Mayor Green Does It Again

In a rare Langley Mimes story we see that Mayor Green has once again opened his mouth and inserted his foot. It was written with Al Irwin frankness and with Al's usual well-rounded research. You can be sure that this will all be lacking at The Mimes now that he is gone.

Irwin got a quote from CP and its a dozy. This is similar to last month during the opening of the new Golden Ears Bridge. Although the bridge was built with regional dollars through TransLink and a P3, Green insisted on thanking the two local MLA's for the money for the bridge.

Now we learn in yet another Green effort to grab headlines, he isolated CP Rail and pissed them off, breaking a long-standing cooperation that other like Mayor Peter Fassbender guard carefully. But Green charged ahead and tried to invoke his big puzzle revealed line again. What part of a public lease document is such a secret Mayor Green? We can tell you that you are far from a Sherlock Holmes.

"Mike LoVecchio, a CP spokesperson, said he is surprised Green has not contacted CP on this matter.

“First of all, the agreement is with BC Hydro, not the provincial government.” LoVecchio said that CP has not seen Green’s press release, nor has it heard from the mayor.

“It is fair to say Mayor Green has put a premium on public communication, but that doesn’t apparently include CP."

Wow, how embarrasing is that!

Eli Mina At Township Council

Eli Mina - The ultimate Canadian parliamentarian and walking Robert's Rules of Order, had to have paid an incognito visit to Township of Langley Council. Read the full article here. Some Eli Mina gems that can be directly linked to Township Council:

Mayor Rick Green

Let’s begin with raised voices. Mina says politicians can be prone to raise their voice and sound “very dramatic and emphatic” as they address a crowd or stand in front of a television camera.

The potential damage? “Your colleagues on council may take note that you crave public attention. They may feel insulted and hence tune you out.

The cure? “Consider the Chinese proverb: Strong and harsh words mean a weak cause.”

Councillor Kim Richter

Bad habit number two—sighing and eye rolling. Mina says politicians are guilty of such behaviour when listening to a citizen or fellow politician rant about the same tired argument; in other words, sounding like a broken record.

The potential damage? “Council will look like a group of childish and petty adults who cannot possibly be trusted with the tasks of overseeing large budgets and making significant policy decisions.”

The cure? “Park your ego, biases and impatience at the door and be fully committed to serving the needs of the municipality.” Also look to find “the gems” within “the fluff” of a person’s blather.

Councillor Mel Kositsky

Bad habit number three—rambling and repetition. Mina doesn’t think it’s appropriate for politicians to take up every minute of their allotted speaking time at a meeting just to express a point already made by someone else.

The potential damage? “Rambling and repetition take up precious meeting time and therefore makes less time available for significant issues scheduled later on the agenda.”

The cure? “Don’t feel duty bound to compete with your time hogging colleagues. Just state your point and stop.”

Thank you Eli!

Lots of Hypocrisy At The Mimes

Journalism hit an all-time low this week when Langley Times Editor Frank Bucholtz who this opinion piece on municipal taxes for their sister paper, The Surrey North Delta Leader. We now refer to The Langley Times as The Langley Mimes because it is common knowledge that Bucky (Frank Bucholtz) supported Rick Green in his run for mayor and threw former Mayor Kurt Alberts under the bus in the final days of the campaign by telling people in another opinion piece that Township residents should watch the tax inssue (interesting enough). Now he allows Green to call The Mimes to censor them, or to complain about content or a lack of coverage. Green does so frequently, and has boasted about it in public often.

Did Bucky forget this Mimes opinion piece he wrote just a short time ago? He had to admit that his buddy Rick Green was unrealistic with his 0-0-0 tax increases, but what about the value we get for our tax dollars here in the Township of Langley? Does Delta and Surrey provide more? We sincerely doubt that. Here's another gem where the good editor asks ToL Council to spend. A great cause for sure, but you can't have it both ways Bucky! But, Editor Bucholtz MUST stick up for his buddy Green and it is clearly evident right here, in our opinion. See for yourself with these links we've provided. 

Monday Township Council Meetings

On Monday, July 6, 2009, Township of Langley Council will meet for a Special Meeting and a Regular Meeting. Unfortunately the ToL did not release the agenda and reports for the Special Meeting. The agenda and information for the Regular Meeting of Council can be found here. The agenda is light and will probably result in a short meeting.

Monday, July 6, 2009 - 3:00pm - 5:30pm

Special Township Council Meeting 

(no agenda or reports available)

7:00pm - 10:00pm (?)

Regular Township Council Meeting

Minutes from June 22, 2009 Regular Meeting of Council

Agenda for July 6th Meeting

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