Protecting Newmarket Green Space

There are lessons for everyone to learn regarding the gas plants scandal in Ontario.  Chief among them is that government works best when politicians keep their noses out of the work of civil servants. 

When the Premier's office took over negotiations to stop the gas plants, the tab that the taxpayers received increased 4-fold.  What the civil servants could have successfully negotiated for a $250,000,000 price tag all of a sudden went up to $1 billion when the politicians stepped up to the plate.  McGuinty's drive to get things done "quickly and quietly" to avoid political fall out was simply too costly for us. 

We elect our politicians to oversee our civil servants in order to make sure the job of government gets done effectively and efficiently.  We don't expect our elected officials to drive a snowplow, or fix a broken water main, or to be a life guard at the local pool.  We hire trained professionals to do these jobs. 

It is with that in mind that I get concerned about John Taylor's recent tweet:

John Taylor‏@_JohnTaylor Dec 23

Good meeting yesterday on potentially protecting new green space in #Newmarket

 

 

Is it John Taylor's job to meet about new green space? 

No!

His job is to approve policy regarding green space but leave the actual planning to the experts.  I am certain that the Town of Newmarket employs trained professionals who have the expertise needed to get the job done.

The reason that Newmarket residents should be concerned with John Taylor sitting in on these meetings is that he is the same man, (along with Chris Emanuel and Tony Van Bynen) who "sat in" on the Glenway/ Marrianeville meetings.  And if you need any proof that John Taylor is a buffoon when it comes to preserving green space, then you only need to refer to the recent OMB finding. 

In that case, John Taylor and other members of Council refused to listen to their professional planner, (arrogantly thinking that they knew better), and it cost the residents of Newmarket acres of green space and almost $1.000.000 in related fees. 

We pay substantial taxes to the Town of Newmarket and expect professionalism in return.  If experience has taught us anything, we need to keep the politicians away from the negotiating table because they really have no clue what they are doing. 

What's in Santa's Sack for Newmarket Council Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas to ALL my loyal readers.  I hope that Santa is generous and kind to you. 

As with previous years, this intrepid reporter has called up to Santa's workshop and asked the elves to peak inside Santa's sack to see what's in store for the good boys and girls of Newmarket Council.  Here's what they'll find under the Christmas tree on December 25th.

WARD 1 Councillor Tom Vegh - a bouquet of forget-me-nots.  During his re-election campaign, Tom was promising one and all a splash pad for Ward 1.  Imagine his surprise when the CAO was reading out the Town's priorities and the only mention of a splash pad was for Ward 6.  It seems that Tom forgot to tell the senior management at Town Hall about his splash pad promise. 

WARD 2 Councillor Dave Kervin - a commemorative plaque.  Councillor Dave actually cast a vote in dissent voting against an in camera item on December 15th.  As this will likely be the only time we see a vote tally that is other than 9-0 on any matter before council this term, the plaque is necessary to remind councillors of this unique occasion.  BONUS - if he's extra good - Santa will also bring Councillor Dave an all expenses paid trip down memory lane. 

WARD 3 Councillor Jane Twinney - a copy of "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

WARD 4 Councillor Tom Hempen - a map of Newmarket with a big arrow pointing to where Ward 4 is located. 

WARD 5 Councillor Joe Sponga - a seasons pass to the Newmarket Farmer's Market.  BONUS - re-appointment to the Town of Newmarket Main St committee so that Councillor Joe can play Santa Claus all year long doling out public money to his closest friends and supporters. 

WARD 6 Councillor Kelly Broome-Plumley - a new set of marionette strings.  She is supposed to be a puppet of the Mayor butshe has not done much up until this point.  Maybe the current set of puppet strings need to be replaced? 

WARD 7 Councillor Christina Bisanz - a bus pass for the YRT 55 Route.  Councillor Christina tweeted how great the GO bus ride was when she commuted from Aurora to Toronto during last week's snow storm.  Why should Christina drive to a bus stop in Aurora when we have such a top notched bus route right here in Newmarket, (under construction for the past 3 years)?

REGIONAL Councillor John Taylor - A map of York Region with big arrows pointing to where all the Northern 6 municipalities are.  In his recent bid for Regional Chair, Taylor failed to get a single vote of support from any of our "closest" allies.  BONUS -  because Councillor John is so supportive of the "Green Slush Fund" Santa is going to fish around the blue bin in Councillor John's office for a recycled gift. 

MAYOR Tony Van Bynen - a referees whistle.  It's a gag gift.  We all know there won't be any reason for him to blow the referee whistle during the next four years. 

Sponsor Local Community Groups - Not The Town of Newmarket

One of the things that transforms a municipality into the community is the strength of its community groups.  These groups run not-for-profit on the efforts of unpaid volunteers.  You might recognized them as the local hockey league, church group, service clubs, or arts organization.  What can't be disputed is the fact that these organizations make our towns more liveable and without them, Newmarket wouldn't be the same. 

This past week, the Town of Newmarket recognized 30 of its sponsors.  These are local businesses who the town convinced to donate their sponsorship money to the local government rather than to the struggling dance team, theatre group, coffee club, or hospice volunteers, etc. 

And I think that's wrong. 

All around Newmarket, I see minor sports teams with a blank on the back of their jerseys where a company sponsor would normally be found.  I see the cost of participating in a community group activities rising (unfortunately the key driver of these rates is the cost of renting town owned facilities or some other government red-tape requirement).  And I see children and seniors who simply cannot afford to participate in activities with their peers. 

What I don't see is the Town of Newmarket struggling to make ends meet.  In fact, I doubt that there is another local employer who has grown as substantially as the Corporation of the Town of Newmarket has over the past ten years. 

Our local government is wrong to divert sponsorship monies that so many community groups rely upon for their operations to the public coffers.  There is simply no way that the local skating club, for example, can compete for sponsorship dollars on a level playing field against the government. 

I am asking our Council, for the sake of the financial well being of our community groups, to curb the town's appetite for sponsorship money and give the local community groups a break. 

I am also imploring the local businesses that are forking money over to the municipality to commit to giving an even greater amount of money to local not for profit community groups who could really use your financial support.  If you have limited sponsorship funds to give, please consider the local community groups first. 

No Debate Please, We're Newmarket Council.

If there was one overarching theme from yesterday's council meeting it is that your Town Council has given up caring about you and your community.  

Never mind passionate feelings towards Newmarket, there were times during yesterday's council meeting that I thought to call 911 to check for signs of life.  If there was a pulse in the meeting, it was  a very faint one indeed. 

Raise your water rates 5.7%? 

Hike your business license fees?

Raise most user fees?

Suspend public input by placing a moratorium on all (non-statutory) committees?

Making decisions behind closed doors?

All of these were agreed to by council with little or no actual debate.  We saw instead council members quickly and quietly going through the motions.  They did exactly what they were told to do. 

The meeting wrapped up in approximately 45 minutes which left Rogers TV in a lurch because it had booked 3 hours of air time for this meeting. 

As the TV camera rolled, I saw blank stares and boredom on the faces of council members.  John Taylor, coming off a stinging defeat at the Regional Council on Tuesday night, may well have worn a t-shirt with the words, "I don't care", across his chest.  His body language last night said as much as he reclined his council chair way back. 

After this lackadaisical 45-minute get together, Council has decided to take a month off to celebrate Christmas.  Metaphorically, it seems the perfect way to start this sleepy, complacent, do-nothing Council. 

Away from public scrutiny things are happening.  Vast sums of money are being spent on friends of Tony Van Bynen and his vanity projects.  Instead of having a Council overseeing the Mayor's activities, he has lulled them to sleep, giving himself free reign to do whatever he wants. 

Don't expect the Era to help in any way.  After attending last night's meeting, Era reporter Chris Simon has written a story about hockey rinks.  That issue is minor in comparison to what Council really agreed to proceed with.  The Era reporter just doesn't recognize what is news versus what is trivial.   

Why It's a Good Thing that Anyone Can Blog About Newmarket Politics

Its a long established truth that the Newmarket Era refuses to report legitimate news and thus enables our local government to continue on with bald faced lies and corrupt internal practices. 

It's the key reason why blogs like mine thrive in Newmarket.  Ordinary residents are starved for information about what's really going on at Town Hall. 

But before she was refusing to report Newmarket's news, The Era Editor, Tracy Kibble, was posted up in Keswick. 

It seems that she refused to report the news up there too. 

Here is a gem I found on line posted by someone calling him/herself "KeswickPinhead" which is entitled, "JOURNALISM IS HARD, JUST ASK TRACY KIBBLE". 

Here is what Tracy Kibble wrote to KeswickPinhead:

"If I have FACTS - not innuendos, not opinions, not suspicions, not could-bes but FACTS - ie Charges, investigations, etc. against such and such then I will be the first person to take an official to task.  If this ball ban was happening here, I would be on it but it is happening in Toronto.  The thing with journalism that most people who aren't journalists (and let's be clear ... Anyone can put a blog on the Internet) don't understand is that you can't print things without FACTS.
Nuff said"
(Attributed to Tracy Kibble circa November 19, 2011)

Well how does that statement stand up against, (oh and there are so many to choose from), "Innuendos, Suspicions, Could-Bes - but definitely not FACTS" that Maddie Di Muccio threatened Stephen Somerville?   The only thing the Era had to support it's reporting was gossip from local loser, Darryl Wolk. 

It didn't stop the Era from publishing that nonsense.  Even after the FACTS came out - that Frank Klees was the culprit who pressured Somerville to drop out of the race - did Tracy Kibble Editor of the Newmarket Era hold herself accountable to failing to measure up to Tracy Kibble's journalistic standards of 2011?

Clearly no. 

And that hypocrisy is why I blog.  And probably accounts for the reason why you read this blog too.

And while we are considering FACTS, here are a few for you to mull over:

1) The most important advertiser that the Era has (contributing hundreds of thousands annually to the paper's profits) is the Town of Newmarket courtesy of our taxes. 

2) The publisher and editor of the Era are close personal friends of the Gruesome Twosome even sitting on committees and boards together.

3) The Era has never ever published a critical word about Tony Van Bynen or any of his policies.  The Era only publishes praise for the Mayor.

4)  During the campaign writ period, the Era published multiple columns written by Mayor Van Bynen that could be deemed as free election materials. 

5) When the Town of Aurora opted to cancel it's advertising with the Era, the former Editor took to social media promising to pay them back for their decision.   

 The concept of "FACT" and the Era aren't really acquainted.  Remember the key word should be "BIASED." 

Ontario Liberals Should Seal Up Loophole on Muncipal Water Reserve Funds

 The management of Fresh, Waste, and Storm Water is a service funded quite differently from other municipal services.  Unlike garbage collection, road maintenance, or other critical services, water management funding must be not come from the property tax base.  Provincial legislation mandates that water be funded on its own and that funding must be self sustaining. 

As Councillor Kerwin explained in Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting, the town screwed up when it installed the water delivery system years ago.  They planned for water usage to increase on a per capita basis.  In fact, through conservation efforts and with the advent of bottled drinking water, municipal water usage has decreased drastically. 

And that is putting strain on the funding formula.  With approximately 45% of your water bill going towards fixed costs (money needed to maintain the system even before anyone turns on a faucet), the drop in the usage must be balanced back by charging homes and businesses an appropriate fixed rate alongside the variable rate. 

In 2012, the Council agreed to a six year plan.  At that time, the Town took a massive 10% increase and Mayor Van Bynen told the Era that this was a one time "catch-up" to ensure that no further large increases would be necessary.  That is small comfort to us today as we've seen Council pass a 5.71% rate hike for 2015.

Either she forgot what she voted for or else Councillor Twinney was being disingenuous and pandering when she pondered aloud that the Town Treasurer should come up with a better way of billing for low volume water consumers.  She wants to give a break to snow birds and summer cottage dwellers who aren't in their homes and therefore aren't turning on their taps.    

But I suspect that the real crux of the story lies within the Town's plans for more internal loans.  Last year, the Town gave millions in water reserves money to fund the LED lighting project.  In other words, it loaned money that the Province mandated must be used for water management, for a purpose that should have been funded by our tax base (namely street lighting). 

I expect that in 2015. the Mayor has designs on more water reserve funds.  He plans on spending millions on his Main St. friends and campaign donors with the gift of broadband internet and he can't afford politically to fund this pet project with a property tax hike.  Because he doesn't have the stones to cut spending, it is expected that he will do another "presto/ change-o" maneuver with money ear marked for keeping our water safe. 

It's appalling that the province allows municipalities to drain water reserves for projects that should be funded from the property tax base.  It is equally appalling that we have a mayor that would risk our safety by taking these funds.  In the time of unsettled weather as a result of global warming, who can predict when a calamity will strike, (think Calgary 2014)?  Would we have to take on a crippling debt in the event of an emergency event because the Mayor spent all the water reserve money on pet projects?

It's time for the province to step in and protect water consumers from the recklessness of our municipal government.  Mandate that money collected for water cannot be doled out in the form of internal loans and ensure that there are adequate reserves at all times to protect us. 

John Taylor Wants A Huge (taxpayer funded) Payoff

The Toronto media is rightly on the case of Joe Cimino.  He is the NDP MPP who has quit his seat after just five months.  Not only are taxpayers on the hook for the cost of a $500,000 by-election, but we were outraged to learn that Mr. Cimino was eligible for a $58,000 severance package too.  After intense media scrutiny, Mr. Cimino has announced that he won't accept the severance package. 

This story has a Newmarket parallel. 

On the front page of the Era, the local media is absolutely gushing with anticipation that Regional Councillor John Taylor will be successful in seeking the vacant York Region Chair. 

If he's successful, here is what the tab looks like Newmarket tax payers.

1) Severance pay.  Mr. Taylor will collect a severance package equal to approximately 1 year's worth of salary from Newmarket tax payers for quitting his current job.  He was sworn in to office on Monday and potentially could resign his seat after 11 days.  One year's salary for less than two-week's worth of work.   

2) By-election costs.  It is estimated that a town-wide by-election for the vacated Regional Councillor seat will cost us approximately $250,000. 

3) Regional Chair's Salary.  Bill Fisch made an annual salary with plenty of perks that approached a quarter million dollars. 

So the final bill for taxpayers if John Taylor is elected to the position of Regional Chair is somewhere in the range of $700,000.

It is an unacceptably large sum of money for you and your neighbours to fork over to help feed John Taylor's insatiable personal ambition. 

It is too bad that John Taylor wasn't up front with us during his recent re-election campaign about his ambitions and the associated costs that he expects us to pay.  He wasn't honest with us because it may have resulted in a very different outcome at the polls. 

How Many Current Library Card Holders Does the Newmarket Public Library Have?

The Newmarket Public Library posted statistics are a puzzling lot. 

On one hand, the NPL board boasts 23,664 library card holders in October 2014.  We know that library cards must be renewed annually.  There is no cost of renewing a library card but you must provide ID to show your residency to complete the renewal.

But how is that number reached when the number of "New" and "Renewed" library cards are as follows?

Jan           972
Feb          860
March     1146
April       916
May        911
June        871
July        1514
Aug        1009
Sept        1076
Oct          932

Total    10,201

So how exactly do we get from 10,000 (New and Renewed library cards) as of the end of October to 24,000 library card holders at the end of the same period?

Statistics posted for the public are only useful when they can be understood.  Perhaps there is an explanation behind the stats published by the Newmarket Public Library Board.  Yet on the published document, no explanation is provided. 

An organization that is committed to public learning must be held accountable for providing information that is accessible and easily understood. 

I can't figure out this discrepancy between the number of library card holders versus the number of new and renewed library cards.  Intuitively, the numbers should be similar (the number of card holders will be higher because it will include the numbers of new and renewed cards from November and December 2013). 

Maybe there is an explanation and if so, the Library should be providing it. 

 

A Tale of Two Classes of Councillors

Monday's final council meeting of the 2010-2014 term was a contrast in class. 

On one hand, we heard from Mayor-challenger Dorian Baxter with a moving thank you to the two councillors leaving on December first.  It was the speech that Mayor Tony Van Bynen should have given. 

Baxter was also the first to stand in an ovation after Chris Emanuel and Maddie Di Muccio shared their final comments to council.  A stark contrast to Tony Van Bynen's behaviour.  After Councillor Di Muccio's speech, the Mayor refused to even clap.  Such a small and petty (and dare I say it, misogynist?) man. 

And the speeches of Councillors Emanuel and Di Muccio didn't compare.  Whereas Councillor Emanuel used his time (between theatrical sobs) to continue to attack those with the temerity to speak in opposition to the will of the gruesome-twosome bloc, Councillor Di Muccio spoke with grace and humility.  She was appreciative of those who helped her, naming certain staff members for special recognition, and she encouraged ordinary people to become involved.  Unlike Emanuel who focused on himself exclusively, she honoured all the candidates in the past election (despite the fact that some of them attacked her during the campaign).  She spoke eloquently, if not self deprecatingly, about being a stay-at-home-mom who got a chance to make a difference.   Emanuel spoke from a written text.  Di Muccio spoke without a pre-written speech and her sincerity shone through. 

What the lasting image of this term of council should be for Newmarket residents is the contrast in the behaviour of those council members who will be returning on December 1st.  While they all fawned over Councillor Emanuel, not a single one of them would even shake hands with Councillor Di Muccio. 

The message could not be clearer.  Newmarket is THEIR town.  Not yours. 

Garbage Pick Up In Newmarket

Let's talk trash, Newmarket.

Our garbage contract with Green For Life is expiring during this term of Council.  A ten year garbage pick up contract was signed in 2007, awarded to Turtle Island, and the company was later sold becoming Green For Life in 2012.  Green For Life is no mom and pop operation.  It also provides garbage pick up in Toronto, Hamilton and Durham Region. 

In Newmarket, we share garbage services with the Northern York Region municipalities of Georgina, East Gwillimbury, Aurora, Whitchurch-Stouffville, and King (also known as the N6 municipalities). 

But even though the garbage pick up contract is the same, the level of service provided to residents of each municipality differs greatly. 

If you need to discard an old barbeque, appliance, or an old mattress, you pay for the pick up in Newmarket but neighbouring communities will pick up the same items at no additional cost. 

Whereas other municipalities offer weeks throughout the year for additional trash bags to be picked up without having to purchase tags, Newmarket doesn't offer any tag free weeks.  The Town of Newmarket always requires residents to purchase tags for additional bags.

Is this causing problems? 

Based on the fact that some council members host special garbage drop off events that gather tons of materials each year, I think even these council members have come to recognize that Newmarket's trash pick up rules are too restrictive.  There doesn't seem to be similar "trash events" in our neighbouring towns which demonstrates that the tons of waste collected in Newmarket is a symptom of a home grown problem. 

We already pay among the highest property tax rates in York Region.  Shouldn't we insist that our services be on par with those municipalities with lower tax rates?  Especially considering that the one garbage contract with Green for Life is shared with all the N6 communities? 

 

Why Are Newmarket Taxpayers Paying to Clean Up This Company's Pollution?

There is a problem with litter.  All over Newmarket.  All of it distributed/ produced by the same corporation. 

And in addition to the litter, this company also contributes hundreds of tons of garbage each and every week but pays none of the disposal costs.

As we are in a new age of sustainable development, impunity must turn to responsibility. Polluters must pay.

Who is this polluter? 

The Newmarket Era newspaper and its parent corporation, York Region Media Group. 

Survey the contents of any residential blue box and you will find that trash produced/ distributed by local newspaper is prominent among the materials inside.  Yet the disposal cost is paid for by property taxpayers and not the producer of this material. 

Walk down any street in Newmarket and you will find litter that originated from papers produced/ distributed by the Era.  The clean up costs are not assessed against the company responsible for all of this litter. 

Waste disposal is one of the largest line items in the Town of Newmarket's operating budget.  Waste disposal costs are among the reasons why our taxes are the second highest in York Region. 

Taxpayers shouldn't be burdened with costs of cleaning up the pollution created by the Newmarket Era.  The polluter must pay.  We need the Town to assess and levy the appropriate costs back to the York Region Media Group corporation that has been milking taxpayers for far too long. 

If Newmarket Council truly cares for the environment, then why does it give each year hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars to the Era for advertising?  Shouldn't Newmarket's advertising be free-of-charge given how much the Era's pollution is already costing us? 

If you are like me and wish to end this fiasco, then you can make a difference.  Contact the Era and tell them that you no longer want this paper delivered to your home. 

You can contact the Era to cancel your delivery at:

580B Steven Court
Newmarket, ON
L3Y4X1
Phone: (905) 773-7627

Or email the editor at:  tkibble@yrmg.com

Why We'll Never See A Good Person Run for Newmarket Council Again

The race for the next mayor of Newmarket begins today. 

The question is:  Why would anyone want the job?

Tony Van Bynen pulled out all the stops to get the puppet show council he wants for his final term in office.  Not a single backbone among the group and that's the sort of supporting cast the mayor needs to push forward with his tax and spend (and tax again) agenda. 

The legacy of this campaign is the dirty deeds of the Nmkt Town Hall smear account.  Last week, Tony Van Bynen left nothing to chance when he mailed almost 20,000 voters a flyer full of lies and smears against Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio and her husband, Ward 7 challenger John B.  These flyers were extremely effective as voters rewarded the mayor with his choice of puppet council members. 

If there is any doubt that Tony Van Bynen is the "mastermind" of this attack, let me present Exhibit A:  The Era reports that the biggest cheer of the night at the Van Bynen victory party came when the Ward 6 and 7 results were confirmed.  I am certain that there is no need for an Exhibit B. 

From today onwards, any challenger worth his/her salt is going to invoke the same maneuver going forward (and probably not just at election time).  Newmarket voters yesterday passed judgement and approved of this dirty tactic and apparently it doesn't matter how outrageous the lie that is told.  The ends justifies the means after all and the means in this case for certain ambitious Newmarket politicians is discrediting an opponent. 

So don't be surprised Newmarket when the next time you open your mailbox and the stench of the next vicious attack ad is emitted.  Welcome to the new dawn in Tony Van Bynen's Newmarket, where lies are dished out in super-sized portions. 

And good people won't run for municipal government.  Why would any decent, honest person want to subject themselves and their families to what Maddie Di Muccio has been through? 

No, the only people who will step forward will be cut-throats, scoundrels, and other sordid types who will do anything and say anything to get their hands on your taxpayer dollars.  This town's government will be a hornets nest of fraud and corruption for many years to come.

And to the newly elected council who are sure to whine and complain when they find themselves on the receiving end of a really good whopper -  You don't need to ask, "Why are you attacking me?"  It is simply in the nature of flies to be attracted to BS. 

The Town of Newmarket's Rob Ford Moment

Ward 5 Candidate John Heckbert is sounding the alarm about Joe Sponga and a possible infraction of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA). 

There is only punishment for someone who is found guilty of the MCIA - removal from office and the seat being declared vacant.  In addition, a judge may also order the offender to be barred from running again for up to 7 years.  The case law for this is written by Justice Hacklund in the Rob Ford case which you can read here:  http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2012/11/26/rob_ford_out_text_of_judges_decision.html

Back in 2011, Joe Sponga sat on a committee that doled out a grant to Europa Travel on Main St.  The reason that Joe is so well liked on Main St.is because he has been offering free money (courtesy of the taxpayers) to Main St. businesses for expenses that businesses elsewhere pay out of pocket.  This free money adds up quite quickly and is certainly was a fat target to budget hawk, Maddie Di Muccio to cut the program (and likely the graft) out altogether. 

A few months after receiving the grant, it seems that Europa Travel gave Joe Sponga a job.  It may be difficult to determine that the job came directly as a result of the grant but the optics certainly don't look good. 

There have been other times that Joe has tip toed the line on the MCIA too. 

For instance, we know that Joe receives money from the Farmer's Market to wrap his vehicle promoting the Market.  I also recall Joe speaking in Council against levying any user fees against the out of town farmers who run their business on taxpayer owned park land. 

And Joe is not the only Council member to have issues with conflict of interests. 

Ward 4 Councillor Tom Hempen was the deciding vote in favour of the controversial soccer loan but he did not declare that his business advertises through a sponsorship of a NSC team. 

Regional Councillor John Taylor runs a charity out of the town office even registering the charity's address as 395 Mulock Avenue and having his assistant sell golf tournament tickets during her working hours from her desk. 

And most audaciously is Mayor Van Bynen and his Belinda's Place charity activities.  The mayor's actions in abusing his position to assist with Belinda's Place fundraising not only cross the line, but clearly Van Bynen has lost all sight of where the line even is. 

The MCIA does not give special dispensation for raising money for charity.  Rob Ford's case was about charity too.  The fact is, if you break the law by using your office to gain a pecuniary interest for yourself of an entity that you are a director of, then you are forced out of office. 

What we need is a citizen to make a complaint in General Division Court to have these people answer the challenge of impropriety under the MCIA.  I expect that if all four win, that challenge may happen sooner than later. 

After all, Paul Magder succeeded for a time in getting Rob Ford tossed from office (Ford was reinstated on a technicality).  Surely if the election goes the wrong way, we still have the power of the courts to get these rotters out of office. 

Van Bynen's Da Vinci Code

The problem with plots and schemes involving the Masons is that it is so difficult to get someone to come forward to oppose this secret society.  Because tomorrow is election day, I'm going to focus on "Why" Mayor Van Bynen did what he did and will fill in with missing evidence (the "How") later on. 

Tony Van Bynen has surveyed the potential outcomes of tomorrow's election and has determined that there isn't one that he doesn't end up on the losing side. 

The issue for Van Bynen isn't necessarily one of his opponents but Maddie Di Muccio. 

Van Bynen is pulling out all stops to discredit Di Muccio in a desperate attempt to mitigate what she intends for him.  

He is a Mason (which is a secret society of old, white, protestant men who have grandiose beliefs that they are people of influence).  He has called upon his Mason brothers to help him with money, lawn signs, and even running fully financed candidates in wards 6 and 7 to oppose Di Muccio and John B. You will see evidence of this when ward 6 candidate Kelly Broome-Plumley and ward 7 candidate Christina Bisanz release their campaign donor list (a veritable who's who list of the local Masons) after the election. 

But even if Van Bynen is elected, that doesn't solve his Di Muccio problem.  

Di Muccio out manoeuvred the Mayor when she ran her husband in Ward 7.  There can be no doubt that with two people on the side of taxpayers sitting on council, it will be next to impossible for Van Bynen to deliver on the fat consulting contracts he has been promising to various people over the past twelve months.  The richest of these contracts is in relation to his proposed broadband scheme. 

Try as he might to keep these contracts hidden from the public, with someone backing her, Di Muccio can force a public debate and then use her superior intellect and media relations skills to shame him. 

So when Van Bynen turned to the Masons, (and believe me, Di Muccio is everything that the Masons oppose - she's young, female, smart as a whip, and - gasp - not a protestant), they were only too happy to get involved. 

If Van Bynen loses but Di Muccio and John B. win, expect that this will be the last anybody hears of Tony Van Bynen ever.  He won't have a street or park named after him.  His time on council will be completely lost to the annals of time. 

If Van Bynen wins and Di Muccio and John B. win, expect that Van Bynen's tenure as mayor to be measured in months.  He won't make it to the end of his term.  He'll either negotiate a graceful exit with Di Muccio or she will start revealing (as John B has promised) details of the Soccer Club loan and other nefarious dealings that will see him resign in shame. 

If Van Bynen wins and Di Muccio wins but John B loses, this one is the most interesting outcome.  If Van Bynen felt that Di Muccio hated him before, then add a dash of vengeance to their relationship.  I expect that "scorched Earth" will be the headline of the day.

If Van Bynen wins, Di Muccio loses but John B. wins, this is interesting too.  The "Mad Maddie" tag doesn't apply to John B.  With Maddie directing him to which rocks to look under and then John B. questioning publicly the things he uncovers, the Mayor doesn't stand a chance.  He can try to hide in secret meetings but John B has already shown that he has no hesitation about leaking confidential info that Van Bynen wanted kept secret. 

If Van Bynen wins and both Di Muccio and John B. loses, it's game over for Van Bynen.  Maddie has attended the closed door meetings and with no oath of confidentiality holding her back, expect the Toronto media to be camped outside Town Hall as all the corruption is made public.   

Getting ready to vote in Newmarket

With Newmarket averaging just over 30% voter turn out in the past few municipal elections, it seems that the ballot box question for most voters is, "Do I even bother to go to the ballot box?"

Low turn out means those who do show up to vote are given proportionally more power over those who stay home.  If your vote is so significant, isn't it worth some basic prep work before marking your X?  Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way.

Here is a simple checklist to determine whether you are an informed Newmarket voter or an ignorant Newmarket voter.

The ignorant Newmarket voter:

• Chooses a candidate based on how much he/ she "loves Newmarket". (Can't we just assume that all municipal candidates love Newmarket?  Why else would they be running?)
• Bases his voting decision on the number, color, or size of signs.  
• Feels it is paramount that all members of council get along.  ("Getting along" is why we have so many issues in Newmarket.  We want council members to hold staff and each other accountable for delivering top notched services). 
• Believes that any candidate who holds an incumbent to task for his voting record is simply attacking Newmarket.  (Our incumbent politicians are not Newmarket although they would like you to think so).  
• Thinks the Newmarket Era is an unbiased source of local news.  (The paper has become a joke in terms of political coverage). 
• Believes the mayor and regional councillor positions are more powerful than a ward councillor.  (Each member of council has one vote so they are equals.)
• Is unaware that our taxes are among the highest in the GTA or that our local economy is moribund with an unemployment rate well above the national average.

The informed voter:

• Makes an effort to learn the issues by visiting candidates'web sites, attending the debate night, and emailing questions to the candidates.  
• Cares about each candidate's ideas to make Newmarket better.  (For some candidates, it may be tough to find if they have any ideas at all).  
• Participates in Facebook groups on local politics but also takes the partisanship with a grain of salt.
• Spots the difference between substance and spin in campaign materials.
• Is informed of each candidates qualifications: such as profession; legitimate volunteer work, (attending a gala fundraiser is not volunteerism); education; and other attributes.  (Remember, this is a job interview so you should know the candidate's resume).
• Understands that the most important job of a Newmarket council member is to make sure that local government runs well.  (And that is why I find it funny that most incumbents are obsessed with being seen at the Farmers Market.  What does the Famers Market have to do with the town's core services?)
• Knows a bit about the incumbent's voting record and has an opinion about whether he/ she deserves to be "re-hired". 
• Encourages family members, neighbors, and friends to be informed voters too.  

We all have a bit of homework to prepare for election day.  Let's hope that Newmarket voters take the few minutes required to become informed voters so that we can have the best local government that our town deserves.

The Old Boys Club Pulls out All Stops Against Transparency

The lengths that the elites (also knows as the Old Boys) of Newmarket will go through to attempt to muzzle ordinary people as represented by Ward 6 Councillor Maddie Di Muccio never fails to amaze me.

The Newmarket Era newspaper is running last year's "Councillor calls Newmarket mayor a misogynst" story under the heading of LATEST LOCAL NEWS.

The newspaper's publisher, Jim Proudfoot, is a charter member of the Old Boys Club of Newmarket.  His paper relies on your tax dollars as the Town of Newmarket is one of his largest advertising accounts.

The only explanation for dredging up an old news story and passing it off as current is Dirty Politics.

Dirty politics?  Here is what is at stake for the Old Boys Club of Newmarket.

They like having a council that will pass around millions in council grants and interest free loans to their businesses without any scrutiny.  This money comes from the taxes you pay.

They like having a council that will spend tens or even hundreds of millions of public funds helping their businesses grow with broadband internet service.  Your tax dollars again are working for the elites to get them more profits.

They also like when the town spends millions on pet projects like scanning back issues of the Era through the shadowy Shared Digital Infrastructure scheme.

But Councillor Di Muccio asks too many questions about this spending.  She has made them look bad for keeping this spending hidden from the public (such as this article in the Toronto Sun:  www.torontosun.com/2012/10/12/freedom-of-information-certainly-isnt-free).

Her respect for the taxpayer mantra has become an inconvenient truth for these elites.  Even Mayor Van Bynen's latest election material acknowledges transparency as an election issue.

And as I wrote earlier, they seem to have invested heavily in her opponent unseating her in this election.

It is a battle being waged on two fronts.  Causing these elites to lose sleep is the campaign of Maddie's husband in Ward 7.  Having both Maddie and John B. on Council would be a game changer  for the ordinary taxpayer and these elites don't like it.

To borrow from Maddie's 2010 election campaign:  Expect More.

As we get closer to election day, expect more mudslinging against Maddie and John B.  Expect more dirty tricks like old headlines mysteriously reappearing, vandalised signs, and other hijinx.  And dare I say it, expect more - ahem - voting irregularities as the old boys pull out all the stops to take Maddie down.  

As ordinary taxpayers, this means we have to do more.  Make sure you get out to vote.  Don't re-elect this lousy Mayor and don't re-elect his cronies.  Make sure Maddie and John B. are elected and then hold the new council accountable to us, with our taxes supporting our needs and not the bottom line profits of the Old Boys of Newmarket.

Predictions: Winners of Newmarket Municipal Election

Here are my predictions for the outcome of the municipal election, (note: these are not endorsements).

Voter turn out: 35%

Candidates had plenty of examples to choose from to fire up the electorate for change but only one or two took advantage of the opportunity effectively.  The Newmarket Era and The Newmarket Chambers did their best to pour cold water on any enthusiasm for change.  Most voters are resigned to the status quo and that will keep the majority home on election day.

Mayor:  Tony Van Bynen re-elected

Only a select few actually likes the job Tony has done but he is the devil we know.  Chris Campbell and Dorian Baxter would both be upgrades to town council but neither ran their campaign well enough to unseat the Mayor.

Regional Councillor:  John Taylor re-elected

John Taylor should have been unseated but his challenger has not run an effective campaign.  Wolk relied almost exclusively on social media to challenge Taylor and the on line audience is simply too small to draw enough interest/ votes to defeat Taylor.

Ward 1:  Tom Vegh re-elected

The advantage of incumbency goes to Vegh who has been sloppy in his campaigning but not so bad as to be defeated.  Jarrah has plenty of baggage to knock him out of the running while Cena hasn't been able to show much momentum in the race.

Ward 2:  Dave Kerwin re-elected

Judy Poulin has made it interesting but with five candidates running, this ward splits the votes and sticks with the incumbent.

Ward 3:  Jane Twinney re-elected.

Victor Woodhouse has been over-the-top aggressive with lawn signs and that is turning voters off.  If the election day was a week ago, Victor might have won but momentum has since shifted.  Ole Madsen seems like a nice person but he is simply in the background.  In reality, this is a two person race and I expect Jane will take it.

Ward 4:  Tom Hempen re-elected

You could excuse Ward 4 residents if they weren't aware that there was an election taking place.  This very quiet race only benefits the incumbent.  Expect Hempen to cruise to an easy victory.

Ward 5:  John Heckbert elected

Joe Sponga was lazy thinking he wouldn't have to campaign this time.  He took his re-election for granted but on the final day to register, Ann Martin and John Heckbert jumped in the race.  I predict that Martin and Sponga split the downtown vote allowing Heckbert to run up the middle to take this seat.  Eibel will be lucky to break 100 votes.

Ward 6:  Maddie Di Muccio re-elected

As much as the Gruesome Twosome would like to believe that Maddie is vulnerable, she fully deserves to be re-elected and Ward 6 voters know it.  Revelations this week from Darryl Wolk and Lucille Abate that they declined an offer from an unnamed person for a fully funded campaign with up to 8 council endorsements only serves to doom Broome-Plumley's bid.  Ian Johnston will finish a very distant third.

Ward 7:  John Blommesteyn elected

Of the four candidates in the race, only John B. seems interested in winning.  He is the only candidate who updates Facebook, blogs, and the only one of the four to have participated in the The Newmarket Era's Facebook debate.  Bisanz made a serious tactical error when she linked herself so closely to Van Bynen's platform and even canvassed Glenway with the Mayor.  Her close ties to Van Bynen are making many Ward 7 voters extremely uncomfortable.

Newmarket's Manchurian Candidate

We now have two very reputable Newmarket residents claiming that they were approached by someone offering a "fully funded" campaign to run in Ward 6 against Councillor Di Muccio.  Both of these people declined the offer from this (so far) unnamed individual.  The only insight we have as to the conspirator's identity are comments from Darryl Wolk who claims that it was someone who would have provided endorsements from all other members of Council.   

Now all eyes turn to Kelly Broome-Plumley. 

Did she accept this deal?  Judging from the number of Council members (including Councillors Vegh, Kerwin, Sponga, and Mayor Van Bynen) who attended her campaign launch ... well, you will have to judge that for yourself. 

And the questions abound:

1) Do Ward 6 voters want someone who is "owned" by the other 8 Council members?

2)  What did Kelly promise to deliver to those who want Maddie Di Muccio gone so badly?  Did she offer her complicity and agree to turn a blind eye to all the things that Maddie has been exposing?

3) Will she agree to immediately publish the names of all those who have donated either time or money to her campaign?  She will have to make those names public after the election but why wait?  She should do so now given the seriousness of the allegations of "bought" candidate against her.  Don't voters deserve to know if there is a secret agenda at play and who is pulling the Kelly Broome-Plumley strings?

4) If Lucille Abate was the conspirator's first choice, and Darryl Wolk was their second choice, was anyone else offered the "fully funded" campaign before Kelly was approached?  Do we know if Kelly was the third, fourth or fifth choice?  Maybe she was even lower on their list of potential "Manchurian" candidates. 

The extent that the Gruesome Twosome Bloc will go through, (and the money they'll spend), to ensure that they silence Councillor Di Muccio should be a real eye opener for voters.  Maddie Di Muccio is only one vote of 9 on council.  On her own she can't block their agenda.  What she can do, (and she has done this effectively), is ask questions that exposes shady business, like the backroom deals and the wasteful spending.  And that is why they are trying so hard to get her out of office and replaced with someone that they themselves control. 

A good thing that Ward 6 voters get the final say in the matter. 

I think the choice on October 27th for Ward 6 is obvious. 

Time to wake up, Newmarket Voters

Imagine if the municipal election campaign was decided based on who voters believed had the best platform of ideas and who worked hardest to sell their platform to the public.  That might be how democracy works in some places, but it certainly isn't the case here in Newmarket.  In Newmarket it seems selling fear is what wins.  The fear that certain candidates are peddling is, "my opponent isn't one of 'us' and we can't work with him or her."

All around Newmarket, we have Ward races with the front runners refusing to engage on issues such as high taxes, secondary growth plan, traffic congestion, local jobs, or public debt.  Unfortunately, these important issues take a back seat to nonsense like how much charity work is done by a candidate, who is cheating with lawn signs, who loves Newmarket more, or who would win Miss Congeniality.

I think we are headed towards a four year disastrous term if Newmarket voters don't wise up to these antics before October 27th.

Let me use Ward 7 to illustrate.  Earlier I tweeted that we finally had a Ward race based on issues.  Maddie Di Muccio's husband, John Blommesteyn, has the strongest platform and has written a few dozen blogs about the issues.  Apparently he is hitting the doors as evidenced in social media and is causing a stir with his ideas.  He has also received the most coverage in the media of all the candidates, with articles in the local paper and on the radio with an impressive Newstalk 1010 interview about Glenway.  And he has done a good job to show us that he is his own man, qualified on his own attributes, not riding on his wife's coat tails.  If the outcome of the vote was based on the campaign, John B. would be the clear choice in Ward 7.

But when "fear" is added to the campaign, it muddies the outlook.  John's ties to Maddie scares the daylights out of the Gruesome Twosome bloc on Council.  They are not afraid that Maddie will gain control over the votes on Council (from where I stand, the votes will be 7-2 if John is elected next term instead of 8-1 this term).  The Gruesome Twosome are afraid of finding themselves in a position of being required to openly debate their agenda if Maddie has an ally to back her up.

Take the contentious broadband issue as an example.  In August, a report on Council said the broadband fibre optic cables could be installed along Main St, Davis Drive East, and Leslie Street for a sum of approximately $250,000 to $1,000,000.  Darryl Wolk suggested $330,000,000 was a more accurate figure during the Rogers Debate.  Recently, the Mayor and Regional Councillor have been promoting a blog that pegs the cost of installation at $30,000,000.  The obvious truth is that nobody knows what the cost will be or whether broadband will create any jobs.

If you watched the Council meeting when broadband was tabled, the debate was about how to proceed with the project. Maddie insisted on a request for information (RFI) while the other councillors wanted a non-binding request for purchase (RFP).  As Dorian Baxter attested, the Mayor's aggressiveness towards Maddie during this debate was deplorable, and frankly a tactic he uses far too often to silence her whenever her questioning makes his agenda appear weak.  The issue was ultimately settled with, you guessed it, a 8-1 vote.

The distinction between an RFI and a RFP may seem subtle but it is important.

With an RFP, the Mayor and Council can legally take the matter behind closed doors and the public will never know what the final cost of broadband will be.  (With an RFI, there would be no justification to hold the meeting in camera because there is no purchase being considered).  Potentially, the Gruesome Twosome could decide behind closed doors to add a hundred million or more worth of public debt without any public or media scrutiny.  I am certain that even the most ardent supporter of broadband would agree that secrecy on this expensive project is just plain wrong.

This one scenario paints the picture why the Gruesome Twosome are pulling out all stops to ensure that John B. is not elected.  The Mayor can shout down Maddie when she isolated on Council but it would be impossible for him to avoid the tough questions if she has an ally.

I think all of Newmarket would sleep better knowing that at least two members of Council are committed to openness and transparency.  John B's leak of the Glenway document demonstrates that he is willing to stick his neck on the chopping block to protect the concept of accountability.

Are the Town's CAO and Legal Dept Prevaricating on Glenway's Western Development?

I am not sure how many readers were waiting with bated breath for the town to release it's version of the "Confidential Glenway Memo".

I have written before that my own blog's readership numbers drop like a stone whenever I bring up Glenway.  That is why I am hesitant to raise the issue again. 

However, this new Town of Newmarket document, (which you can find here:  http://www.newmarket.ca/en/townhall/resourcelibrary/54-OfficeoftheCAOInformationReport2014-09-MariannevilleWestLands.pdf) is in stark contrast to the memo released on Tuesday afternoon, (which you can find here:  http://john4newmarket.tumblr.com/post/98822155804) is worthy of comment because they seem to contradict each other in a devious sort of way. 

On October 3, Town of Newmarket CAO (that's similar to the Town's chief executive officer) and the Town's Legal Department released a memo that seems to suggest that the lands on the most westerly portion of the Marianneville property are protected "woodlot" and "Oak Ridges Moraine".  If this land is protected, then this is certainly good news for everyone with homes west of the hydro corridor.  

But why is memo dated September 5 seeming less certain.  The September 5th memo says that the developer has intentions to develop this same portion of land upon the completion of "successful studies".  Would the developer "study" this land if the case of protection under the Oak Ridges Moraine Act was black and white? 

Could it be that the October 29th memo was written with the intention of public readership while the September 5th was always intended to remain confidential?  If that is the case, Glenway residents (who will soon become Glenway voters) would be wise to keep this inconsistency top of mind for their own sakes. 

I thought that (Ward 7 candidate) John Blommesteyn astutely called out his challenger Christina Bisanz on the pecuniary interest issue under the MCIA.  Obviously, if the building goes ahead, the lot premiums that many Glenway residents paid when purchasing their homes to live within the GG&CC vanishes.  Bisanz's own home I'm told, is within the area affected.  I am watching closely to see if she will say one way or the other what the development of the westerly portion of the Glenway Golf Course will mean to her ability to represent her neighbours. 

There are only three weeks left so the time for Christina to come clean is now. 

Town of Newmarket, cancel your advertising contract with the Era for Democacy's sake

Lots of news in the past 24-hours and all of it interesting.

First of all, there was the unexpected release of information by Ward 7 candidate John Blommesteyn on Tuesday afternoon. 

That was followed with news of the Newmarket Soccer Club is paying off its debt owed to the public through the placement of a private mortgage by way of a commercial lender. 

Both of these stories show us that this council, who tried so desperately to keep both of these matters "confidential" from the public, can be swayed to do the right thing when public pressure is applied. 

No wonder the gruesome-twosome, Mayor Van Bynen and his henchman sidekick John Taylor, are bemoaning this new era of "Hyper Transparency" (words actually spoken by John Taylor at Monday's council meeting).

For anyone doubting the reasoning why Kathleen Wynne's Bill 8 is desperately needed, only needs to refer to this week's events to know that public pressure has benefits to ensure that elected officials do the right thing.

We used to rely on the media to keep politicians honest. 

Clearly in Newmarket, the Era is not to be trusted to report the news. 

If you read the Era's reporting of the Glenway memo release, one critical fact is glaringly missing.  There is no mention of the petition that sparked this debate. 

Here are the actual series of events. 

1) Councillor Di Muccio asked at the September 22 council meeting for the memo to made public.  The Gruesome-Twosome argued against.  There was discussion about how this matter would be discussed in camera.  We are left assuming that it was discussed and the majority voted against making the document public. 

2) Ward 7 candidate John Blommesteyn gathered a petition and presented it to council on September 29th.  Council decided to meet in private again to reconsider their decision from the week previous. 

3) Upon coming out of the in camera meeting on the 29th, every speaker made mention of John Blommesteyn's ;petition as being the catalyst for their decision to make the memo public.  In other words, they succumbed to the public pressure. 

But in the Era's story, despite the critical role this petition played (as confirmed by all the speakers on Council), this petition goes un-mentioned.  Instead of playing up the role the public played in getting council to act responsibly (weeks out from an election), the Era is focusing on how the memo got released. 

To give you an analogy of how bad Chris Simon's article is:  imagine if Chris Simon was reporting on Abraham Lincoln's assassination and he didn't mention a single word about the President being killed.  His story would focus on how a gun got smuggled into the theatre instead.  There is no other way to describe it other than bad reporting. 

My blog was created years ago in response to bias reporting in the Era.  Since then I have written 146 posts that generally share one common thread - that is how the Era fails us when reporting Newmarket Council news. 

And I assume, based on my readership numbers, that most of you agree with me.  At least, nobody has ever taken me to task on my Twitter feed or my comments page defending how the Era reports on Newmarket politics. 

I don't know if the Town of Newmarket's advertising budget has "bought" good coverage for the Mayor and his allies.  Experience shows us that this is likely true.  I defy anyone to find any story in the Era that is actually critical of Tony Van Bynen (by mentioning him specifically).  I looked and couldn't find anything remotely close to criticizing the Mayor.

For the sake of our democracy, I am calling on the Town of Newmarket to stop advertising in the Era because it influences the way news gets told.  It is the only way to restore integrity to the Era in its reporting. 

I know this to be true because the Town of Aurora doesn't publish in the paper and the local reporters are actually doing a good job of keeping the Aurora mayor and council honest. 

If we want the type of honest reporting that Aurora residents enjoy then we need to cancel the Town of Newmarket advertising too. 

My response to @Ham6Karin

I can appreciate your feelings on my posts about Ward One candidate Wasim Jarrah.  You called them shameless and discrediting and said that I was doing so only to prop up another candidate.

I am sorry to say that you are wrong on all three accounts.

Election campaigns are long and arduous.  During this time, candidates are weighed and measured against their platforms and qualifications.  All except one candidate in each race will come up short.

Running in a election is not for the feint of heart.

I don't know how closely you follow Newmarket Town Hall but we have a Mayor and Council that like to keep secrets.  (If you want an example of their secretiveness, read the www.shrinkslessorsquare.ca blog post from today).

This Mayor and Council will readily convene to a closed door meeting when things get too hot politically and prefer to decide contentious issues with back room deals.  That's how we ended up with losing Glenway at the OMB, how the soccer loan got done, and a myriad of other bad deals (most of those, I suspect, we'll never know about but we're surely paying them with our tax dollars).

Months ago, when I first reported on Wasim Jarrah's ill-advised drive to the airport, he didn't address the issue saying, "Yes it was me" or "No it isn't".  Instead, he went to Google and had my blog deleted.  In time it was proven that everything I wrote about him was correct, as he admitted to the facts earlier this week on Toronto radio.  (I'll never know what he said to Google to have my blog taken down but I have a hard time listening to him defend free speech after the censorship he imposed on my blog).

Because of this, voters can predict what Wasim Jarrah's behaviour will be if he's elected to represent Ward 1 and the next Soccer Club bail out lands on the table.  Can you tell me honestly that he can be trusted to keep similarly shady deals in the public domain?

But I am a person who believes in second chances so I decided to test Wasim Jarrah again, this time with the controversial tweets he made about Iraq.

I noticed those tweets as soon as he made them and thought "Oh boy, he's in trouble", but nobody questioned him at that time.

So when the opportunity arose, I decided to challenge him on them.

You are right when you say that everyone has the right to an opinion and frankly I respect those willing to stand by their convictions even when the public sentiment goes against them, (which is why I respect the Ward 6 councillor so much).

Clearly Wasim Jarrah buckled under my challenge.  He deleted his tweets within seconds of me raising them as an issue.  He did not respond as to why he felt Stephen Harper was blood thirsty, or why John Baird is a vampire.  He simply tried to make the problem go away by pretending these tweets never existed.

That's a big red flag for me.  I've seen our Mayor and Council employ the same "disappearing act" with contentious issues.  When faced with their own record, they did everything they could to clam up and hide.

You know what I am speaking of Karin,  It doesn't go unnoticed that you very eloquently explained what was wrong with the US foreign policy within a the context of a 140 character tweet.  Why couldn't Wasim Jarrah do the same?  Why did he simply delete the tweets as opposed to explaining his point of view.  And what can voters expect he'll do if elected to Council and he gets called upon to make a principled decision?

I never met the man but perhaps Wasim Jarrah is a very nice man.  He is likely a very good volunteer and I am sure he loves his family and they love him too.

But is he any different from the today's crop of Gruesome-Twosome bloq councillors that we currently have "representing" us?  No, because his actions over these past few months show us that he behaves in exactly the same manner as they do.

So you are entitled to believe that I am harsh, shameless and nasty.  I prefer to think that by exposing his behaviour, I have given Newmarket Ward 1 voters a clear insight to the man who wants to represent them.

And the process of vetting candidates is exactly the reason why we have election campaigns.

Newmarket Election Predictions Part 1

With the deadline to register for candidates now passed, I will begin reviewing various contests and will make predictions about their outcomes.

Like many residents, I am disappointed with the lack of choice in many of the Newmarket wards.  In many cases, I will be advising voters to plug their noses and pick between Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Moe.  

Some races are easy to predict, even six weeks out.  Today, we are going to make predictions on a number of "sure-thing" races.

For the Catholic School Board, Theresa McNicholl is acclaimed.

I also expect long term Town of Newmarket employee, Mubs Van Beek, to cruise to an easy victory as the Public School Trustee.

Regional Councillor - Hold for John Taylor

The only mystery in this race was whether Taylor would challenge Van Bynen (a decision I am sure he is regretting as Van Bynen appears remarkably weak at this point), or if Maddie Di Muccio would challenge Taylor.  When these questions were decided, the race was over.

With a campaign that has run the gamut between sublime and ridiculous, challenger Darryl Wolk has made a stir with a number of fantastical claims, (including that he would be endorsed by MP Lois Brown), and promises, (such as bringing a balloon festival to Newmarket and annexing huge swaths of land from neighbouring municipalities).  Wolk has not given voters any reason to trust him with their vote.

All in all, I expect Taylor to cruise to an easy victory.  

INTERESTING TO WATCH (REGIONAL COUNCILLOR RACE):  Wolk boils over on Social Media (particularly Twitter).  There are a number of twitter users who have made a sport over baiting Wolk who spectacularly transforms from a mild mannered Bruce Banner type into "HULK WOLK" (and he shares all the subtlety of the green Marvel comics character).  I will be interested to see if John Taylor will provoke him into a similar tirade at Regional Councillor debate.

Ward 2 - Hold for Dave Kerwin

I believe that the majority of residents in Ward 2 feel it is time for Kerwin to go away.  With one of the worst attendance records on Council, and a voting record that mirrors Van Bynen's on every major issue, there are few reasons to trust Kerwin with your vote.

Unfortunately, it is a numbers game.  With so many challengers to split the vote, Kerwin will squeak through to another term.

INTERESTING TO WATCH (WARD 2 RACE):  Ward 2 has five senior homes.  When Van Bynen won the Mayoralty against Diane Springstein by a razor thin margin, there was a persistent rumour that Van Bynen's campaign used proxy votes from the residents of the seniors homes in great numbers to eke out a win.  I personally don't like the practice of allowing proxy votes but they are legal.  If the race gets close, will a challenger exploit this opportunity of having senior homes residents sign over their vote via proxy?

Ward 4 - Hold for Tom Hempen

If you were to ask me in January which incumbent Council member was most vulnerable to being defeated this year, I would have said Hempen.  After all, Hempen doesn't live in Ward 4.  He misses meetings and rarely attends community events.  He hardly ever speaks at council and the only legislative achievement you can point to is the special tax levy he pushed for while nobody was looking (the Maple Leafs had a play off game against Boston that night when Hempen tabled his motion).

For some reason, only Ray Luff stepped forward to challenge Hempen.  I like Ray personally.  He is a good, honest, salt of the earth type of man.  But he just doesn't have the chops to defeat Hempen. To beat Hempen, you need a candidate willing to fight.

INTERESTING TO WATCH (WARD 4 RACE)):  Residents of Ward 4 will recall the dirty tactics Hempen used against the late Larry Blight to unseat him in 2010.  Hempen is extremely vulnerable to attack ads (because he lives out of the ward in one of Newmarket's largest luxury homes, because of his voting record, his absenteeism, and his lack of community spirit regarding events).  It would be out of character for Ray Luff but I think his only chance to defeat Hempen would be to campaign like Hempen did in 2010.

Ward 6 - Hold for Maddie Di Muccio

Earlier this year, people (including her detractors) were speculating, would she be the next MPP, the next Mayor, or the next Regional Councillor?  In the end she decided to return to Ward 6 and I believe that she will hold this seat for how ever many terms she wants.

Talking to friends and neighbours, people appreciate that Maddie has kept Council honest this term.  Even people who are supporters of Van Bynen recognize that Maddie has stood up for taxpayers very effectively and she can boast an impeccable voting and attendance record.  Maddie's election materials highlights an impressive string of accomplishments that few can deny that she deserves to return.

Running against Maddie is realtor, and Ward 5 resident, Ian Johnston who is advocating for more social housing in Ward 6 and higher taxes.  Neighbours tell me that they find him abrasive and his platform has not captured the public interest.

Also running is Kelly Broome-Plumley who is appears to be well funded but clearly her campaign lacks any substance and can't be considered a real threat.  If I don't have much to say the Broome-Plumley campaign it is only because she herself doesn't have anything to say about it either.  I can not point to a single municipal issue that Broome-Plumley either supports or opposes.  

INTERESTING TO WATCH (WARD 6):  Broome-Plumley has close ties to Aurora and has the backing of Aurora insiders Steve Hinder and Tim Jones.  In 2010, Hinder and Jones backed Brian Johns's campaign who was equally well funded but finished in third place.  I have no idea why Aurora bigwigs are so interested in this ward (and Ward 7 it seems) but many residents see this as a red flag.

Other Mentions - Ward 5

24-hours ago, I was set to call this for Joe Sponga.  But with the last minute entries of John Heckbert and Ann Martin, I have decided to take a wait and see on this Ward.

Sponga does not deserve to be re-elected.  The businesses on Main St. have found him very useful because he does what they tell him to do.  Every where else in the ward, residents have very little use for him.

With his work on promoting Davis Drive, Heckbert has accomplished more in a few weeks than Sponga has in three terms on council.  I don't know anything about Heckbert's platform or if he has the funding and campaign skills to mount a serious challenge.

Ann Martin has run against Sponga before.  She has ties to Main St too.  She ran a solid campaign but came up just short in 2010.

I am still heavily leaning towards a Sponga hold but I am keeping an open mind to see if either of these challengers gets their campaign rolling along.

 

Don't Re-Elect Lousy Mayor, Newmarket

If anyone needs an example why Tony Van Bynen should not be re-elected this fall, then watch this week's council meeting (archived on the www.newmarket.ca website).  Clearly, our current Mayor has been watching archived recordings of the North Korean Politburo because he is modelling his style of chairing meetings after tyrant Kim Jung Un. 

It shows a lack of confidence in his own platform with the way that he deals with questions that challenge him.  If he thought his plan through, he would have all the answers. 

And the same example is permeating the various ward races.  There are many candidates who will openly criticize the incumbents' voting records on various issues.  Almost none would dare to criticize Tony Van Bynen, even though he is the person who actually instructed his bloc how to vote.  It is almost as though new candidates fear reprisals if they are critical of our current Mayor. 

It isn't clear why Tony Van Bynen feels he needs to control everyone all the time.  After all he has accomplished very little in his tenure and if elected again, I don't expect that he will achieve much afterward either. 

Let's summarize Tony Van Bynen's "accomplishments" as Mayor Newmarket:

1) Shared Digital Infrastructure - millions of dollars poured into scanning back issues of the Era and some personal papers belonging to heiress Belinda Stronach while our public library fails to meet the grade as far as books and other resources are concerned.
2) Magna Centre Construction - at almost double the cost because of the mayor's folly regarding the MayStar lawsuit.
3) Rapid Bus Lane Construction - years behind schedule and tens of millions over budget
4) Old Town Hall Restoration - now double the original costs and years behind schedule

There is not a whole lot to recommend the mayor for re-election. 

Why the Davis Construction is Such a Cock Up

A Newmarket resident tweeted some important advice to the Town of Newmarket.  Apparently, while walking, she was almost struck by a car as she crossed Davis Drive at Main St.  She noticed that cars turning left were blind to pedestrians because of the construction fencing that obstructed drivers' view.

The Town of Newmarket twitter account replied and informed her that they have passed the message on to York Region.

The York Region twitter account then acknowledged that they have forwarded the message on to Viva Next.

Then, (and it would be funny if the potential consequences weren't so tragic), the woman tweeted that she was again almost struck by another vehicle at the same intersection just a few days later.

So while our local municipal government bodies are playing "pass the buck" with this pedestrian's safety, ordinary people are still at risk of being run over in traffic at the corner of Davis and Main.

All that has to be done is to address the positioning of the construction fencing.

What we don't need is for the Town of Newmarket, York Region, and Viva Next to say, "It's not my problem."

Drinking and Driving is a Newmarket Election Issue

3 years have passed since Chris Emanuel plead guilty to driving while impaired.  Here is the Toronto Star reporting on this crime:  http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/08/16/councillor_fined_for_driving_drunk.html

This story, in the context of a municipal election, is more relevant than ever.

Voters in Ward 7 won't be able to vote Emanuel out of office.  He isn't running for re-election.

But the Mayor, who downplayed Emanuel's crime as the folly of youth, can certainly be held to account.  The Mayor's antagonistic attitude towards community members who were appalled by the crime showed a man who was out of touch with ethical standards.

So should Regional Councillor Taylor be held to account.  It was Taylor who pleaded against demanding Emanuel's council resignation.  Taylor promised us that Emanuel was essential in blocking the Glenway development.  It turns out that Emanuel's involvement in this dispute only increased the number of homes to be built through an ill-advised 'all or nothing' OMB hearing.

Councillor Kerwin called Emanuel a friend and spoke about the work that Emanuel did on council.  Voters should challenge Kerwin to name a successful council initiative led by Emanuel in the past three years.  There aren't any.

And finally, council hopeful Kelly Broome Plumley needs to answer for her decision to name Emanuel a community hero via a New Roads Kia blog.  The corporate headquarters of Kia Canada had to formally denounce that move in light of Kia's support of MADD Canada.  It was a serious lapse in judgement and a slap in the face of all victims of drunk drivers.

While voters may not be able to punish Councillor Emanuel's misdeeds, there are others on the ballot who should face voters' wrath.  When the candidate knocks on your door, please tell them where you stand on the issue of drinking and driving.

The First Attack Ad of the Municipal Campaign Comes from Tony Van Bynen

Tony Van Bynen must have had a bad week.

After weeks of negative public feedback about his Davis Drive debacle, he's resorted to what he does best: attacking the person who has brought it to light: Councillor Di Muccio.

In Tony Van Bynen's "positive" Newmarket, when things get desperate, it's best he attack through third parties - regardless of how fringe they might be.

Last week, Councillor Di Muccio wrote a blog asking why a member of Tony Van Bynen's and ward 6 candidate Kelly Broome Plumley's campaign team was encouraging Davis Drive businesses to make a claim against York Region, with the use of tax payer dollars, for the inconvenience of lost revenue that construction may have had on their businesses. Councillor Di Muccio (presumably out of respect) didn't name the individual who made the claims in her blog. She wrote this blog because after speaking with management at York Region, she discovered there was no such compensation. In fact, Van Bynen opponent, Chris Campbell, confirmed Councillor Di Muccio's position with his own phone calls to York Region.

Something smells bad at the Old Boy Club Headquarters in Newmarket.

What is a desperate Mayor Van Bynen to do? Ask one of his acolytes to attack Councillor Di Muccio through his opponent's campaign team.

Here's an email I received from Councillor Di Muccio this morning. It was written by a member of Mayor candidate Chris Campbell's campaign team:

"...this Doug Brown guy is Chris Campbells election campaign social media guy.  I sat next to him the other day (editor's note: at Chris Campbell's campaign meeting) and he sent me a FB friend request.  ‎He seemed reasonable in past FB posts and had no reason to be concerned.  I can't believe what he posted on FB about your opinion on the fact or fiction of any reported financial assistance to businesses on Davis Drive.  

Chris Campbell posted on his blog exactly the same opinion as you (editor's note - referring to Councillor Di Muccio) , as confirmed by the Region and Viva Next contacts he spoke with confirming that no financial assistance available to Davis Drive businesses directly opposing Jim Alexander's comments yet Campbell's social media guy trashes you for having the same exact opinion?  This is totally berzerko world?  

I smell a trap being set and caution is advised with this guy.....Either Chris Campbell doesn't know that his social media guy is a Tony Van Bynen plant or Chris Campbell himself is a Tony Van Bynen plant. 

Something stinks here.. Newmarket politics is truly messed up."

Who is Doug Brown? Doug Brown is Newmarket Free Press (@newmktfreepress and @aralai), the same individual who posted the negative attack letter from Tony Van Bynen's ally, Jim Alexander. Most of Jim Alexander's negative letter is focused on attacking Councillor Di Muccio without actually defending his position of making claims against York Region in what we can only presume is a hush hush you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-yours program.

How can Doug Brown attack Councillor Di Muccio when his own candidate, Chris Campbell, holds the same position as her?

There's only one easy answer: this is Tony Van Bynen's Newmarket.

And on voting day remember: it's yours too.

It's time to take it back.

Compensation for Davis Drive? Why not Glenway?

On January 8, 2013, I exposed the curious ties between the people behind the group opposing Slessor Square, the Glenway Preservation Association, the Town of Newmarket and the Newmarket Aurora Liberal Party Association.  I think taxpayers would be wise to pay attention to these links because millions of your public funds have been spent at the behest/ direction of the very few people who cross over between these groups.

I recall that many Glenway home owners asked about compensation as a result of the Marianneville development.  These home owners paid a premium to have a property that backed on to a lush golf course.  With Mayor Van Bynen and the Glenway Preservation Association (lead by Ward 7 council hopeful Christina Bisanz, herself a former unsuccessful Liberal Party candidate), having bungled the OMB hearing, these same home owners are out of pocket 10's of thousands in terms of home equity.  These home owners are victims of the Mayor and Glenway Preservation Association's insistence on playing hard ball with a developer who was very willing to negotiate for fewer homes.  Hard ball tactics seldom lead to winning solutions.

The money lost by Glenway home owners in this fiasco will never be recovered.  The lot premiums are gone.  Residents depending on home equity for a secure retirement must make up that money in some other way.

Compare this scenario to another case of compensation, one that Mayor Van Bynen apparently approves of.  A close ally of the Mayor is announcing that public funds will be made available to businesses along Davis Drive who have been hit by lost revenue due to the bus lane construction.

Pay no attention that, unlike Glenway homes, this construction inconvenience is only temporary.

And Newmarket taxpayer, pay no mind that the person who announced this compensation, has multiple locations and a large corporation behind him to ensure his brand will be just fine.  Jim Alexander is not laying awake at night worrying about being able to afford retirement.

And finally, let's not busy our thoughts with the fact that the people who are forcing this bus lane through and forcing us to accommodate another 45,000 new residents are the Liberal Government at Queen's Park.

Because these same Liberal Party members want your vote, (including former Liberal Party candidates John Taylor and Christina Bisanz).  And once they are on council, they'll be able to take care of their wealthy friends, like Jim Alexander, while ordinary home owners can go get stuffed.

Friends of Tony Compensation Plan for Davis Drive

Over a year ago, before it became trendy to talk about it, I raised the alarm about the plight of small businesses on Davis Drive.  You can read my July 24, 2013 blog here:  http://www.nwkttownhall.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-businesses-on-davis-drive-in.html

I read with a raised eyebrow that the owner of Tim Hortons is promoting some type of government compensation for lost business revenue due to the bus lane construction along Davis Drive.  To wit. Jim Alexander writes (via Twitter) "Since the start the Region and VIVA included a process to claim for documented business loss.  I am working thru it now."

As a Davis Drive business owner, I have never been contacted by anyone related to the loss revenue sustained by my business which resulted in lay offs to offset business losses.

Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio, has this to say about possible compensation:  http://maddiedimuccio.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42555522-government-compensation-for-davis-drive-businesses-fact-or-fiction-

Now, I have no reason to doubt that Tim Hortons Newmarket (even though this owner has multiple locations in Newmarket and significant corporate advertising budgets to bolster his business) is receiving some taxpayer funds.

But I do doubt that there will be money for the rest of us.  It simply won't happen.

If there is a going to funds made available, it will be done on the "Friends of Tony" basis.  Long term businesses noted with some chagrin that Tim Hortons on Davis Drive received priority response to construction issues while the rest of us had large vehicles and pylons blocking drive ways.  That's because he is a close friend and ally of Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen.

So when you promote your 5 for the Drive tweets, perhaps you should give the big conglomerates a pass and help out the smaller businesses.  It will give Jim Alexander more time to work with the Region for compensation while the rest of us just hang on.

Ward 6 Candidate Kelly Broome Plumley? You have some explaining to do ...

Editor's Note:  The following blog post is not written by Nwkt Town Hall Watch.  It is attributed to the John4Newmarket Tumblr page and John Blommesteyn (originally published on June 23, 2014).  It is being reprinted here in the public interest as Kelly Broome Plumley is a candidate for Newmarket Town Counci:

 

John4Newmarket

Elect John Blommesteyn Newmarket Town Council

Elect John Blommesteyn Newmarket Town Council

One of the most important prerequisites for elected office are our values.  When circumstances call for tough decisions, the community must have faith that the moral fibre of our elected representatives remains strong.  This faith in our elected officials is the foundation of our democracy. 

 

It goes without saying that plagiarism is bad.  But if a candidate for Town Council plagiarizes in a section of her website entitled “My Values”, can she be trusted?  Taking another author’s work word-for-word and claiming them as her own is simply wrong. 

 

The top photo comes from Newmarket Ward 6 candidate Kelly Broome Plumley’s web page.  The bottom photo comes from the Go Daddy template that I purchased to set up my own page.  Clearly, Ms. Broome Plumley has some explaining to do about the section entitled, ”My Values” on her web page

.

I am proud to say that I don’t need to take my list of values from another author.  And Newmarket residents can rest easy knowing that you can rely on my value set to lead us to a prosperous future. 

Christina Bisanz: Giving voters the opportunity that Chris Emanuel denied them

I know that I am not in the minority when I admit that I was disappointed when Chris Emanuel decided not to seek re-election because he denied the voters here the opportunity to vote him out of office. 

And so today I am happy to see Christina Bisanz (former President of the Glenway Preservation Association) put her name forward as a municipal candidate. 

This is the moment that Newmarket voters have been waiting for. 

Newnarket taxpayers are disgusted when they learn that the Town of Newmarket wasted approximately $1,000,000 to fight -- and lose -- the Marianneville development project at the OMB.  The Town's refusal to negotiate with the developer cost Glenway residents dearly and Christina Bisanz is one of the most visible "masterminds" behind that doomed strategy.   

And let's be clear that $1,000,000 is not an insignificant sum of money to waste in the town of Newmarket.  It could have been put to better use building splash pads in every corner of the town, for example.  It is a lot of money to waste on lawyers and consultants without any actual return benefiting the people of Newmarket.

With Christina Bisanz in the race, voters can now put a face to the $1,000,000 Glenway/OMB fiasco and cast their vote in favour of the wasting this money or against it. 

(With the final property tax bills coming due, it isn't hard to imagine your own portion of that $1,000,000 tab). 

So thank you, Christina Bisanz, for giving Newmarket voters the opportunity that Chris Emanuel denied them.  I am certain that with her in the race, voter turnout is going to near 100% as voters vent their anger at the ballot box. 

What to do if you are a Newmarket-Aurora PC member?

Picture someone turning on the kitchen lights in a run down house and watching the cockroaches scurry for dark corners.  This analogy cannot be one that the local Ontario PC'ers want connected to them.

Yet, is there a more apt way of describing this?:  http://m.yorkregion.com/news-story/4611941-mpp-pressured-somerville-out-of-newmarket-aurora-pc-race-document/

Councillor Maddie Di Muccio has every right to be furious.  She has been falsely accused of criminal activity.  I hope that she channels her anger to making some real changes in the local political scene. 

The grass roots members of the local PC Party should be even more furious.  This so-far-unnamed-MPP who is hiding in the dark corners, has schemed and plotted to ensure that local democracy was subverted/ hijacked.  

If the unnamed-MPP responsible for pressuring Mr. Somerville continues to sit within caucus (which I personally doubt), he/she needs to be exposed for their undemocratic behaviour and unceremoniously dumped from caucus.  There is no way for the PC Party to escape its dirty Tim Hudak past if new leader Jim Wilson and party president Richard Ciano leave this matter uninvestigated and festering like an open wound. 

Mr. Somerville has been exposed as a snake.  He issued a press release saying that his family was threatened but if you read today's article, Mr. Somerville did not repeat that claim.  Now he says he dropped out of the race, "to minimize the harm caused to his family, reputation and career", says the article's author. 

A threat is a criminal act punishable with jail time.  Public embarrassment caused as a result of being a terribly flawed candidate for public office, is not a matter for either the police or the courts.  Mr. Somerville would be wise to remember this truth. 

The eventual acclaimed candidate, and subsequent loser, isn't named in the article but her presence behind the scenes can be clearly felt.  Nobody believed that Jane Twinney would prevail over either Somerville or Di Muccio in a fair and open vote.  Twinney's only chance of winning the nomination was through stabbing her competitors in the back, and that is exactly what she set out to do.  The fact that she lost this long-held, never-voted-any-way-other-than-PC seat is a testament to the wisdom of the voting public which simply didn't accept Twinney as an authentic conservative. 

And for anyone who believes that the outcome of the Newmarket-Aurora went Liberal in the last election had anything to do with this undemocratic candidate selection, I say, you are wrong.  The PC'ers lost because they ran a bad campaign with a really bad candidate.  Jane Twinney could not sell Tim Hudak's platform because she isn't actually a conservative. 

Jane Twinney's voting record on Newmarket Council is to the left of the political spectrum.  She never passed up a chance to tax and spend and abuse her position to block transparency.  When she tried to do a 180, voters simply never bought her act. 

My advice to the local PC'ers is simple: the PC'ers need to distance themselves from the charlatans associated with Frank Klees and his gang of dunder-heads.  Recognize that Klees's jealousy caused the party to back the wrong candidate and lose the Newmarket-Aurora seat to the Liberals. 

The local PC'ers need to move beyond Frank Klees and make peace with the Newmarket Councillor who should have been the party's candidate. The riding needs to rebuild.  If you don't take my advice, it won't be too long for the Newmarket-Aurora riding to become a Liberal-stronghold just like the rest of York Region.