The True Value of Social Media to Newmarket Politics

I read Mayor Tony Van Bynen’s latest column published in the Era with great interest.  Although it wasn't intended as such, the column, entitled “Is there accountability with social media,” is an excellent reminder how lucky we are in Newmarket to have a politician like the Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio.

Now I unreservedly confess to being a fan of Maddie Di Muccio ever since she stared down old-boys club and beat them at their own game during the 2010 election.  It took a lot of guts for her to win.  And she has been showing her strength and smarts ever since. 

Today, while Tony Van Bynen is mewing about “inaccurate comments and skewed perspectives”, we are also cognisant that he hasn’t faced anything nearly as vile that Di Muccio has encountered via on line attacks. 

When was the last “hate-group” set up on Facebook against any member of Council other than Di Muccio, (as was set up in 2011)?

And which other councillor, other than Di Muccio, was the subject of various hateful email campaigns? 

How about negative comments about any other council member’s children or spouse?  (I am certain that even the most partisan of observers would agree these attacks are the most hurtful and vicious of all the things posted on social media this term). 

Certainly no other council member has been the subject of a You Tube attack ad and subsequent smear campaign (engaged by the local newspaper, most shamefully), as Councillor Di Muccio has.

And despite everything, she preserves and continues to do her job. 

And what a job she has done! 

In the history of this town has any one person done as much to improve the openness and transparency of our municipal government? 

Here is a partial list of just a few of the accomplishments that she has championed and achieved:

1)      On line recording of all meetings of Council (and not just the meeting where things get rubber stamped, but also the committee meetings when issues are discussed, debated, and amended) so residents can confirm that their elected official is working for them.  

2)      All council votes are now recorded and will be available for the public to consider.  At election time, we won’t have to take an incumbent word that he/she was a good representative.  We finally have a way to check his/her record for ourselves.

3)      She championed for Ombudsman of Ontario oversight of municipalities and linked her name to this cause.  This is finally something that province will enact soon.  When she tabled a motion to get Newmarket Council to accept Ombudsman oversight voluntarily, the vote went against her but she kept fighting for what she saw as very important for taxpayers. 

4)      Council member expense reports are now posted on line for the public to scrutinise.  I would like to have more detail on this report but even having the basic expense information posted is quite an accomplishment.  Previously, council members would regularly spend up to their expense account limit without a second thought.  Today, these same council members are competing to be the lowest spender of the bunch. 

5)      She surveyed the public about on-line voting and she was very open about posting the results of the survey so members of the public could see the data for themselves.

6)      She is the only member of council who regularly posts blogs about local issues and isn’t afraid to provide her own opinion as opposed to a sanitised version you get with other council members.

7)      She peeled back the curtain on controversial matters such as the soccer club bail out.  These are big issues around town but the public wouldn’t have known about them without Councillor Di Muccio releasing this information.  In the past, controversies at Newmarket Council were swept under the rug with closed door, secret meetings. 

8)      In the three decades that I have lived in Newmarket, I have never seen so many people engaged in municipal politics as I do today.  I think the reason being, love her or hate her, is thanks to Councillor Di Muccio. 

Most remarkably, Di Muccio accomplished all with this without any obvious allies on council.  (When it came to voting for an Integrity Commission, every one of her colleagues did so with apparent glee). 

But with her effective use of social media, and by getting the public to side with her, she was able to win the day more often than she lost.  So while some are complaining about social media, Di Muccio is getting the better of them.  That is the sign of a tremendous leader. 

Which brings me back to current Mayor Tony Van Bynen; where is his list of accomplishments?  Famously, (and thanks to Di Muccio’s social media) we all know the single motion that Van Bynen tabled this term.  Is that his only achievement?

As any surgeon or tradesperson will tell you, having the right set of tools and knowing how to use them makes a person more skillful and effective at their job.  There is a lesson for our Mayor in that analogy.   He needs to quit whinging about social media and start learning how to use it.