My choices for the vote!

In making these choices I made two assumptions. One: none of the incumbents deserved to be re-elected, their offenses against the Official plan were of the hanging variety and their inability to listen to the electorate are the main reasons for me. Councillor Brocanier boasts about having listened to 45 delegations in the last year, well Gil listening and Listening are two different things. Sitting in one's chair like Buddha and then having the Mayor say, "Thank you for coming" is not meaningful listening.

You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be on Council, just an independent mind and the guts to state your opinion

So here they are:

• Mayor: Lloyd Williams, despite the bizarre campaign tactic of admitting that he will not win he succeeded in getting the issues out. He gets my vote because he has pledged to reform the "coordinator system", I hope he destroys it!
  
  
• Deputy Mayor: Manfred Schumann, despite a rather flat public performance he has put forward a platform of thought and substance. His opponent has only said that he plans to use a "line by line" budget review as his tax cutting tool. Sorry Gil but you used that last year and the year before that and the year before that and taxes never went down but spending spiraled upward.
  
  
• Councillor: Stan Frost, he has the biggest vested interest in reducing taxes - he pays the most, so get to it Stan cut taxes!
  
  
• Councillor: Howie McCourt, he is the most straightforward of the list, I like him, I have worked with him and I trust him. Besides he understands the Official Plan.
  
  
• Councillor: Miriam Mutton, Miriam knows the issues, she understands the damage that the developers have wreaked on this Town, I like her and trust her.
  
  
• Councillor Rob Harper, Rob is down to earth, knows what it is to be like to live on less than a Teachers' Pension all the time and still keeps his sense of humour. Besides the ONLY new idea that came from any of the candidates came from him, he's original and I like that.
  

• Councillor: Melissa Marshall, Melissa is the youngest and at 34 brings a perspective that might offend some of the "dead white male thinking" that prevails around the Council Chamber

Now in making this slate I realise that most of it will never come to pass (shades of Lloyd Williams - ed) but one can only hope and perhaps the list and the reasons behind each choice may give others the thought too.

A c omment about the red, white and blue!

Ben:

Thank you for your reference to this site (mclellan4trustee.com). It was exciting visually, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to vote for a person with a red, white and blue website with quite so many stars and stripes !

Amen

School Board trustee candidate blows his own horn

Read this and see a blinking ad that proclaims the Northumberland News has endorsed him. VOTE FOR ALLAN MCLELLAN FOR SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE Be wary Allan in 1991 the Northumberland News endorsed me for Mayor and look where that went!!

Kinky Friedman Falls Short In Bid For Governor

I was looking forward to an original thinker finally going somewhere - not anymore! Kinky Friedman Falls Short In Bid For Governor

Good news for the Progressives

Read this it's a summary of the election yesterday. My Way News - Resurgent Democrats Win Control of House

It's not just me!

Read this and you will find just who else is bothered by the use of electronics this year A New Breed of Watchdog For Election Day - WSJ.com.

"Democracy is not the voting, it is the counting!"

Angry voters in this story

Two stories about angry voters: one guy didn't want to vote the full slate and the other obviously did not like touchscreen voting machines here

And it's only just starting!

Here is the first of many reports about the voting machines.

And one in more depth

First we kill all the lawyers

What would the world do without lawyers especially during elections. Lots of them here

Oooops

This is an email from a friend in Cobourg North, he asks "Now that I'm living here in the Township of Hamilton I'm on a steep learning curve to familiarize myself with the candidates.

Ben, I know you are focused on the nail-biting election in Cobourg, but I need a ruling on Fred's flyer that arrived in my mailbox today. What is the statute of limitations on asking for re-election? Is Mr. Holloway allowed to ask for re-election as Mayor? I would appreciate your insight on this."

It appears that Fred is an advocate of efficient recycling, either that or he had a couple of boxes stored in his basement for the next time.