A week has gone by and our mayor, Brian Saunderson, has still not done the right thing by the town of Collingwood and resigned from his office. He continues to pursue his personal ambition at the expense of both the local taxpayer and any credibility he might have had.
As my readers know, Saunderson announced he didn’t want the job of mayor and is campaigning to be our local MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament). However, he announced he is staying on as mayor until he gets elected, which won’t be (if it happens at all) until June, 2021. Until then, he continues to suck at the public tit while he campaigns for his new job.
As I have written in the past, an honourable mayor would have resigned. Not doing so essentially spits in the face of his beloved judicial inquiry recommendations about apparent conflicts of interest. Such blatant hypocrisy is not un-noticed here.
Ethical politicians in other municipalities who understand how accusations of conflicts of interest and influence peddling can arise when a municipal politician campaigns for a role in a higher tier government. They have called on the province to amend the Municipal Act so that municipal politicians who run for another office must resign their municipal role. Not that Saunderson cares what other politicians think, ethical or not. This is all about him, not about what’s best for others.
The flaccid, local media ignores the issue. Saunderson’s fawning sycophants on council turn a blind eye so as not to lose his approval. A pat on the head is all they want from him to be happy.
Collingwood deserves a mayor whose focus is on our community, not himself. but there is no greater good in Saunderson’s ideology: only a greater Brian. If he wants to show he really has the community’s interests at heart, Saunderson would resign. But I suspect few, if any, expect him to do the right thing.
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