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Langley Record Acquired

Many months ago we reported negotiations between the Editorial Board of the Langley Record and an unnamed news organization to acquire us. We can now confirm that a deal was reached earlier this month for the Langley Record to be taken over. The official handover occurred last Friday and we will soon be providing a link to the new site. Stay tuned!

Time For A Full BC Law Society Investigation

The Law Society of BC
Annotated Professional Conduct Handbook CHAPTER 2 - INTEGRITY

Dishonourable conduct

1. A lawyer must not, in private life, extra-professional activities or professional practice, engage in dishonourable or questionable conduct that casts doubt on the lawyer's professional integrity or competence, or reflects adversely on the integrity of the legal profession or the administration of justice.

Last week it was suggested by Mayor Rick Green that the brown enveloped discussed in our previous post came to him anonymously in his mailbox. But after Green's press conference the regional media did some digging and found that this could be yet another false witness from Mayor Green. People named in the corporate documents know that a single person accessed those real estate documents, and that there are specific rules around how they are accessed.

Is Mayor Green misleading the citizens of the Township of Langley in an attempt to protect a campaign supporter and local real estate lawyer? We've been connecting those dots and something just doesn't add up when Green tried to whitewash this whole incident and place the blame solely on Township Council. How can we trust a man that has been proven to mislead lawyers and Council for about 10 months?

It is high time that the folks in the know expose this local lawyer and file a formal complaint with the Law Society of BC so that this individual is fully investigated. If wrongdoing is found to be true and he perpetrated this act to smear people in our community, then the book needs to be thrown at him.

It is high time that Mayor Green stop protecting his friends and starts telling us how he really came to receive the documents in question and what the purpose and intent was. It is high time to bring this lawyer to justice. We call on the Law Society of BC to investigate the matter now and not wait any longer.

Was Mayor Green's Brown Envelope Really Anonymous?

Examining the whole official release of information on the censuring of Mayor Rick Green, one wonders if Council may have ceased the investigation only to the point where censure was recommended, in order to save taxpayers the additional legal expenses. It's apparently that for many months the mayor frustrated the councillors and caused this issue to drag on in camera. Of course Green could later suggested that they wasted money on the legal bill. How convenient.

After Mayor Green's press conference, Cllr. Charlie Fox indicated that perhaps the mayor's receipt of the anonymous brown envelope wasn't so anonymous. Fox suggested that it may be profitable for the media to examine how the Corporate Share Registry data released by Green was officially obtained in the first instance.

The Vancouver Sun came close to the issue in this article that included an interview with Brownshak's sole Director, Mr. Joel Schacter, a Langley realtor and developer. The Vancouver Sun reports:

"Schacter, who has been involved with Brownshak on and off since 1983 and now uses it as a shell company for when he buys new properties, said the only person who has asked him in the last year for Brownshak's corporate records is an associate of the mayor's. He alleges Green dredged up the old, "non-story" for political gain"

"I'm quite disturbed. It's totally political gamesmanship going on. People were trying to embarrass people and I don't know why," Schacter said"

None of the main stream media have investigated this issue, further to identify who this "associate of the mayor's" really is. Connecting the dots a bit here, we all know there was a legal beagle who served prominently in Green's campaign. Interesting enough, this lawyer in fact practices real estate law. Maybe our local newspapers or the regional media as a whole should ask Mayor Rick Green flat out where he obtained the Corporate Share Registry documents. This answer may yield greater knowledge of the concerns that Township Council, and that may be way beyond what was released when they censured the mayor.

Joan Bech Resigns

BREAKING NEWS

At 10:00am this morning Langley School Board Chair Joan Bech resigned. Despite our previous post about her moving to the Sunshine Coast, Bech claims that some School Board Trustees asked her to resign. She states that although she didn't agree with them, she tendered her resignation so as to not make waves. Instead of stating the true reason, her move.

Was the Langley Record instrumental in getting Joan Bech or other Trustees to see the light? Only the insiders know.

One Langley Newspaper Understands The Green Saga

Word for word from Langley Advance Editor Bob Groeneveld, except for the document links he provided on his blog. He understands the issue well. Read all his posts here.

On a happier note, I was able to file a story from Mayor Green's surreal press conference at the Advance home page (click here), which includes last night's story about the censure, plus related council motions and resolutions.

And I spent much of the day speaking to outside news media, who seemed to think that I might have some special insights to help guide them through this incredibly convoluted story.

You can click here for the press release Mayor Green read out at the press conference. He makes it all seem so simple. But it's not. It doesn't look like there's anything factually wrong with it… but his interpretation of events doesn't perfectly match with the reality as interpreted by any other individuals in the known universe.

I have not included the "anonymous" letter or the Brownshak Developments Ltd. central securities register that the mayor included in his press packets. The allegations related to that information were nonsense 10 years ago, they're still nonsense today, and I will not be a party to promulgating them further.

Councillor Charlie Fox, who sat in the gallery with Coun. Grant Ward during the mayor's accounting of the events leading up to his censure, summed it all up nicely in a single word: credibility.

The Langley Times Finally Reports

The Langley Times has finally reported on Langley's biggest story of the past 24 hours here. The regional media has not bought into Green's claims. That same regional media is reporting the facts....Green misled Council and has been censured for his wrongdoing. Again, how could these men and women AND us citizens ever trust him?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Right now we have the biggest news story in Langley - Mayor Green censured. It started at 6:00pm last night. The Advance ran the story front page almost immediate. The Times? Have a look. See what we have been saying all along? --Ed

Mayor Green Misled Council and Township Lawyers

Even More BREAKING NEWS

A shocking release late yesterday from the Township of Langley Council perhaps provides the proof as to why Township Council has been unable to work with this mayor and for good reason. Mayor Green apologized verbally and in writing to Council and Township lawyers for misleading them! Beforehand, Green was trying to accuse two innocent Township residents and a municipal employee of "improper or unlawful conduct".

This press release details that facts that include 1) Green misled Council in calling an Emergency Meeting of Council back on October 29, 2009 and then "The Mayor misrepresented his knowledge of the true facts and failed to disclose to Council true facts". Click on this press release here:

This was partly related to an anonymous letter that Green alleged supported allegations of improper or unlawful conduct on the part of two Township residents and a municipal employee. A claim that apparently has be judged unfounded by Council in affirming confidence in the employee.

Council has apparently been giving Mayor Green the benefit of due process by keeping these incidents in-camera for almost a year. We are told that at today's Special Meeting of Council men identified as lawyers had been seen rushing in and out of the meeting and bring Township Chief Administrative Office (CAO) Mark Bakken behind closed doors for at least 4 discussions. Council finally moved decisively to censure Mayor Green today and to remove him from committees. Here is the motion approved by Township Council with Mayor Green opposed. Click document to enlarge:

Mayor Green has called a press conference at the Township's Municipal Facility for 10:00am on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 to explain himself. This should be a very tall tail after all the apparent shenanigans over the past year. Now we see why Council could not work with this mayor and why Green tried at all cost to paint Council as the black hearts. A large crack in Green's armour has occurred and it will be interesting to see if he can now humble himself a bit and face the facts.

Note that this was not the "Council Six-Pack" leading the charge here, as Cllr. Kim Richter is the councillor that put forth the motion to censure and apply punishment.

HST REFERENDUM

MORE BREAKING NEWS

The Vancouver Sun is reporting that a Liberal-dominated legislative committee has voted today to hold a province-wide referendum to determine the fate of the anti-HST petition. The referendum will be held on September 24, 2011 and could cost as much as $30M.

Break News - Another School Board Fiasco?

BREAKING NEWS

Just a few days after news of this scathing Auditor's report on the Langley School financial situation and a stern rebuke for the School Board to work together, now a news flash.

Calls rang out loud in our newsroom and we have confirmed that School Board Chair Joan Bech has sold her property in Langley and is moving her family to the Sunshine Coast. That would be fine in and of itself, as it should prompt a resignation and by-election.

However, sources tell us that Beck will offer to step down as School Board Chair, but wishes to stay on as a regular Board Member and commute from the Sunshine Coast to Langley for the meetings. In all this mess, does Langley need an absentee School Board Chair? We think not. What about you?

Green Bullies His Way Onto UDI Agenda

As you compare the new announcement above to this old one we posted last week, you can see who was added. Yes, Mayor Green's bullying has paid off, they gave in an invited Green.

We have it on good authority within the development community that Rick Green called a senior executive within one of the largest development firms in our region and began the call by stating word to the effect that, several large hot pokers had been placed up his (Green's) backside. Our source says the mayor quite use such polite language in his call.

This very unprofessional exchange has made Mayor Green and the Township of Langley the laughing stock of the development world. Some opined it will be hard to look at him in council next time they are there on official business. Apparently Mayor Green will have no problem attending the event now (one to which he was never originally invited to) and speak as if there was never a problem. But, an overwhelming majority of the people attending this UDI event are aware of the call and subsequent invitation. The emperor will have no clothes on September 16th, but his gracious hosts will not let him know.

Taking this all in will be the real respected leader of the Langley's and that is Mayor Peter Fassbender. Mayor Fassbender is the man who enjoys great respect and admiration of his peers and constituents alike. He has the skills and speaking ability to run circles around Rick Green and perhaps that is why the rookie mayor despises Fassbender so much. You've seen it here folks, the bully has gotten his way once again!

What The Mainstream Media Missed About Bateman

OPINION

By now you've all seen the press regarding Langley Township Councillor Jordan Bateman and his blog post. It is the buzz of all the regional newspapers and media outlets and was the headline story for Global BC and several others. You can find the newspaper accounts here and here. We won't re-hash was transpired, but our Editorial Board has several points to draw from all the facts:

1. Bateman had the guts to speak his mind. For several years he has been accused of being a puppet for the BC Liberal government and Rich Coleman. Obviously he didn't call Coleman or anyone before his blog post and that should be recognized.
2. Bateman has been known to read all the reports and materials that come before Township Council. He has surprised more than his share of news reporters by knowing about material buried deep inside a long report. In this instance he took the press at their word and blogged comments based on them.
   
3. After reading the released documents and speaking directly with Finance Minister Colin Hansen, Bateman apologized to the finance minister for his call for Hansen's resignation.
4. Unlike the main stream media news accounts may suggest, Bateman did not "retract" everything he said. Bateman surely does not agree with the way the HST was rolled out and he did not sugar coat that fact.

As we pointed out here on this blog before, a certain mayor, when presented with facts (airport lease rates, impossibility of a 0-0-0 tax increase, non-viability of a land trust system, et al), always sticks to his guns to the end like a stubborn child.

Cllr. Jordan Bateman at least is man enough to apologize for the resignation comments that the facts (documents) didn't support. Bateman did the same shortly after taking his first term in office when he realized there was little fat to cut in the ToL budget.

Interesting to note that well-respected veteran Global political correspondent Keith Baldrey commented this evening that Jordan Bateman is not an "insignificant person". He also said Bateman's blog, Langleypolitics.com is well-read by lots of media types, including Keith Baldrey himself!

Bateman had the guts to speak out on the way the roll out of the HST happened. He was man enough to review the facts related to Hansen, HST foreknowledge and the resignation call and deal with it. You can say what you want, but Bateman was not being a "yes man" today. Our Board members have it on good sources that Bateman was not "ordered" to do anything. He did what he felt was the right thing to do based on the facts and clarification from Hansen.
We say Bravo to Jordan Bateman!

On The Job Sighting - Again

Another Rick Green "On The Job" photo appeared on the net. During the campaign and after the election Green was famous for fishing up old photographs of himself for the press and official Township photos of himself. If Green Isn't somewhere under the tractor, then he has managed to dig up a very old photo of himself this time around!

Mayor Rick Green Really On The Job?

UPDATE: SEPT. 1, 2010 @ 1:10PM: LANGLEY TIMES REPORTS JUST OVER 250 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE ALC MEETING. Guess we were being generous :)
This picture surfaced on the Internet with a caption that says Rick Green is on the job. Is this mayor really on the job sitting around in the back row of an empty room? Could this picture be any fuzzier? Great quality Rick!

Oh and a side note. With all this talk of Rick Green being "on the job", he'd better check out the UK meaning of this phrase.

Belly Flop - ALC Meeting

Last night the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) held a public meeting at the Langley Events Centre (LEC) to hear from residents on the proposed 64th & Mufford overpass. Several of our Board members attended and had varying degrees of reaction.

There was much rallying, emails, threats, and the promotion of this input session by the Farmland Defence League, the Fraser Valley Conservation Coalition, the NDP, Gateway 40 Citizens Network (which purports to represents more than 50 organizations, including labour, environmental, faith, academic and community organizations across the Lower Mainland). Despite all that, roughly 300 people attended this meeting, many of whom do not live in Langley. But they say this is a regional issue. Is this turnout significant? We don't believe so.

According to 2007 figures, some 2,524,113 people call the Lower Mainland home and is supposed to be the geographic area that all these groups claim to represent. Approximately 104,000 live in the Township of Langley and about 25,000 call the City of Langley their home. Additionally, many people attending last night's session were from even outside the Lower Mainland such as Vancouver Island.

The event was complete with the presence of that elected official from the Fraser Valley that purports to represent farmers and agricultural land singlehandedly. Township Council candidate Sonya Paterson was riding the wave, passing out cards with the names of those Township Councillors that voted in favour of the overpass.

One person close to this blog considered the meeting to be mostly respectful and commented that he/she was happy to see farmers from old farm families there. Another respected community leader attended and called the meeting the "Save Our Farmland Disney Episode". He/she said it was "totally negative" and commented that "with not one person with a viable option".

So, here are a couple of perspectives on the meeting. Our Board members point out that there wasn't much respect as some members of the public singled out 3 members of council for special whipping and that was not very respectful whatsoever.

We also hear that during the discussion someone was promoting a certain "corruption" blog that has been dormant for a very long time. It was run by a person in the community with an extensive and very violent criminal past. Interesting that that was being promoted and perhaps some people take that seriously?

Our overall evaluation of the meeting that it was a complete belly flop and Mayor Rick Green and council candidate Sonya Paterson had better count these numbers and pay attention. The backlash from the silent majority that support the overpass could be severe come the next election. Remember who was passing out those cards! Remember that ALR defender that has voted for more non-farm ALR exclusion applications than any other Township politician. 129,000 people live in Langley City and Langley Township. A total of about 300 people attended this meeting. 40 people spoke against the proposal. No point for those supporting the overpass to show up, as they weren't respected in the past. You do the math.

With friends Like Rick Green Agriculture Doesn't Need Enemies!

This Facebook page recently went up for Township Mayor Rick Green. It says that Mayor Rick Green is on the job and fighting to protect farmers and agriculture. Is Rick Green really a friend of farmers and agriculture? We say that with friends like Rick Green, Agriculture doesn't need any enemies.

Ask anyone in Delta about then Councillor Rick Green and they will tell you that his voting record and statements were far from the protection of agriculture and farming. Green had a track record all right and it would not a good one whatsoever for agriculture. So, has Rick Green gotten religion since moving to the Township of Langley and buying a small hobby farm where he keeps his horses? NO! Not at all!

Since taking office as mayor, Mayor Rick Green has voted for several Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) exclusions that were NOT agriculture related. In other words he voted to approve and send to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) several applications to exclude land from the ALR and these properties would NOT be used at all for agricultural purposes. Specifically:

1. Lands across from the Gloucester Industrial Estate
2. Lands in Aldergrove
3. Tuscan Farms
4. Land belonging to Green's campaign donors, the Omelaniecs

These are just a few of the ALR exclusions for non-farming purposes that we recall, Mayor Green recently voted to approve them. Understand that we are not judging the merits good or bad of the property owners or their applications. We just question the true nature of this "agricultural agenda" of Mayor Green. What is it exactly? All this voting was going on while he is supposed to be busy protecting farm lands on our behalf. Moreover, why hasn't our local media questioned Mayor Green's voting for all these non-farm exclusions?

Just this past week, Mr. Lee Lockwood of Aldergrove (a staunch supporter of Mayor Rick Green) filed this Letter to the Editor of the Langley Advance. In this letter Mr. Lockwood says:

"The only reason I can see the need for east/west connectivity is for the eventual development of the Salmon River Uplands, once GVRD water hits that area. This might prove the real economic “prize” for the developers, and this is a subtle way to get fast access built."

Doesn't Mr. Lockwood realize that if Mayor Rick Green's agenda was really to protect the Salmon River Uplands from development, then perhaps he would not have voted for Tuscan Farms, the Omelaniecs and perhaps even the water pipes? Doesn't the "J" Option that Mayor Green and Mr. Lockwood support include the crossing of salmon bearing streams as the "J" is created?

Clearly Mayor Rick Green is not for farmers or agriculture. Check out his voting record and ignore the rhetoric and his campaigns about "fighting" this or that. Mayor Green's voting record speaks volumes to the fact that once again he says one thing and votes another. Shame on those that will believe the rhetoric and ignore the facts.

Mayor Rick Green - More Proof of Our Regional Shame

Yet more proof that rookie Township Mayor Rick Green has shamed our lovely community in the eyes of the region. The Urban Development Institute (UDI) is holding a luncheon and Regional Mayor's Forum to discuss all the growth in Langley, Abbotsford and Coquitlam.

As you know, the Township of Langley has about 104,000 residents, while the City of Langley has only about 20-25,000 residents. Yet UDI, in its search for real mayors to speak at this forum decided to invite Mayor Peter Fassbender of the City of Langley to speak. This is yet another sign that even private industry are shying away from our raging bull mayor.

See for yourself right here folks in this UDI flyer announcing the event. Emails have circulated around the planet and Mayor Rick Green does not appear anywhere on it. This all despite the fact that the Township of Langley has over 3 times the growth of that of the City of Langley. As we have pointed out before, Mayor Peter Fassbender is a well-respected public official in ALL of Metro Vancouver. Mayor Rick Green can only dream of obtaining half of that respect.

One has to ask themselves why such a respected organization such as UDI would shun Mayor Rick Green. Examine the facts. Examine his record of not getting anything done since elected. Examine his methods of operation and all those "fight" announcement from him on the various issues. Examine his alienation from the various professional boards and commissions, MLAs and other orders of government. You could also point to the fact that unless Mayor Green is reading word-for-word from a pre-prepared statement, the man is NOT a very good public speaker, while Fassbender waxes eloquent EVERY time, no mater what the topic.

Now can you understand why Mayor Peter Fassbender was selected over Green to represent Langley in a professional manner? Stay tuned for more news on this story. Late today our Editorial Board got a news flash from our friends in the development community. Apparently Mayor Green was VERY enraged by this event flyer and some phone lines were burnt in the process. More news to follow soon.

Rick Green Wasting Taxpayers Dollars on This Blog

The Long Arm of The Law

Perhaps Mayor Green doesn't know it, but through our tracking systems we can tell when a major company, ISP or law firm accesses our site. This tracking information tells us when the firm visited, how they came to us (search engine, direct, etc.), what web pages they read and how long they stayed on the site.

We have now confirmed that once again Bull Housser & Tupper LLC, the law firm representing the Township of Langley, has accessed our website. This is now the ninth (9th) time that Bull Housser & Tupper has perused the site. Each of the nine visits directly followed our posting of an article that was unfavourable to Mayor Rick Green. The mayor really has a BIG problem with us exposing the truth!

Bull Housser & Tupper LLC (BHT) is a very good law firm. As they work for municipal governments, they are not a cheap firm to engage. Check out that website with the leather furniture and prime offices hanging sky high above Vancouver. The firm bill out to the Township at hundreds of dollars per hour for a little look at this website and the resulting report to the municipal official that ordered the legal opinion. With nine BHT visits to our site just this year, Mayor Green is foolishly wasting our tax dollars to chase this blog. In our opinion the mayor should really get himself some thicker skin and stop wasting our tax dollars.

Our investigation shows further that Mayor Green has wasted far more tax dollars for legal opinions than that of his predecessor, former Mayor Kurt Alberts. Just how much money has Green's insecurity, thin skin and easily bruised ego cost us taxpayers? Mr. Mayor - Thicken your skin and stop wasting our hard earned tax dollars. The Township lawyers are not your private consigliere. They are for official Township business to consult on matters of special interest and protection of our residents rights. All of these legal fees are coming from budgets that you Mayor Green have never voted to approve in the 2+ years you have been in office.

Mayor Green, if you are so tender and delicate then you don't belong in politics. You can't bully ever news editor around like you do to one particular local editor that you have in your pocket.

It is high time that Mayor Rick Green grows up and stops the folly of chasing an anonymous blog!

Green Still Doesn't Get It

Mayor Green is still a rookie mayor, but since taking office in December of 2008 he is yet to learn what the job entails and how to be an effective leader. Unlike councillors, mayors take an oath to uphold the "Will of Council". Several times, Mayor Green has blatantly ignored the will of council and forged ahead with his own agenda. A classic example of this was the Mufford Overpass.

Green dragged council through the mud and forced them to vote on the issue twice. Despite the overpass receiving majority approval, Green refused to vote for the usual funding allocations for it during the budget process and continued to rally the ALC and others. Green said he was doing so as I "private citizen", just as he has done several times. But each time his correspondence has made it clear that he is writing as mayor.

Now within the past week, Mayor Green has once again clobbered people over the head. People that he should be diplomatic with in order to work with them. The ALC did something highly unusual by agreeing to meet with Mufford area farmers on the overpass application. The ALC is not required to meet with the public, but they did. The Commission also decided to hold a public open house on the Mufford Overpass in late August. They notified stakeholders and took out advertising in local newspapers well in advance.

Many public bodies such as Metro Vancouver and TransLink hold public input sessions over the summer months. But Mayor Green feels these meetings should be scheduled when he feels they should. Green sent this very unprofessional e-mail to the ALC (clearly as Mayor of the Township). An e-mail that has now been circulated around the planet by a VERY left-leaning loose cannon. Here is what Green said to Tony Pellett, Registered Planner for the ALC:

Tony: I am in total disbelief of the notice I just received from your office regarding the scheduling of a public information / input meeting for Monday August 30^th 7:00pm – 9:30pm regarding the Mufford / 64^th Overpass proposal. This project has been under consideration and in limbo for the past 18 months and in 1 month during the summer we have now received the notice of two meetings, one for direct land owners and farmers (just held during their busiest time of year) and the second for the public during the last week of the summer (many people taking advantage of their last week of summer holidays), and “we wonder why people are skeptical of decisions made by government or their agencies”? I must send my strongest opposition to the timing of this proposed meeting. IF, due to holidays by staff at the ALC, I am asking for it to be rescheduled for later in September.

Please advise at your earliest convenience.

Rick Green

Mayor

Langley Township

Again, Mayor Green is keenly aware of the Will of Council on this issue. This is just one of MANY examples why this council does not feel they can trust Mayor Rick Green. Regardless of whether you are for or against the Mufford Overpass, the mayor has been given very clear responsibilities by the Community Charter and the oath he has taken. Yet he continues to act out as a raging bull.