Category: Disrespect and bad behaviour

Hamlin’s Letter-Writing Debacle, Part Two

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Hospital / Publicity & Communications4 Comments

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Collingwood’s mayor’s arrogant refusal to cooperate and collaborate with our regional neighbours to support the long-overdue redevelopment of the General and Marine Hospital continues to make local news and infuriate residents. While her autocratic behaviour in refusing to sign the letter of support backed by all other neighbouring municipalities throws egg all over her, it also blackens the reputation of the town. But does the feckless Hamlin care? Not a whit. Let them eat cake! The original letter as signed by five other local mayors says the redevelopment at the proposed new site has “garnered overwhelming support from Collingwood, Clearview, … click below for more ↓

Our Arrogant Mayor is At It Again

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Hospital3 Comments

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For me, I didn’t see the need for another letter at this time. Things could change,” Mayor Yvonne Hamlin sniffily replied to CollingwoodToday in her best “Let them eat cake” manner. “For me.” It’s always about me, me, me. It’s almost like she took selfishness lessons from Councillor Jeffrey. Hamlin was responding to a question about why she, representing Collingwood, refused to sign a letter about our hospital being sent to “provincial health minister and deputy premier Sylvia Jones indicating the desire to see the new hospital built at the Poplar Sideroad location.” A letter Hamlin didn’t want discussed openly … click below for more ↓

Councillor Shits on Democracy

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Entitlement / Staff and administration / TaxesOne Comment

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In a recent story in CollingwoodToday, Councillor Jeffrey is reported shitting on the democratic process. Rather than respecting a previous decision of council as policy requires, she chose to bring back a vote to add another staff person to our already overstaffed townhall. In doing so, I am confident she was well aware that she was voting to further burden taxpayers, simply because she didn’t like the way the vote went when she wasn’t at the table. Coun. Kathy Jeffery noted that the Nov. 20 meeting occurred while she and Doherty were absent. The two Saundersonite councillors who feel they … click below for more ↓

More Oppressive Budget Bullshit

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Entitlement / Taxes4 Comments

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Council is still eyeing a massive hike to Collingwood property taxes, proving they lack any concern about the problems facing seniors and others on fixed incomes, low-income earners, and the many working-class people simply trying to make ends meet in an increasingly expensive town. Every tax increase, every utility increase, every user fee increase makes their lives harder. No one at the council table seems to have the spine to stand up to staff demands for more money, more employees, more stuff in their offices and parking lots. In a time of inflation, the town should be trimming costs and … click below for more ↓

4.25% Tax Increase! WTF Is Council Thinking?

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Entitlement / Financial follies / Taxes5 Comments

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A story in CollingwoodToday says the latest draft of the town budget puts a 4.25% increase on property taxes for 2024! WTF is council thinking, adding more costs to residents during a period of high inflation? People are already struggling with rising costs for food, electricity (the Saunderson-privatized EPCOR got a 5.23% rate hike this fall*), gas (vehicle and natural), water, clothing, mortgages, transit, lumber, vehicles, and just about everything else. A property tax hike this size will send our already-steep rental prices soaring even more. This will be a huge burden to the most vulnerable residents: those working low-income jobs, … click below for more ↓

Vindication At Last!

Collingwood / Conflicts of Interest / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Legal issues / Local media / Saunderson's Vindictive Judicial Inquiry7 Comments

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The headline in CwoodToday reads, “OPP concludes investigation into JI events; no charges laid.” After ten years, the OPP finally shut down the investigation that actually concluded several years ago. And even then we knew the results: no one under investigation broke any laws. Not even the Municipal Act or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. Ten years during which innocent people were under suspicion, had their lives and work affected, were accused of wrongdoing, had reputations ruined, and suffered defamation. Why did it take so many years for the OPP to close this and clear their names? The story … click below for more ↓

Should mayoral candidates endorse council candidates?

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 20223 Comments

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One of Collingwood’s current mayoral candidates is doing meet-n-greet events and openly endorsing a fixed slate of the seven council candidates she wants to be elected with her (but not, curiously, a deputy-mayor; see below). Is this appropriate for a would-be mayor? I don’t believe so. First, in the last two terms, we’ve seen how a slate of candidates can negatively affect governance by voting en masse for whatever their leader wants regardless of its impact on Collingwood. This term, we saw how a block of councillors collectively bullied a female councillor (Tina Comi) out of office so they could … click below for more ↓

Another Abuse of Power and Position

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / Entitlement4 Comments

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As this term of council winds down, with only a few weeks before the election, it seems some members at the table can’t help themselves abusing their position and their power. Their sense of entitlement is an embarrassing display. At tomorrow’s council meeting (Sept. 20), Councillor Jeffery will make the following notice of motion: THAT Council appoint Acting Deputy Mayor McLeod as Deputy Mayor for the duration of the current term of Council. This isn’t just a change in title: it is a political gambit to allow McLeod to campaign as the Deputy Mayor, not merely the Acting DM. Apparently, McLeod’s … click below for more ↓

What About the Code of Conduct?

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / EntitlementLeave a comment

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I attended a two-hour seminar hosted by the town about Collingwood’s Code of Conduct last week. It was intended as an introduction to the policy for new candidates and a refresher for incumbents, and was presented by the town’s Integrity Commissioner, whose slides ranged from conflicts of interest to accountability, from public behaviour to confidentiality. Councillor Bob Madigan wasn’t there. Four incumbents running in this election attended (Doherty, McLeod, Hamlin, and Berman), for which I give them credit. Madigan didn’t show. Perhaps it’s because the town’s web page about the conduct of members of council says (emphasis added): “Members are … click below for more ↓

Just Gonna Leave This Here…

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 20224 Comments

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This headline appeared in CollingwoodToday: “Town councillor, deputy-mayor candidate charged with assault.” In Simcoe.com (Collingwood Connection), the headline was “Collingwood councillor, deputy mayor candidate Bob Madigan facing assault charges.” Bob Madigan is running for deputy mayor of Collingwood. Is this the sort of behaviour you want in your elected representatives? Given his past behaviour, this latest event didn’t surprise me. But by the time this reached the local media, his arrest was already well-known around town and shared in the coffee shops and sidewalk chatter. I’m only sharing it here because it’s now been reported in local media.* As CwoodToday … click below for more ↓

Hypocritical Candidate Wants to Return to Council

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / Entitlement / Ethics and behaviourOne Comment

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Two more of our local “basket-of-deplorables” incumbent councillors (aka quidnuncs) have filed their papers for re-election: Steve Berman and Kathy “Me! Me! Me!” Jeffrey. So has former councillor Cam “Sleepy” Ecclestone, who announced he was running in the provincial election for the fringe “Consensus Party” then never appeared on the ballot. Readers will recall that both Berman and Jeffrey willingly participated in the bullying of former councillor, Tina Comi. Both signed identical copies of councillor McLeod’s complaint to the town’s integrity commissioner. Both defended their bullying in public comments. Then they appointed a friend, campaign donor, and lobbyist in her … click below for more ↓

Council’s Inappropriate Pay-Raise Decision

Collingwood / Conflicts of Interest / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / Entitlement / Ethics and behaviour / Financial follies / TaxesLeave a comment

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Late last month — less than three months before the next municipal election — council made significant decisions about their own pay and the role of the mayor. Given that four of them have filed to run again (and a fifth is pending), and two of those are vying for the mayor’s role, this was a highly inappropriate decision and of questionable ethics. In the story in CollingwoodToday, it noted: ..council voted to approve changing the position of mayor from part-time to full-time, keeping Collingwood council at nine members, and increasing the base rate of pay for council positions to … click below for more ↓

The Misogynist Bully Files for Deputy Mayor

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / Hospital2 Comments

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Councillor Bob “Lapdog” Madigan — council’s most notable bully and misogynist — filed his papers for deputy mayor, a position for which he is supremely unqualified. Well, to be fair, he’s not really qualified for any council position, is he? In almost eight years in office, Madigan’s accomplishments have been… well, nothing. Aside, that is, from being a misogynist bully; showing disrespect for not only other councillors and the public but for the office itself; acting the clown; sucking on the public tit, voting as he’s been told, and expressing egregiously oleaginous praise for his beloved former mayor. But let’s … click below for more ↓

The Marionette and the Mediocrity

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Election 2022 / Entitlement / Ineptitude and bunglingOne Comment

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Councillors Mariane McLeod and Yvonne Hamlin have both filed their papers to run for the mayor of Collingwood after a mere single term serving in the least effective, most inept council ever, serving as loyal sycophants to the worst and most disliked mayor in the town’s history. What hubris! Aside from their abilities to vote the way Saunderson expected, to express oleaginous praise for him in public absque verecundia (without shame), and to ignore the needs of the community for the past three and a half years, what can they offer residents? More lingering taint of Saunderson? More wasted public … click below for more ↓

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