I would also like to thank my constituents who provided financial support, requested lawn signs and those who came out and showed their support at the ballot box.

I am humbled and grateful to all of you.

I think we accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time and that the efforts of council over the last few years will help position this city for prosperity and a quality of life second to none.

Serving my community in public office was both challenging and rewarding;  I am a better person for the experience and wish the same for all those newly elected, and those re-elected to Guelph City Council this term.

Guelph is often referred to as The Royal City.

It could at least as fairly be nicknamed The Activist City. There’s a long tradition of such in the city. Broaden your interpretation of the term if necessary and then embrace some of the history of local activism – if you’re off-put by some recent tactics and actors associated with the label.

Activist citizens helped deliver the River Run Centre to Guelph. They campaigned for Hospice Wellington. They formed the 10 Carden St. organization, Wellington Water Watchers, the backbone of the community force that opposed Wal-Mart. Gwen Jacobs was an activist. Many of the founders of Hillside would identify themselves as activists. Anne-Marie Zajdlik is an activist. Wendy Durigon is an activist. Guelph teems with such driven citizens. It has for years.

Comparing “good” local activists and “bad” local activists and “good activism” in this area with “bad activism” has even recently surfaced as a buzz subject in the community. This month, Susan Ratcliffe, long an active promoter and chaser of causes, offered an opinion column in this paper on just such distinctions. She came down hard on the lot of people who have opposed the development of the Hanlon Creek Business Park – even questioning their commitment to vigorous activism. That’s quite a throw-down on folks who physically occupied the land for weeks and have fought court battles, staged protests and continue to speak out in various ways in opposition to the development.

There’s also a compelling exchange of comments on a post placed days ago on the Mercury’s city hall blog, 59 Carden St., on the subject of what is good activism. Comments that followed the post: “Where were the other delegations,” “police escorts?” include opposing arguments from Guelph’s old-guard activist vanguard and elements of its new one.

Deeper into the dialogue is a forceful interjection by Guelph Coun. Mike Salisbury. We hope it carries weight.

In blunt paraphrase, Salisbury encourages citizens agitating to make a local difference to run for public office – this year.

He asserts that doing so represents an act of courage, accountability and a willingness to lead away from the sidelines.

We take a wide view and a long-term one on “good advocacy.” But we support the notion that participation as a candidate for public office is great activism – a quite trying variety as well.

Let’s hope for a full and active ballot this fall.

Posting on 59 Carden Street

Wikipedia: Activism can be described as intentional action to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an often controversial argument.

In my experience, THE single most effective form of activism I have ever engaged in was running for City Council.

A few years ago I began to feel the need to “bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change” in my city.

This was radical action for me. There were two things that worried me; the common perception that all politicians are dishonest, self serving, liars and cheats (I don’t know anybody who would want to be associated with THAT crowd) and, the fact that I have spent most of my life rebelling AGAINST authority, not “selling out” to it.

However, if you REALLY want to make change, if your motivation is tied to worthwhile ideals and not personal ego, if you are willing to actually get off your ass, make a stand and put your time, effort and reputation on the line for what you believe in, if you are willing to test everything in the cruel court of public opinion…then get off the sidelines and make a stand where it REALLY counts – Run for Office!

It is easy to complain and do nothing. It is infinitely harder and far more effective to get involved. The most effective way to get involved is to become part of the process, part of the solution.

Beware! The solution (democracy) involves, accountability, responsibility, and service.

It’s an election year – want to make a change?

Below is a list of the local events / initiative in our community where you can lend your support.

1. TUESDAY NIGHT NON-PROFIT SCHOLARSHIP LEAGUE

Mike

Thanks for all your help regarding the fund raiser we are doing on Feb-06 and feb-07 at Woodlawn Bowling Alley
The program I run is a youth 10 Pin Bowling league which is totally different then any other league in Canada.
Our program kids will be going throughout the city asking people for their donations or pledges to help the youth in Haiti.

We will also be running a Silent auction, the week prior, all of the items have been donated from local businesses as well as the pro Bowlers Tour, they have given us signed Bowling Balls, Shirts, Towels, and much More.

We have the support so far of the Tribune and Roger`s T.V. we expect The Guelph Mercury as well.
Please see what you can do, we are really trying to raise $15,000, and every bit of support we get, will help us reach this goal.
Thanks
Bob

I also like Steven Colbert – Steven is a popular late night TV talk show host featured on the Comedy Network who plays an opinionated and self-righteous commentator who “unwittingly” uses a number of logical fallacies to ridicule the actions of politicians and other public figures. By taking their statements and “the facts” to the furthest (supposedly) logical conclusion, he uses irony and sarcasm to paint a twisted picture of reality.

Both of these gentlemen are gifted satirists and both of them can be very entertaining (and even enlightening) if you don’t take them too seriously.

Satire is a complex literary tool, and it is not uncommon to be misunderstood. Take for example Gerry’s latest rant titled “An Assessment of Guelph’s Finances”. Purportedly a three part analysis of how the current city council is bankrupting Guelph. The Mercury refused to publish the editorial and so it started floating around cyberspace along with emails from the prince of Estonia who needs me to send him money so he can access the family fortune (which he promises to share with me).

According to Gerry’s email – “salaries and benefits have increased by 31.8 per cent” – “council has spent $8,300,000 from this Tax Stabilization Reserve to conceal rising costs and artificially contain tax increases” – “Guelph Transit is a financial basket case” – and there is “imminent danger that huge increases in debt will downgrade our city’s credit rating” all of this to support council’s “vanity projects”. Of course… this spells “a disastrous financial outcome for residents”

WOW

Because of the viral nature of email, Gerry’s writings began to cause quite a stir. With constituents beginning to panic, The Mayor responded:

The information in this column is factually incorrect and misleading. I appreciate this opportunity to correct the record.

Mr. Barker’s assertion that Barrie operates a larger city with fewer employees is full of holes. He has incorrectly calculated the number of City of Guelph staff – we have 1,149 full-time employees, not 1,305. He also fails to mention that Barrie contracts out a number of services – including waste management, snow plowing, and transit – so these FTEs do not appear in their numbers. Guelph, on the other hand, has taken on delivery of ambulance service, a service we previously paid for through a contract with Royal City Ambulance. This is a primary reason for an increase in our FTEs between 2008 and 2009.

Assuming Mr. Barker’s calculations on Barrie’s payroll costs are accurate, Guelph’s costs per employee are actually $21,000 less than Barrie’s.
His assertion that salaries and benefits have increased 31.8% over two years is also wrong. In each year, economic increases to staff were 3%, with additional recognition pay to fire services as per Provincial arbitration.

I could go on. All three parts of Mr. Barker’s column are rife with inaccuracies. In contrast, the City’s budget process – which is transparent and open to the public, and will begin in mid-November – will provide factual information and a true picture of the City’s finances.

Like many businesses and residents in Guelph, the City has felt the impacts of the economic downturn. Through the budget process, Council is prepared to make tough decisions to ensure our city is strong, and our AA credit rating is maintained.

Given the number of inaccuracies in it, I am not surprised that the Mercury refused to publish it. It is unfortunate that it is circulating through e-mail, as those who receive it may not realize the many errors in it.

Phil Andrews managing editor of the Mercury wrote with regard to refusing to publish the writings:

They were declined pending the columnist revealing and enumerating the precise documents cited that gave rise to the data in the pieces. Further, I insisted that I needed to be informed of the identity of the financial adviser who purportedly offered analysis of the data for the columns — before they could be considered for publication. Those terms weren’t met.

OK… So Gerry got a little over excited, and with a just over a year to the next municipal election I guess you can’t really blame him.

And speaking of elections – I guess those with a burning desire for political recognition are beginning to rev up the campaign machine once again – one of the candidates from the previous election published “An Assessment of Guelph’s Finances” on his website asking for people to “forward (it) to those who may share the same concerns.”

Nothing like false controversy and hearsay to get people all worked up!

Personally I think creativity, honesty, and integrity make for better reading AND better leadership in government.

By Renann Isaacs, curator, Alma Gallery, Guelph

Dear Editor – Re: “Need for cultural post debated” (Guelph Mercury, Dec. 19).

Hooray for Mike Salisbury and the six other councillors who voted in support of creating a much needed position for an arts and culture supervisor. I can’t believe Guelph has been without one.

I recently moved from Montreal to be closer to my parents. I chose Guelph because of its potential and because I wasn’t prepared to move back to the architecturally and culturally demolished city of Toronto, where my parents live.

Downtown Guelph is a gem waiting to be discovered.

Despite the poor placement of buses, the abundance of pubs, and the chaotic signage, the core of the city consists of stunning neighbourhoods and heritage buildings that are ideal for accommodating a beautiful community of bed and breakfasts, cafés, fine dining restaurants, boutique shopping, galleries, and anything to do with the arts in general.

Visitors from all over have admired the area and some have even contemplated moving here.

Imagine then my shock when I heard that there were still folks around like Councillors Gloria Kovach, Christine Billings and Kathleen Farrelly who referred to a proposal supporting arts and culture as “nebulous.”

Wow! How terribly Sarah Palinesque!

If a city wants to position itself for a changing world it has to attract and excite people, not make their lives dull.

Sprawling suburbs and strip malls with redundant conformity do not stimulate economies. Culture does.

Bravo to those Guelphites who have the courage to look to the future. By providing the city with an arts and culture supervisor we can facilitate the change needed to make this city an even greater going concern. Yes we can!

At the beginning of my term I toured our neighbourhood with the Director of Community Design and Development. I pointed out that while Paisley Rd. was one of the primary connections to the rest of the city, the sidewalk on the north side of the road was missing.

In fact, the sole bus stop on Paisley road required residents to walk along a dusty goat trail to access the rest of the community; not particularly accessible to say the least.

The original plan was to look at installing the sidewalk as part of a larger motion I made to move forward with a pedestrian rail underpass to Margaret Greene Park  as identified in the trail master plan following the fatal accident we had last year.

I expect this issue to be debated by council next year, however by the end of this summer a number of sidewalk projects planned by the city could not be completed and my request was bumped up to the front of the line.

Together with staff we reviewed a number of other sidewalks that need to be completed in the west end including Imperial Rd. south of Speedvale and Elmira Rd. south of Willow. These projects are in the works for next year.

Mr. Salisbury,

I want to thank you for your help with my request for assistance in recognizing our Novice girls fastball team representing Guelph at the Quebec nationals.

I have heard from the Mayor’s office today and have they have offered assistance.

I was pleasantly surprised with your calls today and the efforts you took upon yourself which resulted in quick involvement of the Mayor’s office.

This is the second time I have sought you out, and in both instances your help was invaluable.

Once again, thank you.

Regards,
Robb Graham 

This type of communication is vital to the democratic process, in fact I think it is so important that I have established the “Ward 4 Survey” an online questionnaire based upon the original Ipsos Reid survey. I would like to encourage everyone to take out a couple of minutes and share your thoughts and opinions.

It will take only a couple of minutes to fill out, but will greatly improve my ability to represent your needs and priorities. Your participation and comments (both positive and critical) are requested and encouraged.

The prime responsibility of elected officials is to act in the public interest. If a Council member has a pecuniary interest, it is possible that they will be influenced by it when contributing to debate, voting or performing other duties as a member of Council. Potentially a councillor could act to promote their own private interests, rather than the public good. Not only is this unethical…it is illegal.

And so the question is asked at the beginning of any meeting, and it is expected that any councillor with a pecuniary interest announce the fact and abstain from discussion on the issue.

But wait!

As some of you may know, my spouse works for the City…isn’t this a blatant conflict of interest? In some very specific situations the answer is YES, however most of the time the answer is clearly NO.

The Municipal Act requires a council member to declare a conflict of interest if he or she has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter under consideration. A member must also declare a conflict if he or she has some other, non-pecuniary type of interest that places the person in a conflict position (e.g., bias). This could include any benefit obtained by relations, close friends, or associates of a member who is in conflict. Examples may include a rezoning application by a relative or close personal friend or a business license decision involving a competitor business to one operated by a close friend. The facts of each situation will be unique and will need to be considered when determining if a member is in a non-pecuniary conflict of interest situation.

The Act provides for some exceptions to the conflict and inside/outside influence restrictions which include:

•    the council member’s pecuniary interest is an interest in common with the electors of the municipality;
•    the council member’s pecuniary interest, related to a local service, is in common with other persons who are or would be liable for the local service tax;
•    the matter under consideration relates to the remuneration, expenses or benefits payable to local government officials in their capacity as members of council of the municipality;
•    the pecuniary interest is so remote or insignificant that it cannot reasonably be viewed as likely to influence the member;

The Guelph Mercury blog “59 Carden Street” recently published the following comment;

Was there “An unusual beginning” to the budget meeting;did any member of council declare a pecuniary interest?One would assume/expect that if a councillor’s spouse works for the City that the former would declare this fact and,at the very least,not vote for that department’s budget items nor any contractual agreements pertaining to the spouse’s employment position?Bussing and busing, do not the combining of the two bring up the appearance of pecuniary interest,if not,conflict of interest?
Posted by: Grunt | February 20, 2008 at 03:17 PM

I am incredibly proud of the career my wife has chosen. As a driver for transit she helps hundreds of people get where they need to go, be it work school, or shopping. For many people the bus is their only means of transportation and Ruth not only provides a safe and comfortable ride, she runs a tight ship (on more than one occasion she has stopped the bus to read the riot act to unruly teenagers on the bus, much to the appreciation of other passengers)

However, does Ruth’s job compromise my position as a City councillor? Let’s look at the specific issues being raised by Grunt and the reasons why there were no pecuniary conflicts at last night’s Council meeting.

Council passed several budget items specifically relating to transit.
•    The provision of 20 minute transit service
•    The hiring of several new transit mechanics
•    The approval of a transit fare increase (to help pay for the 20 min service)

These service improvements affected everybody who takes transit. Come July we will all be able to catch a bus more frequently, no real direct benefit to me or my family although I will appreciate not having to listen to my daughter complain about having to wait so long for a bus.

Transit will need to hire more drivers and technicians but this has little to no impact on those already employed  by transit except the benefit of having more people attend the annual Christmas party.

The fare increase has a direct impact on my family because we will now have to pay more to take a bus however this also affects everyone else and so once again this is not considered a pecuniary interest.

Grunt did raise a valid issue of conflict relating to my participation in contract negotiations however the budget as passed simply honoured the existing collective agreement as signed by the previous council in 2006. the current contract comes up for negotiation in 2010 and yes, at that time I will declare a conflict of interest and abstain from discussion and voting on that issue.

I knew the Lings… not well enough to know them by name, but if you live in the West end of Guelph you know the Lings as well. He is tall and slim, she was shorter and slower; together they walked everywhere and everywhere they walked together.

I would often see them walk through the condo complex I live in, walking along the river path between the West End Recreation Center and where they lived further down Paisley Road. I remember speaking more with Dave (who was always waiting for his wife) than Dawn. (who was always hustling to keep up with the longer legs of her husband) We never said much, casual greetings for the most part; however it was enough to know them as a part of the community I live in.

I feel an incredible sense of mourning considering I didn’t really know them that well. I think it’s because I always imagined that they loved each other a great deal. He loved her enough to always wait for her to catch up; she loved him enough to always charge forward knowing her husband would be there for her when she arrived.

I can’t imagine what Dave is going through and I wish him and his family the best during this difficult time. If it helps at all, I will do the best I can to put in motion the changes necessary so that this tragedy won’t happen to another family.

Dawn Doreen Ling, 53, was killed Sunday trying to cross a very popular (albeit unauthorized) railway crossing between Paisley Road and Margaret Greene Park.

It’s not that I haven’t had a number of really great topics to write about; because there have been many interesting and provocative issues that have come up over the last few weeks…so why have I not posted more.

I believe is that one of the reasons I have not had time to be more active on this site is that I am a PART TIME City Councillor. As a part time councillor you would think that I would have more time to reach out to my constituents… not less?

However, as one of the primary bread winners of my family of two children, being a part time councillor means that I need to be part time/full time at something else in order to make ends meet.

Wikipedia defines this condition as moonlighting.

Moonlighting, the practice of performing an additional job which is separate from a person’s day job.

And in my humble opinion, moonlighting city councillors are a serious problem.

Its not that you can’t perform the basic duties of a city councillor in a part time capacity… because you can. The problem as I see it is that you can’t fully dedicate yourself, go above and beyond, and give 110% to the task of being the very best public servant possible, when you need to stop what your doing and “go to work”

I have come to realise that being a City Councillor is arguably one of the most challenging and important roles I have ever played in my life. As a City Councillor you are responsible for making multi million dollar decisions that affect tens of thousands of people. This is far too important to be a side job!

Over the next couple of years I would really like to get YOUR opinion on this issue. Please feel free to add a comment to this post – and/or – take 30 seconds to complete a questionnaire on this issue.

SWAT is a group of Youth Peer Leaders working for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.

They are part of a network of Youth Action Alliances across Ontario working to expose what they see as the destructive marketing practices of the tobacco industry. The delegation explained that, “The tobacco industry operates outside the norms of legitimate business by producing the only product that when used as directed will kill. In fact, tobacco use kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides COMBINED.”

The group’s message struck a very personal cord for me having recently experienced the death of a parent to tobacco related disease while at the same time watching my 15 year old daughter struggle with the very same addiction that killed my mother. It was incredibly powerful to see young people rallying together to support other young people.

Swat projects are youth-led and are created to create positive social change!

Visit the local SWAT website – http://www.smoke-fx.com/local/SWAT/

As a home gardener and a professional landscape architect (who has nothing against a beautifully manicured lawn) I understand these concerns, however, allow me to explore the opportunities…

If you will recall, back in the 90’s communities were contemplating a ban on smoking in public places and there was a great concern that the legislation would destroy businesses. Some of the loudest concerns were voiced by coffee shops that saw a direct correlation between smoking and coffee.

What is really remarkable is that Tim Horton’s probably became the huge success that they are today not in spite of the ban, but as a result of the smoking ban.

Tim Horton’s evolved from the “truck stop coffee shop” into a clean, inviting, full menu (and outrageously profitable) restaurant that they are today. Hundreds of coffee shops and millions of dollars later I’m sure they are really happy that anti smoking legislation forced then to see beyond the limited perspective they originally had.

The same will probably be true for our lawns.

I have noticed that there are a number of people in Guelph as well as other cities who have forgone turf grass altogether. Some are nice… however not all of them are, and many are designed such that they result in far more work than is necessary. On the other hand, some alternative lawns are downright gorgeous and nearly maintenance free!

I have seen highly formal designs, fully naturalised environments and even uniquely themed alternative lawns leaving me to think that there is something to suit everyone’s taste.

Just as Tim Horton’s realised the huge opportunity moving beyond the perception that “cigarettes go with coffee” there will undoubtedly be designers, maintenance companies and garden centres that will quickly realise the huge opportunity that moving beyond the perception that “nice homes have perfect grass.”

Just like looking back at old pictures of Guelph devoid of street trees, we may look back at old pictures of our communities paved over with a monoculture of grass and say, “what in the world were we thinking?”

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.

Original Email

From: ALICE
Sent: Thu 3/8/2007 6:11 PM
To: Undisclosed-Recipients:;
Subject: COUNCILLOR

It must be nice collecting all that money for being a city councillor and all you have to do is say yes to whatever Karen or the two women from the University who chair the most important committees tell you to vote for. And you don’t have to express any opinion, (if you have one), about any subject being voted on. Of course you are allowed to say… “I move we open the meeting” and “I move we close the meeting”.

My Response

Hi Alice

Interesting perspective.

You may find it insightful to watch or attend council meetings to get a better understanding of the issues and related opinions of city councillors. (Council meetings are televised on cable as well as broadcast online http://www.rogerstelevision.com/guelphcitycouncil )

If there are any particular issues you feel are not being represented by your councillor (or any of the very capable women you speak of for that matter…) you are encouraged to personally address the issue at any committee or council meeting. However, it is my opinion that getting involved in the solution often takes much more effort than simply complaining about the problem.

If you are interested in learning about MY opinions on the issues that I feel are particularly important, please visit my web site http://ward4guelph.ca The web site is setup to allow YOU to comment and provide YOUR opinion on the issues. You are more than welcome to disagree with my opinion… that’s OK. However, comments that are derogatory or offensive (much like your email) will not be posted.

Cheers

“As an experienced Councillor with a proven commitment to Guelph and as a national and international leader, as a nurse and mother, I am pleased to share with you that I will be seeking the federal nomination for the Conservative Party of Canada.” said Kovach

I consider myself very fortunate as a new City councilor to work with an experienced representative like Gloria, and while I wish great success in the federal arena, I have mixed feelings about loosing her as a colleague.

We may not agree on everything… however, I know that council’s loss will certainly be Canada’s gain. – GO GET EM Gloria!