A Tribute to Professionalism
As many of you will recall, one of the primary issues in the recent municipal campaign, and indeed some of the strongest promises made by those elected to City Council this time around was… a return to professionalism at City Hall.
We had all grown really tired of the dysfunctional behaviour around the horseshoe; the bickering, attitudes, egos, block voting… the list went on and on. Some of us were so distressed by what we saw that we threw our hat in the ring and ran for office!
A recent article in the Tribune reporting on the Development Priorities Plan provided a clear indication that voters got exactly what they asked for;
…before passing this committee recommendation, council debated much tougher measures proposed Monday by Coun. Maggie Laidlaw to slash the city’s seven-year housing inventory. When Laidlaw ended up withdrawing her amendment to cut half of the 878 units, instead of 200, she said she was doing it because the council debate had demonstrated council’s will on the matter.
Now any of you who know Maggie can attest that THIS was a very significant milestone… Maggie Laidlaw, a woman with an iron strong will and fearless personality, actually backed down! So surprising in fact, the mayor remarked, “That was unexpected!”
Of course, the most significant point of all of this is that Maggie changed her mind, not because she was forced to, not because of intimidation or coercion, but because council fairly and passionately debated the issues and reached a reasonable consensus.
I am incredibly proud of the passion, determination and professionalism that this council brings to the table, I am honoured to be a part of THIS team, and in case you didn’t know, I am incredibly grateful and humbled to have been given this chance to serve on Guelph City Council.
A heartfelt Thank You to all who helped me get here.
April 1st, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Thank You ! Thank You! Thank You!
I must admit that I am so pleasantly suprised by just how hard you all are working and how well you are working together.
I have watched nearly every single City Council meeting since November and have been very impressed with the quality of debate and effectiveness of our new council.
Keep up the excellent work !
April 1st, 2007 at 10:57 pm
You’re welcome.