I attended the Council meeting Tuesday evening (Sept 14), as the Library was presenting its Strategic Plan to Council. As a Board member, and unabashed booster of the Library, I was there to support the Board Chair, Michael Thompson, and CEO, Louise Procter Maio. Unfortunately Rogers Cable was not there to record the proceedings.

For, this Council meeting was a perfect example of why Aurora needs a change – and why all Council meetings need to be automatically recorded and be made available in real-time Video / Audio streaming.

One of the first orders of business of a Council in general, is to approve the minutes from the previous meeting (s). It seems that one of the first orders of business of this Council however so to “correct” the previous minutes. This was done again last night – specifically to correct how Councillor MacEachern’s negative vote was recorded during the Integrity Commissioner fiasco(  www.geoffdawe.com/the-integrity-commissioner-fiasco  ). The intent was to add a notation to the minutes as to why Councillor MacEachern’s vote was negative.

(Councillor MacEachern declared an “interest” in the proceedings – not a conflict of interest, but an interest, as she was the one who filed the complaint, and therefore abstained from voting.)

This of course degenerated into yet another procedural battle when it turned out the Town Procedural By-law did not support this action, and neither does the Municipal Act. Both the procedural by-law and the Municipal Act are quite clear – abstentions are counted as negative votes. That’s what was in the “un edited” minutes. The procedural by-law and Municipal Act require the minutes to be taken “…without note or comment”. Funny how this council seems to feel they can make the rules up as they go

The kicker? The Mayor NEVER CALLED THE VOTE. 

Yes, after much “tooing” and “froing”, and references to the Procedural By-law and the Municipal Act, the Mayor was obviously flustered and just moved on to the next item without calling the vote. This was noticed by members of the public; it was obvious that certain Councillors picked up on this (you can probably guess which ones); it was obvious that the Clerk picked up on it.

It is not obvious why no one said anything.

It will be interesting to see how these minutes are recorded, and then if they need “correcting” at the next Council meeting!

My Perspective

I’m almost not sure what my perspective is, because it’s almost too difficult to comprehend the lack of understanding and / or the inability of our Mayor to follow the basic rules of procedure.

If elected as Mayor of Aurora, we will follow procedure and we will get things done!

In this week’s edition of The Auroran www.theauroran.com/, Brad Snell, of Newmarket, expresses an opinion (letter, page 6 "It's too early for election signs") that my election signs went out too early, in contravention of un-cited provisions in the Municipal Act, as well as un-cited provisions in “certain bylaws in Newmarket, Markham, as well as Whitchurch-Stouffville”

As detailed in my previous post, http://www.geoffdawe.com/invasion-of-the-election-sign , I verified with Mr. John Popple, Manager of By-law services, Town of Aurora, that the placement of my signs was fully in compliance with the rules and regulations that govern Aurora.

It is a disservice to the residents of Aurora to infer wrong doing in Aurora based on provisions from other Municipalities. Mr. Snell may want to give a more detailed reading to the Town of Aurora by-law number 4897-07 so that he will have a proper reference.

My previous post on canvassing at the Farmers’ Market addressed the fact that “overt political canvassing” is prohibited by the Farmers’ Market Constitution.

I have attempted to track down a copy of this constitution, but have not yet been successful. Strangely enough, the only references I have been able to find are in the blog-o-sphere (http://auroracitizen.ca & http://christopherwatts.posterous.com/)

I have also written to the Town requesting clarification on their rules.

I will keep trying to get a copy of the constitution.

Perhaps someone from the Farmers' Market would be so kind as send me a copy of the Constitution and a copy of the minutes from the meeting where it was passed. 

I will be at the Market Saturday morning – canvassing as appropriate.

For some reason, a quote from Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797) just popped into my mind: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” (it should be noted that there are many variations on this quote, but the meanings are the same).

There has been some discussion in the blog-o-sphere on canvassing at the market in general and an incident that happened to me in particular.

I was at the Market on Saturday morning, with a couple of supporters, wearing our distinctive “Let’s put the Aura back in Aurora” T-Shirts. We did have campaign literature, although we were not being overly aggressive in handing it out.

I was on my way to get my Green River coffee when I was stopped by Jan Freeman, who introduced herself as a member of the Farmers’ Market Board. Jan very politely advised me that the Farmers’ Market Constitution forbid overt political campaigning in the Market proper.

I commented that while I was aware of the constitution, I had not actually read the constitution, to which Jan remarked “why would you”.

I chose to put my literature away. There was a bit of a discussion as to whether T-Shirts were even allowed, but then where do you draw the line – what about buttons and hats?

My Perspective

I see 3 distinct issues here.

The first one is the applicability of the policy to all parties. Ms. Morris is a constant figure at the Market and she is not conducting any duties associated with her office. I doubt that she is just passing the time of day. However, since I did not see anyone else handing out literature, I will assume that the policy is being equally applied.

Secondly, it raised the question on whether any Community group has the right to create rules that override those of the Town. I am aware of no by-law that forbids campaigning on public grounds (with the exception of polling locations the day of the election).

The last, and in my opinion, the more important issue, is respect. I was advised that I was breaking the rules and I chose to honour those rules -- regardless of whether or not I agree with them. One of my main issues has been the general lack of respect – for rules and for people - demonstrated by the past Mayor and Council. There is precious little reason for me to talk about that issue if I don’t live it.

My Commitment

Respect has been missing in the political landscape these last 4 years. If I am elected Mayor, I am determine to lead by example and re-introduce respect as a foundational element of Council and our relationships with staff and stakeholders -- regardless of their opinions.

Whether campaigning or as elected representatives of this community, I expect others to exhibit the same respect for rules.

Our Geoff Dawe for Mayor canvassing teams hit the streets Friday night and Saturday morning, wearing their very distinctive Gold and Black “Let’s put the AURA back in Aurora” T-shirts!

(My sincere thanks for your help – especially the volunteers who braved a very chilly Saturday morning.)

And, the reception was very positive. It is obvious that there is a real desire for change. 

Not change for the sake of change, but change that brings back a culture of respect to Aurora politics.

If you would like to help us (and, be the proud owner of one of these very select T-Shirts), please click here to sign up as a Volunteer!

And, then, together, we can put the AURA back in Aurora!