Failed spin cycle at the Town of Newmarket/ Newmarket Cares

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy Christmas.  Newmarket Town Hall Watch was ever vigilant during the holidays keeping an eye on our municipal government.

Almost a year ago, the Town of Newmarket released this media release announcing how involved it was in launching "Newmarket Cares":  http://www.newmarket.ca/en/townhall/resourcelibrary/newmarket_takes_a_stand_on_racist_graffiti_jan3_2012_final.pdf

Then on February 9, 2012, on the Town of Newmarket page that is published in the Era on a weekly basis, the Town of Newmarket made this announcement about "Newmarket Cares":  http://www.newmarket.ca/en/services/resourcelibrary/townofnmkt_february09_final2012.pdf

So it seems more than odd that the Town of Newmarket would make the following Twitter statement on December 24, 2012 in response to my most recent blog:  Town of Newmarket‏@TownofNewmarket

@NwktTownHall Please note @newmarketcares is a volunteer-based group and is not administered by #Newmarket staff.

 

It is an odd remark because clearly Newmarket employees are definitely involved in the communications relating to "Newmarket Cares".  The January press release even provides the name of a staff member for the media to contact regarding questions.  If the Town of Newmarket had no involvement, they wouldn't be issuing media releases and making announcements on official Town advertisements. 

 

Even more to the point, the Town of Newmarket could have demanded a retraction when this story was published:  http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1549337--newmarket-fire-victims-lean-on-each-other.  The Era makes it very easy to report an error (even providing an on-line link).  Yet no correction was made to "donations to be managed through Newmarket Cares, a Town of Newmarket initiative that was established following a racial graffiti incident earlier this year." 

 

The Town of Newmarket has broken a cardinal rule of public relations, namely when in damage control mode never lie to the media, (especially new media like Newmarket Town Hall Watch).  

There are too many contradictory examples that show Newmarket employees are involved with communications for "Newmarket Cares" for us to buy @townofnewmarket 's Twitter denial.  Press releases and public announcements fly in the face of what can only be called spin by the Town of Newmarket. 

 

Another cardinal rule of public relations requires an immediate correction of the mistake or lapse.  First of all, @newmarketcares follows all of Council except one member.  @newmarketcares is very conspicuous in not following @joesponga.  Secondly, if the Town of Newmarket wants to distance its employees from "Newmarket Cares" then it should get the Era to correct the Timothy St. Fire article and send out a revision to its media release so that The Era, Newmarket Town Hall Watch, the CBC, and other media outlets that have already reported on "Newmarket Cares" won't be fooled into thinking "Newmarket Cares" is a Town of Newmarket initiative.  Otherwise, it appears that the Town of Newmarket is trying to create positive press for itself for something @townofnewmarket says it has no involvement with. 

Merry Christmas Everyone

Twenty twelve was a year of folly
Fa la la la, la la la la
Leaving taxpayers melancholy
Fa la la la, la la la la
Budget passed with tax increases
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
Two percent promise torn in pieces
Fa la la la, la la la la

See Van Bynen and Taylor working
Fa la la la, la la la la
Allied together, plotting, smirking
Fa la la la, la la la la
Breaking promises at their whims
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
Leaving taxpayers as victims
Fa la la la, la la la la

Too much time spent on petty politics
Fa la la la, la la la la
All the while ignoring economics
Fa la la la, la la la la
Shark fins soup and tree permit bylaws
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
Kids playing road hockey are still outlaws
Fa la la la, la la la la

Higher user fees in store for us
Fa la la la, la la la la
Parking charges are now enforces
Fa la la la, la la la la
Our drinking water smells like chlorine
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
While water rates are now obscene
Fa la la la, la la la la

See how the old year passes
Fa la la la, la la la la
With our Council lads and lasses
Fa la la la, la la la la
Two years left in this present reigning
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
In 2013 they'll start campaigning
Fa la la la, la la la la

Newmarket Cares - A Town of Newmarket Initiative

Lately I've been noticing the fine art of "exclusion" being played out by certain political factions within Newmarket as we ramp up to the next municipal election. 

For example, when the Glenway Preservation group launched their twitter account, it should be no surprise that who they chose to "follow" are prominent supporters of Dalton McGuinty's "Places to Grow Act" including former candidates (Taylor and Bisanz) or active members of the very party that passed the legislation that doomed the green space at Glenway to the development.  

Why not follow MPP Frank Klees?  Its not because he hasn't been successful at saving communities before, because he has.  It's because he wears the other team's colours.  Like I said, this is a prime example of politics of exclusion.  Its not about preserving the Glenway community as so much as it is about earning brownie points for the next time voters head to the ballot box. 

Its one thing when a private citizens' group wraps itself in party politics.  Its quite another thing when the actual government does it. 

Newmarket Cares, as reported in the Era newspaper here: http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1549337--newmarket-fire-victims-lean-on-each-other , is a Town of Newmarket initiative.  Newmarket Cares recently launched its own twitter account and chose to follow 15 people:

1) Jane Twinney (Ward 3 Councillor)
2) Teresa Latchford (Era Reporter)
3) Debora Kelly (Editor in Chief, York Region Media Group)
4) Newmarket Main St. BIA
5) @kwdubeau (No description but she tweets predominantly about technology)
6) Tom Hempen (Ward 4 Councillor)
7) Wes Playter (Roadhouse & Rose Funeral Home)
8) Tom Vegh (Ward 1 Councillor)
9) Chris Emanuel (Ward 7 Councillor)
10) John Taylor (Regional Councillor)
11) Tony Van Bynen (Mayor)
12) Toddy Kyle (CEO of the Newmarket Public Library)
13) Newmarket Public Library
14) Town of Newmarket
15) Newmarket Chamber of Commerce

Did you notice any conspicuous omissions? 

How about Ward 5 Councillor, Joe Sponga?  I know that he doesn't tweet much (but the @tomhempen account has zero tweets).  If you re-read the Era article I linked to, you'll recognize that it was Joe Sponga's initiative to raise donations for the victims of the Timothy St. fire.  Why was he excluded by the Town of Newmarket's "Newmarket Cares" follow list?

Or how about Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio?  She too tweeted about the Timothy St. fire donations.  She was also the only councillor to speak out against the racist graffiti (the rest of this group kept silent -- like they did during the c-word fiasco, like they did when Councillor Emanuel was arrested and convicted, etc. etc, etc).  She too isn't on the list of "following".  And, as the Era story says, Newmarket Cares was founded in the aftermath of the racist graffiti in Newmarket last winter.

In other words, somehow the only two Councillors who bothered to get off their duffs to actually do something that Newmarket Cares was supposedly going to address, are the victims of the politics of exclusion by the Town of Newmarket? 

This is a scandal in the first rate.  Shame on you, Town of Newmarket. 

The Fossils of Newmarket Town Council

If the Mayans got their calculations right, we have only a few days left on this mortal coil until mass extinction rains down upon us from outer space.  With our own impending disaster in mind, lets give some thought to when the last global catastrophic event occurred almost 65 million years ago.  When scientists find fossils they marvel at the variety of dinosaurs that once dominated the planet.  We make up names and try to explain the uniqueness of the features in the imprints of bones.  We learn as much as we can about these creatures from millions of years long ago. 

What will scientists 65 million years into the future think of the bones they find of those who perish at the end of the Mayan Calendar era?  More specifically, what would the fossils of Newmarket Councillors tell those who inhabit our planet millions of years from now? 

1) The Veghoceras - The Veghoceras is prime example of the types of politicians who seemed to proliferate in this time.  Similar to the Jurassic era Stegoceras, the Veghoceras is most notable for walking on two legs and having a incredibly thick skull.  While scientists have no clear explanation why the Veghoceras' skull was so thick, it is assumed that this species used it for butting heads with other politicians. 

2) The Kerwinacanth - The Coelacanth is also known as the dinosaur fish.  Thought to have been extinct millions of years ago, the coelacanth shocked scientists when it was discovered in Indonesia in 1938.  Similarly the Kerwinacanth is popularly known as a politician living outside its time.  We can only imagine that the scientists from millions of years in the future will be equally surprised to find that the Kewinacanth has survived the Mayan Calendar apocalypse and was still occupying a seat on Newmarket Council. 

3) The Twinneyasaurus - Scientists will remark on the Twinneyasaurus' chameleon like nature.  Changing her colours based on her emotions, or the media spotlight, or the political temperature, this species will go from blue, to red, to orange and then to green.  Undoubtedly, this ability to change her political stripes has confused many of those who once voted for her. 

4)  The Hempenasaur - The fossils of the Hempenasaur are a very rare find in the future.  Scientists have hypothesized that the rarity of the fossils were due to this species ability to avoid contact with other species and a superior ability to hide.  Conjecture that this creature's ability to vote against projects designated for his ward contributed to his ultimate demise. 

5) The Spongaceratops - Very little is known about the Spongaceratops because there is no fossil evidence that this species had ever exisited.  Its existence is based on theoretical evidence only.  Like the prehistoric jelly fish, the Spongaceratops left no fossils because it did not possess a backbone. 

6) The Dimuccioraptor - Although diminutive sized, this species of politician was much feared by other political species of the day due to her ability to take on and defeat much larger prey.  The Dimuccioraptor is a cunning predator that uses strategy to ambush the slower witted species of the political savanna.  Scientists theorize that this species of politician was known for chewing up and spitting out the bones of anyone who dared to cross her. 

7)  The Emanuelosaurus - This species of politician is imagined to have the odd behaviour of crashing into things and causing much damage.  Scientists can only speculate at the nature of such behaviour and they are confused by the criminal record that was found in the vicinity of this species' fossils.  Scientists of the future have no explanation why an Emanuelosaurus would be allowed to share the political savanna with the other political species if it had a criminal record.

8) The Taylorpod - This species is most notable for being incredibly tall.  While being slow moving, scientists believe the Taylorpod was generally a herd animal.  Fossils seem to indicate that the Taylorpod is known to have travelled in mixed herds which included Emanuelosaurus, Hempenasaur, Twinneyasaurus and Veghoceras.  This herd mentality is believed to be a defensive manoeuvre to ward off attacks from the Dimuccioraptor. 

9) The Vanbynendactyl - The Vanbynendactyl is best remembered as a political species that prefers to fly above the fray.  Although scientists believe the Vanbynendactyl was a meat eater, there is no fossil evidence to prove that this species possessed any real teeth.  Scientists believe that the Vanbynendactyl preferred to perch himself above the other political species of the savannah only to swoop in when the opportunity to score a quick photo op presented itself.  The Vanbynendactyl's ability to drop in and then fly off makes scientists believe the characteristics of this species to be more reptilian-like. 

Integrity Commissioner Investigation Demanded

On Monday of this week, Toronto Mayor was ordered removed from his office due to conflict with the Ontario Municipal Act.  According to various talk radio and newspaper sources, the law about this matter is really quite clear.  The judge had no option but to order him out of office.

Where the Mayor went wrong is that he used his letterhead (which ironically he paid for himself) to solicit funds to support his football foundation, a sum of just over $3,000 while he was still a Toronto City Councillor. 

On Monday night, during Community Notes, the Regional Councillor John Taylor was very disrespectful to Rob Ford, referring to him as the "Former Mayor of Toronto."  While I guess it should be no surprise that the left-wing is happy to rid themselves of a formidable political opponent,  Mr. Taylor's remarks were crass and seen as simply "piling-on" the beleaguered Mayor of Toronto.  In my opinion, it was especially bad form to do so during Community Notes.  The political partisanship at Council meetings is really getting out of hand but one would think that if there was one item of the meeting agenda where political gamesmanship should not be welcome it would be during Community Notes.     

Earlier this week, I was having a twitter conversation with a Newmarket resident about expenses.  She got my wheels turning when we discussed Councillor Emanuel's expense reimbursement of 2 family swim passes.  According to her, these passes were donated for a school fundraising raffle. 

Well, hold your horses!

What is so different between a Councillor of Toronto writing a letter to raise funds vs. a Newmarket Councillor donating a raffle prize?  Shouldn't the Ward 7 Councillor be required to re-pay all the money raised by the school raffle or risk being guilty of the same offence as Mayor Rob Ford? 

Let's unpeel the onion some more -

Last night, @ClowncilWatch tweeted

Clowncil Watch‏@ClowncilWatch

Mayor Dawe solicites donations"make cheques payable to:AuroraMayor’sCharityGolfClassic"uses TownHall address In 2012 flyer.Conflict? #Aurora

 

Well, the Mayor of Newmarket also has a charity golf fundraiser and the Mayor sponsors a Prayer Breakfast that raises funds.  On Monday, the Mayor suggested providing funds to the United Way via the Mayor's Charity Golf fund.  I checked the Town of Newmarket web page and none of these events were listed there so it appears that they are not official "Town" events.  How does the community know if the Mayor crossed any lines?  Do we need an Integrity Commissioner investigation?  Does the Mayor need to repay all the funds that were raised by the Mayor's Charity Golf Tournament and the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast? 

 

And remember Mr. Taylor chortling about Rob Ford's woes on Monday?  Well in 2011, Regional Councillor Taylor expended a $100 sponsorship of a Warriors Booster Football Club Fundraiser event.  Please explain the difference between what Mr. Taylor did vs. what Rob Ford did (except that Rob Ford didn't actually use any City of Toronto money in his fund raising activity).  He gave $250 to the fundraiser and he also sponsored the event to the tune of an additional $100 and it is that sponsorship that crosses the line here.  Should the Regional Councillor be required to repay all the monies raised by the Warrior's Fund Raising event? 

 

I don't think the Town of Newmarket has a choice here.  The Municipal Act is quite clear.  We demand an Integrity Commissioner investigation to look over years and years of expense reports and require those members of Council who used their elected office to raise money to repay all the funds raised or risk being ordered from office by a judge.