Fluff

The Editorial Board is sitting here around the coffee table pondering Councillor Kim Richter's inaugural speech. On it's own, Kim's comments on each councillor and their strengths was very good and positive. Afterward several people asked me what I thought of her speech. I said that although I did not want to be pessimistic, I had my doubts of the sincerity of her address. There was a large crowd there that night, including politicians from other areas. It was an opportunity to look good and appear to be the peacemaker.

Public hearings, delegations, inaugural meetings, etc. will always see passionate Richter rhetoric and lots of motions to pander to the masses. Why bother? Before the very first (business) council meeting there was a council priorities meeting and shortly thereafter, even Mayor Green was thrown under the bus by Councillor Richter.

In our opinion, Richter has a long way to go to earn the trust and respect of her fellow council. The trust issue is even greater than the respect portion. We chatted this morning about what council would look like if:

• Mayor Green released a reasonable and detailed plan that outlines how he will deliver on his promises, finance the Township for 0-0-0, and still maintain a decent level of service to the taxpayers.

• Councillor Richter worked on the trust issues and became more cooperative. And no, we are not asking her to throw away what she professes to believe in, nor give up asking questions of costs and accountability.

• Mayor Green did as former mayor Kurt Alberts and tried to bring all council members together for a concensus, while not relying on private meetings, positioning, and strategies for his own benefit.

We could all do without the fluff. Flowery, meaningless speeches will get us nowhere. The PM is talking about "years" of economic concern and hardship for the country. Our experience tells us that these are generally 5 year cycles and who knows with this big crisis how long before a recovery is at hand.

By putting away personal agenda, pride and a constant need to align one self for next election, Mayor Green and this council could actually accomplish many things for the benefit of the Township taxpayer.