| Dear Editor:
Last Thursday’s all candidates meeting in Cobden was an eye-opener for me regarding our local political process. Each candidate was given three minutes to address the voters. This was followed by 15 minutes of questions, none directed to a specific person, after which candidates would be given two minutes to “cherry pick” responses to voters concerns and questions. No current member of council was required to answer a direct inquiry regarding their decisions over the past four years. Surely there must be a more democratic way of doing this. Caught up in the moment and thinking I was only allowed one question and naively feeling I might get an answer, I had the temerity to ask (and I would really like to know the reason) “why didn’t Council inform the public that monies had been paid to Mayor Johnson to settle his lawsuit against us at the time the payment was made”. Why was it hidden from us? I could see the Mayor and Councillors heads go down when I posed the question. When Mayor Hal Johnson’s two minute turn came to address the issues of concern to voters, he was given extra time and allowed to go “on the offence” to emotionally vent how he had suffered the worst trauma in his life. Really? What started the whole mess? Other people were traumatized too! Now we have a situation where we’ve recently learned our township council deliberately concealed the fact that a financial arrangement had been made. This doesn’t past the smell test. This is no “tempest in a teapot”. When a small community pays out hundreds of thousands of dollars to satisfy a lawsuit, it’s a big deal. Was the township insured to cover the lawsuit? We don’t know. There’s too much we don’t know. Perhaps the Ontario Privacy I was surprised more ratepayers didn’t come forward and question the ballooning OPP costs, the new effluent treatment plant etc. But they must have been shy or felt getting information was fruitless. Perhaps before voting, ratepayers might review how their taxes have increased over the past few years. They are becoming burdensome for many seniors. Enough of my “negativity”! On a positive note I am pleased to see the lineup of candidates running for office and hope a rebuilding of council happens. Notwithstanding all our political issues, we are lucky to live where we do. My thanks to the Cobden Recreation Association for their community spirit hosting this event. Gary Younghusband Whitewater Region |
