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Christopher Watts has a brilliant post over on his site Temporary Sanity. The site is a must read for anyone interested in Aurora politics — or anyone with a quirky sense of humour.
The focus of the recent post was Dick Illingworth’s analysis of the outgoing Council before he passed away last year. For those who didn’t know Dick, he was a highly regarded and well-loved fixture in Aurora politics who alway spoke his mind and provided great insights on the goings on at Council.
Some may even recall that Phyllis Morris took a quote from one of Dick’s column many years ago and continuously used it in her election brochure because she acknowledged the impact his point of view had on readers.
It would be worth noting that Dick would probably not be happy to see his quote used this election.
Chris has taken the time to review all of Dick’s Brickbats & Bouquets and provided a neat summary for your review. It is worth the time to read.
In it he stated that in almost 50 years of observing council meetings; “I have never seen a more fractious council than the current Aurora Council. It’s an embarrassment and a disgrace!”
He went on to say, “If some of the senior members of staff start looking for positions elsewhere, council members will only have themselves to blame.” It is almost prophetic — 6 of 8 positions left this term — but Phyllis and crowd accept no responsibility.
Remember this column was written in May 2008.
Please take the time to visit Temporary Sanity and read the post. It will give you greater insight into what has been going on these last 4 years.
The Aurora Town Hall was the scene, this past Sunday, for the first in a series of three candidate meetings. Based on Sunday’s event, this is shaping up to be one of the hottest mayoralty campaigns this Town has seen in decades.
Sunday’s meeting was hosted by the Aurora Public Library and was moderated by Dr. Wes Cragg – a professor in business ethics at York University. The irony of an ethics professor moderating that lot, at the Aurora Town Hall, was rich, to say the least.
It was the first chance for the public to see and hear first hand what the candidates for Mayor, Council and Trustee had to offer.
The APL candidate’s meeting is usually a staid – read “boring” – affair. Candidate after candidate gets up there and talks about nothing of substance and then sits down.
Not this time.
It was clear from the buzz in the room that people were there for a purpose. You don’t see that many people cooped up in a building on a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon if they don’t have a vested interested in the outcome.
They were there to hear, to see, to FEEL if change was in the air.
Would they get positive change? Or just more of the same?
Would they hear empty platitudes? Or recognition of problems that exist and solutions to address them…
It was a raucous crowd. The room was simply electric with anticipation.
And they were not disappointed.
Geoff Dawe was the first to speak. His speech was electrifying. He had to stop a number of times as the crowd cheered his statements. He spoke of the problems Aurora has faced these long, long 4 years – a fractured council, the waste of taxpayer dollars and, most important the culture of disrespect exhibited by Morris et al – but he also spoke of solutions; what he would do to “put the Aura back in Aurora”. His theme of positive change clearly resonated with the residents present at the meeting.
Mr. Kean too spoke of change – “refreshing” change. Similar to comments made by Dawe, the crowd reacted well to his concerns about the lack of respect for staff, the wasted money on integrity commissioners and need for greater accountability. His speech was also well received.
Mr’s Clowater and Prykyrl raised some interesting ideas in their speeches – for example Mr. Clowater’s idea of the need for Aurora to have a University. They spoke well and should be commended for their efforts.
Morris as expected gave an “I” speech – the type of speech we’ve heard her give virtually every week at Council. “I sat on this committee”. “ I steered this group and that group”. “I shepherded this process”. “I make the sun rise in the morning…”
“I”, “I”, “I”, “I”, “I”
No acknowledgement of work left undone. No acknowledgement of the need to rebuild what has been lost. No acknowledgement of any responsibility for the debacle that was this past term of Council.
That just isn’t Morris’ style. She cannot admit failure. As a result, she is defensive – both in speech and stance – chin defiantly thrust forward, heel stuck out to the side. She fumbled and stumbled towards the end of her speech – perhaps sensing she had not won the crowd.
At the end, aside from the omnipresent Ms. St. Kitts whooping and whistling, Ms. Morris received a smattering of polite applause.
But then something extraordinary happened.
Instead of recognizing that her speech had fallen flat and she should sit down and prepare for the question period, Morris instead decided to pretend to act the statesman and proceeded to walk about the chamber, thrusting her hand out to a few of the candidates. Bizarre. Inappropriate.
But it got worse!
She proceeded to walk all the way around the chamber and marched right up to Evelyn Buck, and thrust her hand out in a handshake.
It was simply a disgusting display of disingenuousness – and typical Morris.
The crowd was appalled. There were boos. There were calls to “sit down!”. Morris scurried back to her seat, her ignominy complete.
It’s unfortunate that Rogers has chosen NOT to show the meeting in its entirety. They are only showing snippets of it on the news.
What is fortunate is that we understand that members of the audience do have a recording of the speeches. We will make them available to you if we can track them down.
Recently all 5 Mayoralty candidates were invited to Devins Drive Public School to talk to the Grade 5 students and answer questions from the students about the upcoming election. Teachers and parents were also invited.
Most folks would understand this was not a typical campaigning event since it is more educational in nature and the audience were all young people.
However, since all 5 candidates were invited, would you expect Phyllis to behave as a candidate or Mayor?
We ask because Phyllis wore her official chain of office to this event.
What do you think? Did she step over the line?
When campaigning, incumbant candidates are not allowed to use town resources (i.e. email accounts) to avoid the perception of an uneven playing field.
Should she have worn her chain as Mayor, brought the chain and just shown it to the kids or should she have left it at home given the nature of the appearance with other candidates?
Well folks, as the days of this Council’s term mercifully dwindle down it seems that Morris and company are still having problems with even basic council procedure. So much for Phyllis’ much trumpeted experience when she still doesn’t know basic procedural bylaw.
What are they struggling with now, you might ask? How about HOW TO VOTE! Heaven forbid she needs to explain the difference between a referral and deferral.
For the sake of those council members that read the blog (and we now know that most of you do!) – here’s how you vote:
As per section 5.4 (d) (Procedural by-law) “ …all members present …shall vote”
The process;
Chair – Calls the question
Chair asks: All those in favour?
Chair asks: all those opposed?
Votes are then tallied up
Chair declares “Motion i) carried ii) carried unanimously iii) defeated” (section 5.4 (e) Town of Aurora procedural by-law)
Mayoralty Candidate Geoff Dawe was in attendance at the September 14th Council meeting and was there to witness the farce that occurred. He commented on his blog about what happened at the meeting – in particular the fact that the votes on the amendment and then the balance of the minutes were not called.
Well – that did not sit well with the MorMac team. Goodness gracious! We can’t look stupid yet again. We MUST do something about this.
Hmmmm, there weren’t any cameras there. No one will know the difference. Let’s put our own version of reality out there.
So, in an extraordinary move, MacEachern took it upon herself to comment on the public statements of a CANDIDATE’s BLOG – at a COUNCIL MEETING!!
These comments are reflected in the GC minutes of September 21st, where MacEachern states:
“Councillor MacEachern advised that Geoff Dawe had published a commentary stating an amendment and a vote had not been called and carried. She advised that she had confirmed with staff who had reviewed the DVD of the meeting and that three sets of minutes were each called separately: two set with amendments. Councillor MacEachern said that staff confirmed that when the Mayor called the question, there was a show of hands, and the motion carried to adopt those minutes with an amendment regarding and the abstention from the vote. Councillor MacEachern said that immediately after the show of hands, there was discussion regarding this issue, but that it had already been carried.”
Aside from the fact that it is highly inappropriate and frankly out-of-order to comment on a CANDIDATE’s comments – MacEachern was/is WRONG! AGAIN!
We have the DVD of the meeting and have reviewed it a few times to make sure we have it straight. It is a chaotic scene so we can understand why some may have a hard time following along. The relevant portion of the tape to watch is 46:00 – 51:45. The relevant video is below.
Here’s a brief synopsis of what happened during the time in question:
Morris said that she wanted the minutes changed to reflect why MacEachern voted against the two Integrity Commissioner reports – reports based on the two complaints the very same Councillor lodged herself. Councillor Collins-Mrakas pointed out – and the Town Clerk confirmed – that the procedural by-law does not allow for such a special notation, the municipal act requires that all abstentions are counted as a negative vote AND that the municipal act requires that minutes be taken, “…without note or comment”. Thus, as ACM continued, this requires “a special motion to make a special statement” for the benefit of MacEachern.
Yes, it was confirmed by the Clerk. Council was informed that it would require a motion to amend the minutes to include the special language.
So the motion was moved by MacEachern (not Morris as noted in the minutes – she’s still the Chair, and everyone knows the Chair can’t move a motion!)
Morris then says “all in favour”. The GOS begin to feebly lift their hands. At the same time, Councillor Buck interjects to ask just what the heck it is they voting are on.
At this point the vote – on the amendment – has been halted.
Morris asks Buck if she wants the “minutes to stand down” and “do you want a recorded vote”
A 3 minute back and forth ensues. Morris, Gaertner and Buck all add to the “debate”.
Of course Phyllis can’t help herself from talking to members of Council like they are a complete group of morons.
At 49:46, Morris says, “I am calling the question”
At 51:00, ACM interjects with a “point of information” to which Morris responds with a ridiculous out of context babble about the “seriousness of conflict of interest”
Then at around 51:30 Morris says, “the matter has been dealt with, let’s move on”
Well, with all due respect to our procedurally challenged outgoing mayor, oh no it wasn’t
The vote never happened.
It’s right there on the tape for all to see.
Were all members of the table given the opportunity to vote? NO
Were those opposed asked to vote? NO
Were ALL votes counted? NO
Was the vote declared to be carried, carried unanimously or defeated? NO
Was the main motion, to approve the minutes, moved? NO; seconded? NO; question called? NO or voted upon? NO
So, to put in very simple terms – the vote did not happen.
Once again, we have a situation where the minutes do not accurately reflect the proceedings of Council. Councillor MacEachern is, to be polite, providing wrong information to the community. The public is left to stand, mouth agape, in horror at what has transpired.
Don’t take our word for it, watch the tape yourselves.
Ask yourself: Did Morris halt the vote? Did she ask for anyone opposed? Did she declare the vote to have carried? Did she call the minutes or just the amendment?
And then we encourage you to send emails to Ms. MacEachern (emaceachern@e-aurora.ca) demanding she retract her clearly wrong statements. And, for good measure, apologize to Mr. Dawe.
Possibly they can amend the minutes at their next meeting 🙂
A person of class and integrity can admit when they are wrong.
Taken from the recent email published by the Morris campaign.
In fact, one attendee who had been at the campaign launches for some other prominent Greater Toronto Area politicians said it may have been the best-attended in the whole of the GTA this year.
We guess if you preface a distortion or untruth with the claim that someone else said it, it somehow makes it okay. Really, now Phyllis believes she had more people than either Smitherman, Ford or any of the GTA events. Delusional? You decide.
At the Rogers TV debate the Mayor talked about how the Town has turned the tables on rising taxes. In 2001, tax increases raced ahead at 9 percent. This year the Council whittled the increase down to 2.8 percent.
Why did she conveniently leave out the tax increases from her last term of Council (2003 – 2006) or that since she became Mayor we have seen taxes rise a combined 13.81%? One would almost think she intentionally meant to mislead you.
Mayor and Town Council have taken strong steps to ease the burden on residential taxpayers and make growth pay for growth. How? Town Council completed the first major reorganization of the Town administration since the 1980s.
This re-organization resulted in a 20% increase in staff during a worldwide economic downturn — ahead of both tax base growth and population growth. Including a new, full-time personal assistant for the Mayor. How does that ensure growth pays for growth?
She served as one of only two Mayors on a special stakeholder advisory committee concerned with the Watershed, by appointment of the Minister of the Environment.
What she failed to mention was that her role on the committee was to “…provide input and advice to the government on protecting Lake Simcoe…and provide a linkage with the broader community…”. So aside from attending a meeting or two, just what advice and input from the community did she provide? Where was the consultation with the community on whose behalf she was appointed?
And a deal that will earn taxpayers more than $130,000 a year in rental income from the former Aurora Hydro building. Worth waiting for.
However, what she failed to mention was that this deal took 3 years and bumped the planned use by our own Parks department because the Works and Parks department have long outgrown the facility they are sharing on Scanlon Court. What is her plan to address that need? And at what cost against this $130,000 windfall?
We are now renting out a town facility that was supposed to be used for town staff. And since when did the municipality become a landlord? Shouldn’t town buildings be used for Town purposes ahead of rental opportunities? Surplus buildings and land are supposed to be sold and the revenue used for municipal purposes. Shouldn’t she know that given all of her “experience”.
Christopher Watts had his own take on this same email you might find interesting. As always, Christopher brings his own special sense of humour to the online word via his personal blog, Temporary Insanity.
Yesterday all 5 candidates for Mayor were in attendance at Rogers TV for the first of a number of scheduled interactions.
From what we hear it was a spirited affair – so be sure to look for it both on TV and online.
One of the stipulations was that each candidate was only allowed to bring 1 supporter. Phyllis Morris brought Ken Whitehurst.
Wasn’t that the same fellow awarded a $60,000 dollar job without advertising the job so other members of the public could apply — per town recruitment policies — and who also sat on the committee that created the job?
Hmmmm? Just asking.
Also, don’t forget to attend the all-candidates event at the Town Hall this Sunday starting at 2 pm, presented by the Library Board.
Let us take the Canada Day Parade and the Santa Claus Parade and turn these over to the Chamber of Commerce and out of the hands of politicians and their friends.
Let our town government create Aurora Youth Scholarships that would provide our young people with incentives to work in their community and in return receive some financial benefit, and beyond this, receive credits toward their education, all the while performing positive acts that would benefit many less fortunate.
Let us impress upon the parents of our young people that their children can play a meaningful role in the community. Let us convince these parents that they should act as mentors to their sons and daughters to assist in the creation of a generation that cares.
Let the parents and their children initiate and create suitable roles and tasks for themselves, ones that would benefit the entire community, and especially those who are the weakest and most vulnerable.
This is too important to be left exclusively in the hands of elected politicians. There should be an umbrella organization formed consisting of service clubs, business and the town. It should start at the grass-roots level and its objective should be the general improvement of our entire community, from assisting the elderly whenever and however possible, shoveling snow and raking leaves, cleaning up the town, planting trees, providing transport to those unable to move about freely.
There are virtually no limits as to what can be done; to bring a smile to people’s faces, a sense of relief to a worried brow, a feeling of being useful, a sense of self-worth and accomplishment.
Guy Poppe, faithful supporter of the Morris regime, has repeatedly challenged readers of this blog for a list of senior staff who have left this term “because of the current Council”. His premise is based on the fact that unless the departing employee writes a letter to the editor stating this, the wholesale departures shouldn’t be linked to the current Council.
We say, real leaders accept responsibility for what happens on their watch. Well, this is Phyllis’s watch.
Mayor Morris has steadfastly refused to even answer the direct question of Richard Johnson, in spite of a Freedom of Information request specifically asking this very question. Wonder why? If there is a more obvious answer, why not illuminate the great unwashed.
Perhaps Mr Poppe would repeatedly ask her for this answer.
So to try to answer the question without the spin, we have simply pulled the list together as best we can based on public information. Please let us know if we have missed something.
Following is a list of senior staff positions that make up the Management Committee. These are the town staff that interact directly with Council and are responsible for all operations of the corporation.
By position we have listed the original employee at the start of this term — followed by any changes where applicable. We have left out employee names to respect their privacy.
Chief Administrative Officer
Original employee – Contract “Terminated”
Replacement in place
Clerk
Original employee – departed
1st Replacement – departed
2nd Replacement in place
Solicitor
Original employee – departed
Replacement in place
Director, Public Works Original employee – departed
1st Replacement (acting) – departed
2nd Replacement in place
Director, Planning
Original employee – departed
Replacement in place
Director, Building Administration
Original employee in place
Director, Finance
Original employee – departed
Replacement in place
Director, Parks & Recreation
Original employee in place
Bonus Question: Integrity Commissioner
D. Nitkin – Contract “Terminated”
D. Tsubouchi
By our count, the town has lost 8 people from 6 senior management positions; we now have new faces in 6 of 8 positions with only 2 of 8 original employees still in place.
Each of the original employees had years of experience at their role providing the town with their expertise. This expertise and corporate memory have been lost.
Now of course Mr Poppe will again demand to know which ones left “because of the actions of the current Council“.
It’s a surprising question coming from someone who claims to be a lawyer. If so, he should know that when leaving a place of employment it is not advisable to make claims like “I left because of the boss”. It reflects poorly on your character when seeking future employment and opens the door to possible legal action, something this Council has a reputation for.
Plus, departing staff had too much class to make such statements — something the current members of Council could learn from.
We simply offer the facts and invite you to draw your own conclusion.
However, Mayor Phyllis Morris dismisses the results of the survey, saying it only represents a small fraction of the total number of businesses in the town as only federation members were polled, she said.
“As the mayor, I serve more than just small business; I serve the entire community, large employers and taxpayers, as well as the residents of Aurora,” Mrs. Morris said.
The town has been doing a great deal to improve things for businesses, she said, from declaring 2009 as the Year of Business Initiative to developing a business retention and expansion strategy and launching a new economic development website and newsletter.
It sounds like she doesn’t care about the Aurora businesses that responded to the poll. Perhaps they are the now vacant businesses lining both sides of Yonge near Wellington.
And yes we already know that you represent others in Aurora, what’s your point? Does this mean you are to ignore this study?
And so, how is this “business retention and expansion strategy and launching a new economic development website and newsletter” working for you? Any results? It may appear to be good to “push” this out but what has it produced? Where are the numbers of new companies, new jobs, new businesses, new results.,,,
In contrast, in the same article Newmarket’s Mayor states:
“There is always an opportunity for improvement,” Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen said. “I am proud of the fact that we ranked the highest in the awareness category in the GTA.
As for the dissatisfaction expressed about the control over government wages, he is not turning a blind eye, as he believes the town should improve communication surrounding the calculation of wages.
Also from the article:
Based on the results of the surveys the federation (Canadian Federation of Independent Business) said towns must do better with their business communication.
“Small businesses are the backbone of their local communities,” federation Ontario vice-president Satinder Chera said. “These results are a wake-up call for local leaders who need to become more engaged in addressing the local issues that matter to small business”.
Appears to be different results and approaches between Aurora and Newmarket.
What’s your opinion?
P.S. I recognize for all the AC does, we are in fact feeding into the Mayor’s hands as to how she needs to improve, but I guess it’s OK since she never reads this does she?
Aurora Citizen 