How to Ruin Frank Klees' Reputation in 10 Days

Fans of Rom-Coms will recall the famous Bullshit scene in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  Matthew McConaughey's character takes his new girlfriend, played by Kate Hudson home to meet his parents and are surprised by calls of "Bullshit" emanating from the backyard.

It turns out the family is playing a card game called "Bullshit," a strategy game where players are required to bluff and lie in order to win.  If an opposing player suspects a lie, he yells out "Bullshit" and the accused player must then prove to all that he was being truthful.

And just like the card game, I've been calling "Bullshit" on the Stephen Somerville/ Darryl Wolk threat allegations and I eagerly await the moment when they will finally show their cards.    

In a bizarre twist, these two accusers are now seen to be punching well above their weight class, with new information published on line by the Era implicating MPP Frank Klees in this sordid tale. 

 

But are any of us willing to make the giant leap of incredulity required to buy their story?  

For instance:

1) Councillor Di Muccio is said to have threatened Stephen Somerville's family on February 5th but we are supposed to believe the threat was so terrifying to him, that Somerville then threw himself headlong into his campaign including throwing himself a launch party, speaking to media,  organising a campaign team, putting up a web site, and then, after all of that, determined, because of the threat, he had to drop out on February 19th.  He was so concerned about his family's safety that it took him two whole weeks to bow out of the race because that is how afraid he was about this so-called threat. 

 

2) Wolk is intentionally vague about what was actually said in the threat.   All we know is that the "threat" was based on exposing some plotting that Wolk and Somerville were engaged in to knock Frank Klees from his perch.  In order for the public to believe this, we need to imagine that Klees who is an 18 year veteran in this job, was either such a thin-skinned ego maniac that he cares about this sort of thing, or he was vulnerable to a coup d'etat at the hands of two bumbling fools like Wolk and Somerville.  Personally I don't buy for a second that Klees would waste a moment of time on some two-bit wannabes who were running their mouths.   

3) Wolk wants us to believe that Klees disclosed private details of a meeting between the MPP and Di Muccio on February 14th.  Again, I refer you to the length of time that Klees has been in office.  Would Klees risk his reputation and legacy by divulging this meeting to the likes of Darryl Wolk?  We would have to believe that Klees, who spearheaded the attacks on Ornge, would make such a blunder.  In an earlier blog, I once challenged Klees to reveal the name of a casino lobbyist he met with and Klees was outraged at my suggestion that he should breach the confidentiality of his meeting.  Based on my personal experience, I have no doubt that Frank Klees knows the privacy rules of MPP meetings and he isn't going to breach them.  

   

If Wolk's allegations about Frank Klees are true, then let's rename this episode, "How to Ruin a MPP's Reputation in 10 Days."  I am not willing to believe that Klees would take such a wild departure from his usual professionalism and aplomb to slum around with gutter snipes like Wolk and Somerville.  Why would he risk everything he has worked 18 years for to tarnish his legacy with the follies of Wolk and Somerville?    

This is why I continue to believe that this matter is a hoax.

And I think the Era has crossed a line by printing a story that the paper knows is very likely false.  

It is clear that by publishing this story with an extremely low probability of the allegations being true, that the Era has displayed its real agenda.  Just like its flagship newspaper, the Toronto Star which has waged an unrelenting war against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the Era has been engaged in a similar war of words against Ward 6 Councillor Maddie Di Muccio.  But where Rob Ford has given plenty of ammunition to his critics, by smoking crack, drinking and driving, and other bad behaviour, the same can't be said about Councillor Di Muccio.  She wants a smaller government and lower taxes and that is against the political agenda of the publisher and editor at the Era.  

This agenda has manifested itself in this article in a number of ways:

1) The newspaper "journalist" soft-shoes over the fact that there is no actual evidence of a threat.  No one has ever explicitly outlined the words that Di Muccio is alleged to have said to Somerville which is the most important part of this allegation; the words "I will kill/ maim/ injure your kids" must be proved to show that there was a threat to Somerville's family.  On this note, the police have not confirmed any threat nor does it seem that they intend to lay any charges.  The "journalist" gives all but a half sentence worth of ink to what the York Region Police determined.   So why speak of a threat if you can't tell us what that threat was?  

2) The Era story comes on the heels of news that Newmarket has fallen from 10th to 31st in the Money Sense Magazine Places to Live survey.  Mayor Van Bynen has hung his re-election bid on "Top Ten" and now he looks foolish.  So the timing of all of this by the Era is definitely suspicious.  This "news" story is a deflection of what is a major pie in the face of Mayor Van Bynen delivered by Money Sense Magazine.  

I use "journalist" and "news" in quotations because I think that is what the Era has devolved into -namely the propaganda arm of the Van Bynen administration.  Earlier, I issued a challenge to Era via Twitter to show me a single example where the paper ever printed a story that was even mildly critical of Tony Van Bynen.  To this point, there has been no reply.  Believe me, I've looked extensively and I can't find any examples.  

You have to believe that either Tony Van Bynen is infallible, never making mistakes, or he runs this town like a tin-pot dictator who boasts of polls that show his oppressed people are 100% behind him.

 

These exclusively positive news stories about Mayor Tony Van Bynen puts him in the among the ranks of such beloved leaders like Kim Jung Un and Fidel Castro. 

How Van Bynen Failed Us - Let me Count the Ways

I am writing this blog in response to questions from a reader, John Heckbert.  John’s asked for more details about why Mayor Van Bynen’s administration was taxing us so heavily during the past two terms that Van Bynen has served as Mayor of Newmarket.  The simplest answer is likely the right one:  high taxes are necessary because Tony Van Bynen has been inept managing the public purse. 

Here are reasons why Tony Van Bynen has been a lousy mayor with an exceedingly long record of fiscal mismanagement:

1)      Each year that he has been mayor, Tony Van Bynen has passed budgets that include tax increases well in excess of the rate of annual inflation.  The only time that the annual tax increase was reasonable in comparison to the CPI was when there was an election in that year.

2)      During this same period of time most other municipal governments, including York Region and the School Boards, showed constraint in their tax policies.

3)      The Federal and Provincial levels of government actually implemented income tax reductions during this same period of time to help the economy.

4)      According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Tony Van Bynen’s administration grew the expense side of the Town’s budget by almost $40,000,000 or a whopping 44% while Tony Van Bynen served as Mayor.  During this time, the Town’s population has only grown by just 8%.

5)      Salaries and expenses grew by 31% and the number of people on the “Sunshine List” grew at a staggering rate

6)      The Maystar lawsuit caused the cost of building the Magna Centre to spiral out of control.

7)      The escalating costs of the Old Town Hall which now exceed $10,000,000 well beyond original estimates

8)      Sole sourced contracts were awarded when competitive bids should have been sought.

9)      Water conservation efforts had the opposite effect than what was intended causing the cost of managing the town’s water service to skyrocket

10)   Our town library has a CEO and a co-CEO which is ridiculous considering the small size of the library.  It should have a General Manager only.  I am certain that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are likely numerous examples where employees are given inflated job titles and salaries and/ or duplication exists. 

11)   Significant resources spent on the business area on Main St. with very little to show for it

12)   Mayor convincing council to take the Marianneville developer to the OMB at a cost that is outrageous considering the likelihood of success

13)   Use of consultants that provided very little benefit to taxpayers

14)   Decision to give $2.7 million bailout to the Newmarket Soccer Club with very little chance of repayment

15)   He is easily distracted from delivering the core services of the Town – such as garbage pick up or snow removal.  Recently we have seen garbage pile up while he is tweeting about donating blood, for example, which demonstrates he isn’t aware of what is going on around him.

16)   The amalgamation of the fire departments into Central York Fire Services has been extremely costly for taxpayers costing us millions more than the previous Newmarket Fire Dept cost.

17)   He failed to schedule responsible maintenance of town owned facilities which resulted in unscheduled closures and emergency repairs at the Youth Centre, the Seniors Centre, and Gorham Pool.

18)   During his tenure, a significant number of employers along Harry Walker Parkway and along Davis Drive have left Newmarket which results in a weakened tax base and puts greater burden on residential taxpayers. Newmarket now has a 7.7% unemployment rate where the national average is 7%.

19)   During his tenure he ensured that Council members got their salary increases and maintained various perks despite calls to roll back.

The fact remains that while our taxes are going up and up year after year, the bumbling and fumbling of the Tony Van Bynen administration continues. 

All of these incidents are reported and available on line.  Voters will need to be informed and to make up their own minds on Tony Van Bynen’s tenure to determine if he deserves another four year term. 

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to write this list.  In my opinion this should serve as a good reminder to my readers as to why Newmarket needs a new mayor. 

If I have missed anything from my list, I hope my readers will add via the comments section of my blog.  To be fair, I wanted to list what I felt were accomplishments of Tony Van Bynen that demonstrate skillful management of public funds.  Unfortunately, I could not list any.  If you can, please add it to the comment section as well. 

Hopefully, this will spark a good debate on whether Van Bynen deserves a third chance in October.

Mayor Van Bynen is Ballooning the Size of Nwkt Government

Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen is at it again.  This time he is writing in his blog about how favourable Newmarket’s latest round of property tax increases are in comparison to the rate of inflation. 

The can of worms opened by Van Bynen is actually a very important discussion for us to have. 

The inflation rate, generally acknowledged as the Canadian Price index (CPI), keep us informed about the year over year increased costs of the key items that consumers purchase. 

Here is an historic chart comparing the CPI to Newmarket Property Tax rate increases during the time that Tony Van Bynen has been Mayor:

Year	Average Inflation Canada (CPI)	Property Tax Increase
2013	1.24%	3.74%
2012	0.83%	3.95%
2011	2.30%	5.89%
2010	2.35%	3.81%
2009	1.32%	4.19%
2008	1.16%	6.56%
2007	2.38%	6.39%
2006	1.67%	3.81%

 What this chart show us is that while the cost of key consumer products have been going up incrementally, yet during Mayor Van Bynen’s tenure as Mayor of Newmarket, the cost of running the municipality has been increasing 2, 3 or 4 times the rate of inflation. 

I have highlighted in yellow the “election year” tax increases. 

I was not able to find a source to provide Newmarket’s population growth rate for this period of time.  In one report, York Region says that Newmarket’s population grew by 0.7% in 2010-2011.  In another report, York Region says the number of jobs in Newmarket has increased by 1.5% between 2003 and 2013.  I think it is safe to say that Newmarket’s population growth has been modest through this period.

During this election year, Newmarket residents are questioning why Tony Van Bynen has grown the size of local government substantially more than Newmarket’s local economy grew and/or the town’s population has grown. 

Van Bynen has a seven year track record of overspending and voters want answers why the Van Bynen administration has been ballooning municipal government without any real justification.

Inspecteur Clouseau et L'Affaire de Somerville

Yes, politics. Where greed wears the mask of morality.
- Jacques Clouseau, Imspecteur de Police


I can’t say I’m overly surprised by the growing interest in the Somerville threats and I think this is actually good for our community as we head into a provincial and municipal elections.  As voters, we can clearly see who isn’t worthy to be entrusted with our vote.

Newmarket has seen too many of the wrong sort of politicians playing underhanded games to discredit an opponent for their own ends.  Those people need to be exposed.

Let me be upfront with my bias – I think the Somerville threat allegation is a hoax.  I believe this because no evidence compels me to believe otherwise. 

I have stated before that I would especially like some proof that police were actually called.  Proof could come in the form of a York Regional Police incident number or the badge number of the police officer that took the complaint.  Despite having challenged others on numerous occasions to produce this evidence, nobody is forthcoming with this very basic information. 

Others claim to have first hand knowledge of a criminal investigation. 

Most notably, the blogger Gordon Prentice posted last evening claiming to have a letter from the York Regional Police saying that the investigation is closed. 

And secondly, Stephen Somerville was asked about the police investigation and is quoted in the Era as saying:

We took this to the police, they had the crown attorney look at it and it's kind of a grey area.  They say it's not enough to press charges.

Does any of this jive with police protocol for criminal investigations? 

I had an incredibly enlightening email exchange with a reader, (who asked not to be named in my blog and I respect a person’s right to privacy). 

While admitting to no first hand knowledge of this specific matter, this person impressed me with credentials that demonstrate that the email writer knows how York Region Police conduct criminal investigations. 

The email writer contacted me to say if Somerville made a complaint to the police, the writer believes only two possible scenarios could have played out. 

1)      The officer who received the complaint could decide that no further action was required on the file if the officer believed that there was no evidence of an offence.

2)      If the officer believed that an offence may have been committed, the police would begin an investigation which would have included interviews of the complainant and the person alleged to have made the threat (if known).  If evidence supports a finding that there was indeed an offence committed, the police would lay charges as appropriate. 

Darryl Wolk, the decoy candidate for Regional Council, continues to insist that the Somerville threat allegation is verifiable (despite that he continues to ignore requests to provide evidence to support his position) and that the police got it wrong when they closed their case.  He insists that Councillor Maddie Di Muccio made a threat to Somerville targeting his family, allegedly at a clandestine meeting with Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees on Valentines Day.  Somerville dropped out of the PC nomination race 5 days later as a result. 

But when asked directly whether she was contacted by the police in this matter, Di Muccio was very quick to reply, “No, never,” via Twitter.  Ward 3 Councillor Jane Twinney has so far refused to comment on whether police contacted her about the alleged threat to the Somerville family. 

The email writer emphatically states, that unlike television shows like “Law and Order”, the police in York Region are professionals who conduct thorough investigations.  The email writer believes that there may not have been any conversation with a Crown Attorney (as Somerville claims), unless the investigation was completed.  It is extremely rare for a police office to consult a Crown Attorney unless charges are imminent.  Unlike the DA’s you see on TV, our Crown Attorneys are simply too busy and it is highly improbable for a Crown Attorney to have been contacted in the manner as Somerville says.

So when the email writer contends that Somerville’s statements about the Crown are highly unlikely, logically, we are right to infer that it is equally unlikely that there would have been an actual police investigation, (and the fact that the police never contacted Di Muccio would support this finding). 

If Prentice’s letter is real, which presupposes that Somerville actually went to the police, (an event that I see no reason to accept at this point), then the only plausible deduction is that the police immediately dismissed Somerville's complaint believing that no offence was committed.  This deduction comes from the fact that there is no evidence that anyone connected to the matter was interviewed by the police. 

Wolk desperately wants people believing that there is something untoward in the fact that Di Muccio isn’t commenting on his allegations.  My email writer states that Wolk is probably wrong on that point.  The writer believes it is likely that she has received legal advice to remain mum in preparation for legal action against those making these false allegations, (a list that presumably would include Wolk). 

As fascinating as this entire episode has been, I believe we have reached a dead end in terms of things to write about in regards to the Somerville threat allegation.  Unless new evidence is presented, I would suggest that readers treat this matter as a hoax.  The perpetrators of the hoax, including Somerville, Wolk and others, may bark on about the authenticity of their claim but I haven’t seen any compelling evidence that backs up what they are saying. 

There is a reason why MPP Frank Klees has tossed these two charlatans to the curbside.  There are reasons why Jane Twinney and Maddie Di Muccio are remaining silent on this matter.  And most importantly, there are reasons why the York Regional Police have allegedly closed their file on this case. 

Perhaps there is something for us to learn from their examples.  Unless there is new evidence, we need to move on and leave Somerville and Wolk behind to ponder their own short-lived, disgraced political careers. 

Prentice Fails to Corroborate Somerville Threat Allegation

In 2013, the Newmarket Era named Gordon Prentice “Newsmaker of the Year.”  How ironic is it that he has since been found to be literally making up the news?

In Gordon Prentice's blog of Thursday, March 5, 2014 entitled “Police investigation into alleged threats against Somerville now closed,” the now-disgraced blogger writes:

York Regional Police tell me that the investigation into the alleged threats against Stephen Somerville and his family “has been concluded and our file is closed”.

Unfortunately, that statement contradicts what the Newmarket Era published on the matter :

“We will investigate and lay charges if we believe that an offence has taken place and if there is evidence to support that charge," York Regional Police Const. Laura Nicolle said, declining to confirm if there was an investigation.

It made no sense to me that the Police would confirm an investigation with a blogger while declining information requests from the Era.  So I took it upon myself to ask the York Regional Police about the force’s policy for commenting on an on-going investigation.  Here is the response I received:

We do not confirm or deny if someone has reported an incident to us.  Information becomes public record if charges are laid. (Via twitter @YRP March 9, 2014)

So clearly, we have to be mindful of the credibility controversy with Mr. Prentice’s blogs (as I have been contending all along).  What he writes in his blog needs to be taken with a rather large grain of salt.  Even an occasional reader of his blog will quickly find that Prentice often has trouble connecting his words to anything that resembles reality.  He is the grocery store tabloid of Newmarket bloggers – all gossip all the time. 

The reason I mention this inconsistency is not to rub Gordon Prentice’s nose in the truth, but to show how this incident further unravels the back story of Stephen Somerville’s threat allegations. 

The chief accusers, Stephen Somerville and Darryl Wolk, needed Gordon Prentice to authenticate their story.  He was supposed to be the independent “witness” that corroborated their claim that a police investigation was initiated by the flawed PC nomination candidate.  With Prentice’s corroboration now cast in doubt, who can say if anything that Somerville and Wolk have been alleging is actually true? 

Personally, I blame this mess on to the Era and to the Auroran.  Both papers acted recklessly when they took Stephen Somerville at his word that this "criminal" threat had occurred.  Neither paper asked for any proof (such as a York Regional Police Incident Report number or a badge number of the constable who took the report), to confirm whether the complaint was authentic. 

Because the papers lacked journalistic professionalism, good, decent people are now facing false, spurious allegations.  Twitter followers have been witnessing Newmarket Regional Council candidate Darryl Wolk weaving a bizarre tale alleging that crimes have been committed, that the York Regional Police haven’t done their jobs, that there are conspiracies by the elite of the PC Party to circumvent nomination rules, and accusing several high profile people of lying.  All of these allegations are being made without him providing a scintilla of evidence to back up his claims. 

It’s a train wreck and unfortunately the Era and the Auroran have been asleep in the conductor’s chair. 

I  can’t see how the community is well served by newspaper people who fail to live up to the standards of their profession. 

House of Cards - Newmarket Edition

Frank Klees was like a father figure , mentor and hero to me.
Darryl Wolk, January 26, 2014 www.darrylwolk.webs.com

 I am asking @darrylwolk not to include me in any of his tweets or any other form of communication
Frank Klees, March 8, 2014 www.twitter.com/frankkleesmpp

Yes ... There are many strange things about this case.
Debora Kelly (Editor in Chief York Region Media Group), Feb 26, 2014 www.twitter.com/dlkyorkeditor

Like many with of you, I have been watching with fascination things unravel around the Stephen Somerville PC nomination / Darryl Wolk Regional Councillor bids this week.

As I anticipated, the allegations of threats against Somerville's family (in some quarters people were claiming these to be threats of death), were groundless according to the York Regional Police.

When asked, Maddie Di Muccio quickly replied that she was not contacted by the police in regards to any investigation.

Jane Twinney has thus far refused to say whether she was questioned in relation to these allegations.

Regional Councillor candidate Darryl Wolk continues to claim that these threats are indeed real, challenging us to believe that perhaps the York Regional Police did not conduct a thorough investigation.

In fact, Wolk has made all sorts of claims that he promises will be proved in due course.

To help readers keep track of some of these allegations, I've listed them below:

1. There is a conspiracy within the Ontario PC Party to circumvent the nomination process in selecting the next candidate for the Newmarket Aurora riding
2. Wolk is alleging that the conspirators include: sitting MPP Frank Klees; the current president of the Newmarket-Aurora riding association; the past and current president of the PC Party of Ontario (who Wolk claims also lied to the media); and Jane Twinney's Newmarket Council rival, Maddie Di Muccio.  Wolk seems to insist that Twinney herself was not aware of this conspiracy.
3. There was a key meeting that took place on Valentines Day which included Di Muccio and Klees.  No details of this meeting have been spoken about but we know that Somerville dropped out of the race alleging "threats" to his family on February 19th.  
4. Evidence of this threat exists and somehow the police overlooked it when they decided to drop their case.  

All of this remains unproven of course, and as far as I know, no evidence exists to back any of these items up.

If true, this is fodder for Newmarket's own "House of Cards" miniseries.

Yet, I find it hard to give Wolk any credibility to his allegations for a few simple reasons:

1. Wolk has said repetitively that Di Muccio was disloyal to Klees and hated by everyone at the local riding association.  Despite that, the MPP and high level riding association executives are conspiring with her to orchestrate a victory for Jane Twinney?  
2. And publicly at least, Di Muccio and Twinney don't appear to like each other.  Has 3+ years of animosity just been act?  
3. Lastly, just what exactly was the Somerville threat about?  Are we to believe that there was a credible threat of violence that the police ignored?  The very thought seems ridiculous that prominent people within the community - MPP Klees, PC party executives, and Councillor Di Muccio - would plot together in such a brutish manner.  It doesn't make sense. 

If Wolk's claims aren't to be believed, is there a plausible alternative?  I think so.  

Here is another scenario that I think fits the circumstances.  (Already Wolk has made claims that he has failed to provide a scintilla of proof for.  To be clear I readily admit that I have no evidence either but I think my theory is much more believable).  But when reading on, please remember that this theory is pure speculation on my part.  

What if the news that Stephen Somerville's involvement with the Wind Turbine Industry was a surprise to the PC Party?  What if the PC Party was concerned that a Somerville candidacy would be too controversial and could potentially lose seats for the party in areas where wind turbines are an important issue?

Imagine if the PC Party then asked Somerville to drop out of the race.  Upset at being spurned by the PC Party, could you imagine a scenario where Somerville would have made up the "threat" allegation to save face for dropping out?  And when the media asked him for details, could you see Somerville allowing a rumour to be created by Wolk implicating Maddie Di Muccio in his false allegation?  As many have pointed out, Wolk is alone in accusing Di Muccio of being involved in this threat.  

This situation would certainly explain why Frank Klees posted his tweet yesterday.  As a man of honour, perhaps Frank Klees is horrified at what has transpired by the Somerville/ Wolk camp in allowing a lie to get way out of hand?  Make no mistake, Frank Klees is sending a clear signal that he disavows what Wolk has been up to. 

So there you have it, Newmarket.  Two opposite theories. Two different set of villains.  In one theory you have a cast of people who have nothing to connect them conspiring against Somerville/ Wolk.  In the other theory, you have Somerville/ Wolk connected by a lie that grew beyond their control.

Which theory is more believable?
    

Newmarket Must Save York Region From Itself

The York Administrative building is currently surrounded by parkland, but if the Region of York gets its way, the greenery will soon be replaced by a $200 million office tower. 

What the Region wants to do is to re-locate existing employees who are currently occupying offices in other locations around Newmarket to the proposed office tower.  Effectively, landlords across the town will see their cornerstone tenant leave and drive up vacancy rates at a time when our local economy can least afford this type of upheaval. 

And speaking of not being able to afford something, the Region of York can not afford to take on the additional debt required to finance this project.  Two years ago, York Region hit its debt ceiling.  Ontario municipalities are only allowed to accumulate debt equal to 25% of their revenues.  The Ontario government had to step in with special legislation to allow the Region of York to borrow more. 

Now the Region wants to add an additional $200 million in debt to what is already one of the worst public debt loads in the history of our Province. 

Fortunately, Newmarket Council can stop this madness by refusing their plans for the new office tower. 

The Region of York must ask the Town of Newmarket to sign off on this construction project and I think Council should refuse to green light it. 

There are alternatives to spending $200,000,000 on a new office tower.

1. Leave the York Region employees as tenants across town.  There is nothing to be gained by emptying out office space that so many landlords are dependent on;  
2. Require that the York Regional Police Headquarters re-locate to their brand new $72 million "Central Services" building in Aurroa which frees up valuable space within  the York Region Administrative Building; and 
3. Leave the court rooms that are currently located at the Tannery Mall where they are. 

Unless the Region of York can come up with a clear reason explaining the $200,000,000 benefit (plus carrying costs) to York taxpayers, then Newmarket Council has no other option but to do the responsible thing and kill this project immediately. 

I will be watching closely if the Mayor and Regional Councillor (both of whom receive remuneration for sitting on York Region Council) will declare a pecuniary interest when this matter comes to Council.  You can be assured that I will report back to readers if they do not.