate it.
Timing-wise, it stinks. In an election year, it gives the incumbent another unfair advantage over the newcomers who probably have far more to offer. It's enough that in certain areas there's too many candidates, which already gives the incumbent an advantage. What more do they need to help their chances to get elected?
It doesn't look good for anyone who uses this money. Woe betide the councilor who succumbs to this temptation!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
They get letters!
Karen Felice of Stoney Creek writes to the Spec:
"
Mahesh needs more of these. Outside of the blogosphere, he's been quiet. Too quiet for my liking.
Now let me channel my inner-Don Cherry (without the bare knuckle BS):
Look kids, if ya wanna to run fer mayor, ya gotta have a plan. Before ya submit yer candidacy ta city hall, ya gotta plan out yer platform and how you'll run this campaign. Facebook and blogging'll only carry ya so far. Ya gotta plan yer fliers and ya gotta be prepared to talk about what you wanna do. Ya gotta be ready ta go!
Mahesh has a lot of work to do and he'd better get to it if he wants to win this.
"
Mahesh needs more of these. Outside of the blogosphere, he's been quiet. Too quiet for my liking.
Now let me channel my inner-Don Cherry (without the bare knuckle BS):
Look kids, if ya wanna to run fer mayor, ya gotta have a plan. Before ya submit yer candidacy ta city hall, ya gotta plan out yer platform and how you'll run this campaign. Facebook and blogging'll only carry ya so far. Ya gotta plan yer fliers and ya gotta be prepared to talk about what you wanna do. Ya gotta be ready ta go!
Mahesh has a lot of work to do and he'd better get to it if he wants to win this.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
10 Tough Questions with Cal
I was recently asked by Cal DiFalco to be his guest for 10 tough questions. I accepted his challenge and I am in the process of wrapping up my answers. If you are looking for those answers, they will probably be up sometime in the next week.
I will let everyone know when they are done.
I will let everyone know when they are done.
IDIOTS!!!!!
It's no big surprise that the local media was served with yet another tasty tid-bit of e-debating between councillors Sam Merulla and Bob Brattina. And I honestly think this whole thing between the two of them is getting more and more juvenile as time goes on. Unfortunately they aren't running against each other and so we can't decide to vote for neither.
Bob Brattina at this point is vulnerable and with the right candidate, he may not be re-elected if he ran this year, but Sam Merulla is a different story. Sam, despite his abrasiveness and grandstanding tendencies, is still quite popular in his ward. There really isn't anyone that can defeat him. But if you think you can beat Mike Tyson, be my guest.
But if there was ever a reason to dump the both of them, the third e-mail exchange to which all the media was treated is indeed a good one. But unfortunately no one saw the exchange and to be able to look at it, you need to know where to look. So this is one that will be swept under the rug. But keep in mind that at some point someone will decide to clean underneath that rug and what happens next is anyone's guess.
Bob Brattina at this point is vulnerable and with the right candidate, he may not be re-elected if he ran this year, but Sam Merulla is a different story. Sam, despite his abrasiveness and grandstanding tendencies, is still quite popular in his ward. There really isn't anyone that can defeat him. But if you think you can beat Mike Tyson, be my guest.
But if there was ever a reason to dump the both of them, the third e-mail exchange to which all the media was treated is indeed a good one. But unfortunately no one saw the exchange and to be able to look at it, you need to know where to look. So this is one that will be swept under the rug. But keep in mind that at some point someone will decide to clean underneath that rug and what happens next is anyone's guess.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Fred is in!
Mayor Fred Eisenberger has registered and his re-election campaign has begun. He quietly registered last week and it is officially shown on the city website. At this moment, the race is his to lose. Without a known and credible candidate, he should easily win.
Unfortunately, Mahesh Butani may not get too far. His confrontational relationship with the local print media will not help him and it remains to be seen if he will be on any of the talk radio stations, CHML or CHAM. He hasn't been deemed to be serious candidate from the get-go which is too bad, but made worse by his compulsions in calling out the media for mocking his candidacy. Can we blame him? No. I have someone better to blame.
His name is Michael Baldassaro. Because of him, there won't be a single candidate taken seriously, unless the person can truly convince our friends on Frid that he or she ought to be taken seriously. He has polluted the mayoral race to the point that the city was pondering a charge for registering to run. They just wanted some way to make sure that whoever is running is actually sincere about it. Perhaps Baldassaro is sincere, but he seems to have trouble understanding what the city can and can't do. They can't make marijuana legal. They can't make publicly smoking it legal either. And any moves to do so will be vigourously opposed by the city council and they don't have the money or the stomach to fight the feds either.
Now as far as Andrew Haines, he is also a marijuana activist, according to Metroland newspaper managing editor, Mark Cripps. Yeah, just what we needed. He still has yet to roll out his platform, but perhaps we'll have to wait until he's finished doing some rolling of his own if the news is true. For the time being, he will be looked at the same way Baldassaro has been looked at, but in a lower sense.
With that in mind, it looks to me like Mahesh Butani will not be taken seriously at all, which is really awful. He's simply been crowded out by two marijuana activists and now the incumbent. To say the least, I am really disappointed.
The mayoral race needs a credible candidate to step up and run. The question is who will do that? There are at least two hopefuls that haven't registered yet. Terry Whitehead hasn't registered and neither has Tom Jackson. So what direction will these gentlemen take? Only time will tell.
Unfortunately, Mahesh Butani may not get too far. His confrontational relationship with the local print media will not help him and it remains to be seen if he will be on any of the talk radio stations, CHML or CHAM. He hasn't been deemed to be serious candidate from the get-go which is too bad, but made worse by his compulsions in calling out the media for mocking his candidacy. Can we blame him? No. I have someone better to blame.
His name is Michael Baldassaro. Because of him, there won't be a single candidate taken seriously, unless the person can truly convince our friends on Frid that he or she ought to be taken seriously. He has polluted the mayoral race to the point that the city was pondering a charge for registering to run. They just wanted some way to make sure that whoever is running is actually sincere about it. Perhaps Baldassaro is sincere, but he seems to have trouble understanding what the city can and can't do. They can't make marijuana legal. They can't make publicly smoking it legal either. And any moves to do so will be vigourously opposed by the city council and they don't have the money or the stomach to fight the feds either.
Now as far as Andrew Haines, he is also a marijuana activist, according to Metroland newspaper managing editor, Mark Cripps. Yeah, just what we needed. He still has yet to roll out his platform, but perhaps we'll have to wait until he's finished doing some rolling of his own if the news is true. For the time being, he will be looked at the same way Baldassaro has been looked at, but in a lower sense.
With that in mind, it looks to me like Mahesh Butani will not be taken seriously at all, which is really awful. He's simply been crowded out by two marijuana activists and now the incumbent. To say the least, I am really disappointed.
The mayoral race needs a credible candidate to step up and run. The question is who will do that? There are at least two hopefuls that haven't registered yet. Terry Whitehead hasn't registered and neither has Tom Jackson. So what direction will these gentlemen take? Only time will tell.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Canada Flag Day + Politicians = Rumours!
Little did Fred Eisenberger notice, but the unofficial commentator of the mayoral race was actually right in front of him in the Canada Flag Day parade! In my volunteer role as a side drummer in the Grimsby Pipe Band, of which my brother-in-law, Gordon Scott, is Pipe Major, my band was positioned in front of Fred Eisenberger's car and he got an earful of "no parking meters downtown," going through a stretch between New Mountain and Lake Ave.
Nice to know their opposition, but it's not completely up to him. He is only one of 16 votes deciding on whether or not there will be parking meters there. The way I see it, if you don't want to pay any more property taxes, perhaps you shouldn't complain about them being placed. After all, would you like to pay for your parking or someone else's? But that's just my opinion... Discuss!
The civic elections are on people's minds throughout the summer parades since we know what goes with them - politicians and those who aspire! My wife once told me that it seemed that all politicians do is parades. Perhaps there's some logic behind that. I can't name a single politician who never enjoyed basking in that "feelgood" glow. There is a perception that it enhances their image. The cynic inside me just wants to vomit sometimes when they do that. I mean they could be more visible getting things done around the community and not just walking or riding in a lame parade.
So I did some talking before the parade with a local politician who happened to be a past acquaintence. We talk now and then since I found myself getting more and more involved in civic politics. I got some interesting insight in the politics of the city. I got word that a certain faction of people are placing candidates to run in wards of their choice. They chose one which they have concluded is one that can really heat up. I was told to watch the Ward 11 race, because this is one that could get interesting.
In what way, you ask? Ward 11 is the East Stoney Creek/Glanbrook area. Now look at who the MPP is on the escarpment portion of this area. A gold star for everyone who guessed Tim Hudak. Another gold star if you knew that he is the current PC Party leader. Don't be disappointed if you didn't know who he was. He's not a bad guy. It's just that his policies are Mike Harris-like and right now it looks like the inmates are running the asylum known as the Ontario PC party. To make matters worse, he hasn't really been able to pin anything on Dalton McGuinty, because McGuinty is doing stuff he'd do anyway. So he's really lost control on that end and a loss of a friend in Hamilton could be a game changer, but I doubt it. He's got overwhelming support in Grimsby and the West Lincoln township. Glanbrook equates to about half. At best, it would make things uncomfortable.
But one thing is for sure. A certain party wants to paint Hamilton orange federally, provincially and now municipally. Does anybody want to try and convince me that there is no party politics at City Hall?
With more and more subplots emerging, this could end up being one of the most interesting civic elections in a long time.
Nice to know their opposition, but it's not completely up to him. He is only one of 16 votes deciding on whether or not there will be parking meters there. The way I see it, if you don't want to pay any more property taxes, perhaps you shouldn't complain about them being placed. After all, would you like to pay for your parking or someone else's? But that's just my opinion... Discuss!
The civic elections are on people's minds throughout the summer parades since we know what goes with them - politicians and those who aspire! My wife once told me that it seemed that all politicians do is parades. Perhaps there's some logic behind that. I can't name a single politician who never enjoyed basking in that "feelgood" glow. There is a perception that it enhances their image. The cynic inside me just wants to vomit sometimes when they do that. I mean they could be more visible getting things done around the community and not just walking or riding in a lame parade.
So I did some talking before the parade with a local politician who happened to be a past acquaintence. We talk now and then since I found myself getting more and more involved in civic politics. I got some interesting insight in the politics of the city. I got word that a certain faction of people are placing candidates to run in wards of their choice. They chose one which they have concluded is one that can really heat up. I was told to watch the Ward 11 race, because this is one that could get interesting.
In what way, you ask? Ward 11 is the East Stoney Creek/Glanbrook area. Now look at who the MPP is on the escarpment portion of this area. A gold star for everyone who guessed Tim Hudak. Another gold star if you knew that he is the current PC Party leader. Don't be disappointed if you didn't know who he was. He's not a bad guy. It's just that his policies are Mike Harris-like and right now it looks like the inmates are running the asylum known as the Ontario PC party. To make matters worse, he hasn't really been able to pin anything on Dalton McGuinty, because McGuinty is doing stuff he'd do anyway. So he's really lost control on that end and a loss of a friend in Hamilton could be a game changer, but I doubt it. He's got overwhelming support in Grimsby and the West Lincoln township. Glanbrook equates to about half. At best, it would make things uncomfortable.
But one thing is for sure. A certain party wants to paint Hamilton orange federally, provincially and now municipally. Does anybody want to try and convince me that there is no party politics at City Hall?
With more and more subplots emerging, this could end up being one of the most interesting civic elections in a long time.
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