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.