The law of holes, or the first law of holes, is an adage that states: “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” It is used as a metaphor, warning that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop making the situation worse. The reference should apply to the present Mayor of Cobourg, he is in an election campaign which appears to be a referendum on him. A controversial figure who claims to have done wonderful things in the last four years but all of his stated achievements have been completed with a Council that he declares is both dysfunctional and hostile to him.

The latest example of the “law of holes” is Mr. Cleveland’s behaviour at an all-candidates meeting (ACM) held late last week. Billed as “speed dating with a candidate” the format was simple – a large room filled with people. The candidates moved from table to table to answer the questions posed by the people sitting at the table. All was well until Mr. Cleveland was scheduled to move to a table containing  four people, one of whom was former Mayor Peter Delanty. Another was a person calling herself SueDG, (a social media handle). Upon spotting the occupants of the table Mr. Cleveland walked by and disappeared from the room. The upshot was that SueDG published the incident on social media and comments about the pros and cons of the situation ensued. The pity here is that Mr. Cleveland obviously didn’t recognise the absolute disrespect given to an Elder Statesman of Cobourg – Peter Delanty a man who has probably forgotten more about ‘mayoring’ than Mr. Cleveland could ever hope to achieve. 

The resulting controversy then prompted Mr. Cleveland to film himself depositing a trash bag on the sidewalk and asking if people want to trash talk. He then explained why he had behaved so discriminately toward a table’s occupants at the ACM. He named SueDG with her real name thereby ‘doxxing’ her. This action can lead to all kinds of privacy concerns if followed up in the proper circles, and proceeded to play the victim card.

Unfortunately for Mr. Cleveland his actions on film were published on facebook on his page and many people saw it. It cannot be seen again on Facebook as either he has just deleted it or can only be seen by his sycophants. The BR had saved it for further publication but it has been wiped from facebook by Mr. Cleveland. He has yet to take it down from his Instagram account.

Again another political mistake, if he really believed he was right the clip would have stayed up on FB to be defended, but taking down it definitely shows a lack of political judgement. It certainly begs the question – ‘just who is advising this campaign’