OPINIONS
editionap.ca
Elected officials must follow high standards
This letter is addressed to the Mayor of the City of Clarence-Rockland
market impacts associated with the negative image cultivated by your administration. d. Public servants and elected officials who have been the targets of questionable ad- ministrative and legal actions and those alleged to have been enlisted into complicity. e. Families of both those individuals targeted by questionable actions and those who are now subject to criminal charges. These families suffered tremendous stresses and frustra- tion, regret and shame. a. protecting the integrity of the office of mayor and the council. You have created the perception of self interest, manifested disrespect towards citizens and cultivated a culture of distrust. b. cultivating unity within the council and town. Your leadership failed in effectively mitigating pre-existing divisions and reinforced the perception that you deliberately cul- tivated these divisions for the purpose of personal/political gain. You have permitted and endorsed resurrecting at public expense themanifestly politically partisan "Tribune", which accentuates and even foments divisions within the community. c. Promoting economic potential. As a business leader, more than most you know these are critical to the economic growth. The cloud over the council and the uncertainty for its future can only hurt the reputation of Clarence-Rockland as a place where you should be able to expect good local government - the very thing businesses and people look for when seeking a place to live and do business. d. leading your closest supporters. You have influenced a number of fervent partisans down a path which will irreparably injure them personally and professionally. Their fami- lies will share this cost. I had no expectations you would relinquish power. However, stepping aside would man- ifest redeeming qualities; honour and courage. Cowering behind what has become a less than reputable office and clinging onto power in the hope that failings will go away will only aggravate injuries to victims, including those closest to you. Stepping aside is not an admission of legal guilt, it is the honourable and courageous act that allows the healing to begin and is a personal cost for you to assume. In my opinion you were mandated with and failed in :
The law affords you the presumption of innocence and the right to retain the office of the mayor as you await trial for breach of trust. There is a great divide between ethical gov- ernance/leadership and the law. You may be found not guilty, but few could argue that you have acted in accordance with the high ethical standards we deserve. Your legacy as mayor of Clarence-Rockland is set and dominated by the laying of breach of trust charges, divisive leadership and allegations of conspiracies. When the OPP takes two years to investigate your actions and then the government decides to prosecute you for a crime, a great cloud hangs over city hall. Public servants and elected officials have been investigated by the criminal investigators, their families have been affected and the conduct of municipal government has been damaged. These charges are not merely political criticisms by adversaries in city council, they are serious and enduring challenges to your integrity and that of the others who have been charged. As administrator, you succeeded in realizing deliverables (fleet renewal, infrastructure maintenance and improvements...). To claim nothing was achieved under your administra- tion is to be blinded by political partisanship. But these deliverables are in reality merely expenditures. The last two years of your administration has left a number of victims. In no definitive order of importance, these victims include: a. Your electoral commitment to transparency and good governance. b. Municipal institutions. Public confidence in these is profoundly shaken by the swirl of police investigators and the uncertain future of the city council. c. Tax payers/homeowners who have absorbed the costs of settlements associated with in fighting ($300k but possibly more). More substantial are long term economic costs and
613 875-3165 coolcontainers@bell.net
Steven Desjardins Rockland
VOTRE SIÈGE D’AUTO CONVIENT-IL À VOTRE ENFANT? IS YOUR CHILD IN THE RIGHT CAR SEAT?
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Exposition d’art Le samedi 19 octobre 2013, midi à 18h Le dimanche 20 octobre 2013, 9h30 à 17h
Académie canadienne et internationale de Hockey Route 17, Rockand ON
Jeudi 10 octobre 2013 13h à 15h Thursday, October 10, 2013 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. 2081, rue Laval St., Bourget Rendez-vous seulement/By appointment only 613 764-3434
Art Show
Saturday, October 19, 2013, Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 20, 2013, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Canadian International Hockey Academy Hwy 17, Rockand ON
Artistes / Artists Hélène Jean Francine Jolicoeur-Séguin Joan Kallio Denise Kirouac Carmelle Lalonde-Hagen
Commanditaires / Sponsors SG Printing Studio Art Plus Art World One REMAX — Luc Joly Musicare Inc. Accent Meuble Lalonde
Francine Abraham Maurice Aubut Ghislaine Auger-Boileau Monique Bergevin Pierre Caron France Couillard-Patenaude Violet Friend-Cronier Ghyslaine Gauthier-Boileau François Gour
Louise Peladeau-Bercier Carol Penny Lise Perras Valérie Poulin Sylvie Roy Yannick Schaeffer Jacqueline Thibodeau
Nadine Lamoureux Jennifer Larocque Bernard Lévesque Céline McDonald
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