Outgoing Mayor Phyllis Morris has been MIA on the campaign trail for weeks now. Since hastily filing her nomination papers on August 11th – a Wednesday- not a peep has been heard save the brief bit of pabulum fed to the Banner.

This isn’t like Morris. We all know she loves a parade – and yet… No fanfare. No media release. No nothing. Just quietly filed the papers after months of speculation – not by us mind you, we knew Morris would be attempting to hang onto her seat.

This is not classic Phyllis.  She’d go to the opening of an envelope.  Nope. Something’s up. Usually there is a big to do when she announces.  As per the last few times, it has been at the last-minute – riding in to save the day.  “I am responding to the many many residents who have begged me to run” blah blah blah.

Everyone knows Phyllis hasn’t stopped campaigning since she squeaked past the post to win the 2006 election with less than 50% of the vote.

Which makes the rushed and harried nature of her filing and non-existent campaign presence all the more puzzling.  Well, we should say she hasn’t conducted any “official” campaign activities. We’ll leave it to you to decide if recent “Town” initiatives are anything but an attempt to make her look like she’s doing something besides taking credit for doing nothing.

She has filed her papers and yet has no website. No functioning email address or phone number to call. No kick off party. No fundraising event. Again, we should state no “official” fundraising event that we are aware of. Very disorganized.

So what gives?  She said recently that she would “begin campaigning” after the summer.  Huh? All the other serious candidates for Mayor have been actively engaging the community in the electoral campaign – through websites, through door to door canvassing, through advertisements and, recently, election signs.

What does it say about the incumbent’s attitude towards the race? Either she doesn’t take it seriously or she is so overwhelmed by the support garnered by other candidates that she is in a frantic state.

Either way, it seems that Morris is well on her way out…

The Town is being papered – quite literally – with a “communications piece” about the “Clean up Aurora Campaign” which is proceeding in advance of the completion of the Aurora Promenade Study – a study still in draft form and nowhere near completion – though it is “expected” to be approved by the outgoing council on September 28^th. 

Interesting side note – according to the “lame duck” provision of the Municipal Act, if less than 75% of the current Council file nomination papers, then the lame duck council can’t authorize new spending over $50,000 or sell land worth the same amount. They also cannot appoint or remove officers of the corporation (phew!  Town staff are in the clear!). For the mathematically challenged Morris – that means that 7 out of the 9 members must file their papers.  So far (thank god) only 3 have… So before this Council “approves” this study, let’s make sure we know just how much it’s all going to cost us.

This week approximately 2000 residents and businesses within the study catchments area were supposed to receive the newsletter extolling the importance and urgency of the “Clean up Aurora Campaign”.  And yes, before the Aurora Citizen receives any “complaints” about spin or misleading statements, the newsletter states, categorically, that this is a “campaign”.  What telling choice of words – bit Freudian don’t you think? One does not have to be a genius to understand what “campaign” this “programme” actually supports.

In tandem with the massive newsletter mail out – how much did that cost you might wonder – the town has actually created a website (seriously) about the “Clean up Aurora Campaign with breathless chatter about the completed projects and pending projects.  (www.e-aurora.ca/cleanup)

Have a close look at the website folks.  After you stop laughing at how ridiculous it is, you should get very very angry.  These are your hard-earned tax dollars being used to fund a “campaign” of questionable utility and suspect purpose.

Look at the “completed projects” noted in the glossy, multi page, newsletter:

• Re-painted all downtown railings their original green colour
• Planted/hung 90 baskets of flower arrangements
• Repaired, repainted and reinstalled Heritage signs where needed
• Installed a new playground at Machell Park
• Periodically power washed sidewalks in the downtown business area
• Re-painted the road lines on Yonge Street
• Removed advertising boxes in key business areas

We’ve raised this point previously in the post Is Mayor Morris Putting Lipstick on a Pig, but in light of the increased expenditures on this “campaign”, they’re worth raising again.  To be clear – there is NOTHING innovative about this programme. In fact it is not a programme at all but everyday work that the relevant departments are required to do and already doing.  This is already covered in their operating budgets.  This has already been paid for by your hard-earned tax dollars.  Why are we spending untold THOUSANDS of dollars on a pile of promotional nonsense.

We have an answer for you – ELECTION DAY!!!

We urge you to make your anger known.  Take the newsletter and send it back to the Town Hall – do your part to “clean up aurora”.   Let the Town know that you are not fooled by this pathetic attempt at whitewashing over a failed term of council.

Please vote on October 25^th and truly “clean-up aurora”.