It Gets Worse

Full time fire and Langley Events Centre was business brought on the table by new mayor and council as we previously reported. The Editorial Board of The Langley Record was hopeful that with this old business behind them, the Township through the new mayor would be able to move on. Our hope was that Mayor Green would now chilling out and grow into his role diplomatically.

As disturbing as the last meeting was with Mayor Green hijacking the Mayor's Report for political purposes as we reported, apparently it gets worse. It is alleged now that Mayor Green seriously compromised the Township by dragging the Langley Events Centre P3 information into the public meeting. It was an in-camera issue and therefore that requires a council vote to bring forth to the public. These negotiations may now be seriously damaged.

What is more disturbing is that if these serious allegations are true, this represents a somewhat systemic problem with Green. During the campaign Green took a position against the Township and in favour of a land owner that was fighting the greenest urban village that the Township has seen. Green attacked with developer and his expensive project that will bring jobs and affordable apartments to Township residents. As mayor, the Township is now vulnerable because of Green's campaign statements. This land owner could bring Green and his statements into court in support of his legal case. While this one was not an in-camera issue, it is representative of Green's loose canon style of politics.

Towards the end of his campaign, Rick Green attached himself to the Mufford rail overpass issue. Again he took up a postion against Township staff recommendations and said that he would give the federal and provincial monies back to those other orders of government. At the last council meeting he back-peddled by saying in effect that it was never really about giving money back more than it was about finding an acceptable solution. But Green also promised that he was going to get heavy rail OUT of Langley.

There are several other examples of Mayor Green's flip-flops and loose canon politics that will go unmentioned for now. All very disturbing for Township taxpayers. This not to mention the zero-based budget smokescreen that surrounds Green today. He promised a Land Trust to solve all our financial worries. He promised a zero-based budget funded by this Land Trust. He arrogantly said he would overthrow the planned modest 5% property tax increase that would fund increases in salaries (won through collective bargaining). Now he paints a picture of financial crisis and wants Township residents to shoulder massive cuts to services and possible user-fee increases that will be revealed in the New Year. He blames all this on the previous administration.

In just one month, Mayor Rick Green has managed to divide our community and turn a professional council into a circus. Our Editorial Board discussed the matter this morning over coffee and several members made an interesting statement. They said that despite Councillor Kim Richter's "oppose everything" style and occassional out of order, long-winded preambles to her motions, Councillor Kim Richter has done so with a degree of order. In other words Richter has objected for the most part with a degree of dignity for the process. A professional trait that Mayor Green appears to be sorely lacking in his handling of Township affairs. Somewhere along the line there must be a respect for council and more so, a view of our community as something almost sacred.