Collingwood – Page 37

Their Shoddy Potemkin Villages

In 1787, the Empress Catherine II took a long trip to the Crimea along the Dnieper River. She wanted to see how her subjects lived. Not wanting her to see the actual poverty and hardships of the peasants, her lover – and the region’s governor – Grigory Potemkin, had pretty, fake villages of canvas and clapboard built along the way, with his own people acting and dancing the roles of happy peasants. After she visited one, the village was disassembled and rushed down river by … click below for more ↓

Promising to do What’s Already Done

2014-10-03 2014-10-03 Collingwood / Municipal Politics2 Comments

It’s good for councillors to know we’ve already accomplished so much that everyone wants to emulate us. Listening to the all-candidates’ speeches and reading the campaign literature is a real boost to the ego. A lot of new people are promising to do what’s already been done. Incumbents can comfortably sit back and say, “been there, done that, accomplished that already.” We don’t seem to have left a lot for the newcomers to accomplish. It’s been a very productive term – remarkably so given that we … click below for more ↓

My Speech at the All-Candidates’ Meeting

2014-10-03 2014-10-03 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences3 Comments

Here’s the two-minute speech I gave Wednesday night at the Collingwood Legion, plus the wrap-up: In two minutes, I can’t list everything this council and staff have accomplished on your behalf. But here are some highlights: We answered your demand for more ice and water time. Parents no longer have to drive their kids to other towns for meets because we built two beautiful new recreation facilities right here. And we paid for them without going into debt or raising your taxes. In fact, we … click below for more ↓

A Buddhist Guide for Voters

2014-10-02 2014-10-02 Buddhism / Collingwood / Faith / Municipal Politics / PoliticsOne Comment

While it was intended as a general ‘charter of free inquiry,’ the Buddhist Kalama Sutra (or sutta) contains wise words that all voters – especially local voters – should heed during the municipal election campaign. The Kalamas were a people in ancient India. Gotama visited them and stopped in a town called Kesaputta, where he gave a sermon, now referred to as the Kalama Sutra. At first the citizens came to him with a deep problem: how to trust what people were telling them. They had been visited by many … click below for more ↓

Misconceptions About the Town Debt

2014-10-02 2014-10-02 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics5 Comments

Yesterday members of council received a letter from our auditors that should clear up any misconceptions floating around about debt and debentures. It is clear and succinct. I was also forwarded an email from a candidate (sent to his supporters) with misleading statements about how much debt there is. I don’t know if it was deliberately meant to be misleading – I suspect rather that the candidate simply doesn’t understand municipal finance. But it isn’t really a complicated process. And no candidate should make claims based on misunderstanding … click below for more ↓

Ke Ji Feng Gong

2014-09-30 2014-09-30 Collingwood / Municipal PoliticsOne Comment

Back in 2007, I first wrote about those Chinese symbols in the image above. They spell “Ke ji feng gong.” This is an update to that older piece, because it seemed appropriate to raise it in the midst of our current political campaign. It’s an ancient Chinese saying that means: “Work Unselfishly for the Common Good.” An alternate translation, but similar in intent, is “Self-restraint and devotion to public duties; selfless dedication; to serve the public interest wholeheartedly.” Typically in the translation of Chinese characters, the … click below for more ↓

Montaigne: The Depravity of Our Morals

2014-09-29 2014-09-29 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Philosophy / PoliticsLeave a comment

“Our judgments follow the depravity of our morals and remain sick,” wrote Michel de Montaigne in his essay On Cato the Younger (Essay XXXVII, Book I, Screech translation, Penguin Classics, 2003). That’s quite a condemnation.* Montaigne opens that essay by quietly commenting, “I do not suffer from that common failing of judging another man by me.” Would that we all had his strength, not to judge others by what we think of ourselves. But he was born long before the age of selfies. In our … click below for more ↓

On the hustings

2014-09-28 2014-09-28 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / Politics / Words & etymologyLeave a comment

I’ve been going door-to-door for the past few weeks in my campaign for re-election. Stumping on the hustings, as it’s called in Canada. Or at least that’s how I’ve always heard it used. Hustings is an odd, old word, an anachronism that survives, seemingly, only in the world of politics. It comes from the days when England was a series of small kingdoms suffering frequent invasions by the Danes and Vikings. A few of the old Germanic and Norse words have managed to survive in … click below for more ↓

My Rogers’ Cable TV Speech

2014-09-26 2014-09-26 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / PoliticsLeave a comment

Each candidate was given three minutes to speak for a spot on Rogers Cable TV recently. Here is what I said (in about two minutes): Municipal politics is really quite simple. It’s all about people. Caring about the people you live and work with. Caring if seniors can afford their taxes. Caring if the sidewalk in front of your neighbour’s house is in good repair. Caring about parents who had to drive for hours on dark, snowy roads to get their kids to hockey practice … click below for more ↓

My BIA ACM Speech

2014-09-26 2014-09-26 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / PoliticsLeave a comment

This is the speech I gave at the BIA-ACO all-candidates’ meeting, Wednesday evening. The question all candidates had to answer was, “What is your vision to ensure that Downtown Collingwood thrives as a vital economic and cultural part of our community?” We had two minutes to respond. Here’s what I said: For our downtown to thrive, it needs people. The town can help bring them here. But it is up to the businesses to draw them in. People come to any downtown for two main … click below for more ↓

Extra Virginity

2014-09-24 2014-09-24 Collingwood / Food & Drink / What I'm Reading NowOne Comment

For some time before I got this book, I’ve been aware that there is more to olive oil than meets the eye. Or tongue. How much more really was startling. When I started reading Tom Mueller’s 2012 book, Extra Virginity: the Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, I was simply amazed at how little I really knew about the stuff (and of course you already know how much I love learning new things). Recently, the good folks at the Collingwood Olive Oil Company (on St. … click below for more ↓

The OPP Investigation

2014-09-19 2014-09-23 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Politics4 Comments

In order to clear up the misinformation, rumours and outright lies about the OPP investigation, spreading on social media by some candidates and among the angry bloggers, let me set the record straight. Here’s what we know: Approximately eighteen months ago, someone local went to the police and and filed a formal complaint. The police opened an investigation. The police have not interviewed the Mayor, Deputy mayor, Councillors Lloyd, Cunningham, West, Edwards or myself in that time. After more than 18 months, no one has been charged with … click below for more ↓

Green initiatives for next term

2014-08-31 2014-08-31 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Planning & Policies / PoliticsLeave a comment

Collingwood should be in the forefront for green initiatives in Ontario, not lagging behind. There’s no reason we should not be leaders in exploring new ways to reduce greenhouse gases, reduce our carbon footprint, promote sustainable and environmentally-friendly strategies, and reduce our energy costs. These will be some of my top goals for the 2014-18 council, if I’m re-elected. In the energy world, we have a great partner with Powerstream, which has already explored many of these areas and taken steps in other municipalities. We … click below for more ↓

Looking forward to 2015-18

2014-08-25 2014-08-25 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

Looking forward to 2015 and beyond, here are some of the things I would like to see Collingwood Council and the town staff accomplish in the upcoming term. I have laid these out in my campaign website and literature already, but thought I should include something in my blog to complement those sources. Maintain our current fiscal stability and sustainability. This council has been very proactive in keeping taxes and spending low, without compromising on any essential services or infrastructure. We have paid down $11 of the … click below for more ↓