"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Things are not always what they seem

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Guest Post ........Liturgy of Mediocrity":

Being at each other’s throats has always been going on. The difference is the media is all over these old theatrical performances, and money can be made. Some of these performances are internal political maneuvers. This is nothing new. Consider all this new media like a hearing aids. The noise has always been there, it’s not muffled anymore and we now hear it louder and clearer than before.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 6 August 2014 07:59


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Humour me  this morning. Let's focus on our town.Not Brampton.Toronto,Richmond Hill or any other place.  Just Aurora.

We listen to the lament of a lack of  public interest in government. We deplore the low turn-out at the polls and. Of course we all know who to blame and how it should be done.

Think about this.  The sign on the highway says we are 56,000 people.

Planning data  calculates two adults and 1.5 children per house. This  is not research. Figures  are not exact. We are  amusing   ourselves remember. After all, who has one and a half children?

Suppose voters number thirty-five  thousand .

Now take away those who are not Canadian citizens and  therefore

not entitled to vote.

Then take away those in the age bracket of eighteen to twenty-four with the right to vote but not likely to do so.

They're still living at home and don't pay taxes. They're  rotten kids who never listen to their parents. And by now their parents  are sick and tired of  nagging and just wish the kids would find their own place and leave. And besides that  parents don't feel the damned house is theirs anymore.

That's an entire group just naturally without interest in municipal elections.

It  does not reflect lack of interest by people who work hard to make a living and pay all the bills.

Children of voting age may be away at school may or may not  be inclined to come home to cast a ballot.That could be a thousand maybe.

Tenants are on the list. Rent reflects a factor for municipal taxes but  the tenants don't pay it directly. They can fold their tents and steal away at any time. They have no investment in the community.

New homeowners who come  from the city  may take a couple of years to feel like they belong.
If they don't have children and work in the city, chances are they may never think of the town
as home.

Absentee landlords are on the list.  Business operators who don't live in the town.

The voters list is only a number. It does not necessarily reflect  numbers of those who might be expected to vote.

Voter  turn-out , fairly stable in a Mayoralty contest ,is not therefore a reflection of lack of interest
among  those with a stake in the community.

It's due to a list not entirely relevant
If I were a  Councillor in a town like Markham with my own office and staff paid for by the municipality I could use that resource to delve into such issues.

I could come to Council very much better armed to challenge  bureaucracy and red tape.

Instead if what we have now;

A seamless tent that draws no line between administration and governance.

The community is not well served.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was evident during the appointment meeting that the affair was totally controlled by a senior staffer. Councillors were just part of the set.

Anonymous said...

Looking at those 2 'new' scandals, it is worth noting that no one mentions the fact that staff must have been complicit in order for the 2 leaders to have made so many ' mistakes '. Surely in Alberta, someone should have cautioned the premier - the same with the mayor of Brampton. They did not operate in a vacuum.

Anonymous said...

The Auroran is waking up

Anonymous said...

12:52- "Mistakes" Now that's funny.

Anonymous said...

16:45
that might be why it is in semi-quotes ?

Anonymous said...

Those were not ' mistakes '.

Anonymous said...

Just read the Auroran. If this Town and Region plans on having any hope in providing Affordable Housing with the way they love to spend….Good Luck! The Region is already in debt, and Aurora has this cockamamie “debt financing plan” for a garage. And a whole pile of studies that I’m sure have already been lined up for some other cockamamie projects. Let’s just keep voting all these politicians back into their council seats, or put new ones into place with all their future “visions” for a “better quality of life”. The only thing residence will be able to afford for housing is a tent in one of the Town parks.

Anonymous said...

To 21:49 A tent in the town park is not possible.Security people and the police check the parks for homeless already.If locals think we dont have any they would be wrong.It took a long time for some to be aware we had a food bank.Cheers to David at the market for bringing that forward with produce collection.

Anonymous said...

If you want to get a sense of waste and the desire to spend taxpayers' money talk to someone who has a "garage" to service trucks, tractors, coaches etc. Garages usually consist of a concrete floor and a steel superstructure clad in metal siding. Space for an office, lockers for the mechanics and some space for storage and welding etc. complete the design.

Large truck garages service fleets of heavy trucks and coaches. The town does not have a large fleet of heavy trucks. Indeed, some of the work requiring heavy equipment is contracted.

At $26 or 27M this will be one very nice garage. Realistically, this will be an extension of town hall. Everyone will want to be in the splendid new digs.

Anonymous said...

I expect voter turn-out to be down. Last time, recent residents asked their new neighbours for the names of suggested candidates & it was possible to give them more than enough to check out for themselves. So far the interest is lacking & I sure do not have any ideas to pass along if I were approached.

Anonymous said...

I think that you have a very simplistic view of the electorate. You believe that only home owners with some time under their belt are the voters.

I think that you will find that younger home owners or renters have an equally keen desire to vote because they feel that they are entitled to the services and this is how they get them.

This is not 1960's Aurora

Anonymous said...

20:37
The money from development and other sources of income have dried up considerably. No new businesses or decent jobs. The date is not important, The state of the economy & the current balance of the town finances are the key factors..