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Rough ride for Guergis at Elmvale meeting

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In Springwater
Oct 13th, 2010
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By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe October 13 2010
Elmvale gave its mayor a rough ride last night
One questioner suggested Tony Guergis not bother answering his question because there was no point in his “even being here.”
Another, asking about the extra $250,000 Simcoe County Council allocated for public relations last year, advised him to “get lost.”

Guergis had distanced himself from the PR expenditure, stating that it was a resolution put on the floor by the mayor of Tiny Township in order to “heal” the community in the wake of the Site 41 battle.
It wasn’t for healing, the questioner shot back, “It was to improve your image… so you can be elected! We don’t want to elect you any time! Get lost!”
For the record, although Mayor Peggy Breckenridge was a strong advocate of hiring multi-national public relations firm Fleishman Hillard to supplement the $1.2 million efforts of the county communications staff, she did not put forward a resolution on the subject.
There were two resolutions – one after a behind closed-doors discussion on the evening of the moratorium vote August 25, 2009, that was moved by Adjala-Tosorontio Deputy Mayor Doug Litte, seconded by Innisfil Mayor Brian Jackson. The motion gave no clue as to the subject. It approved a “Confidential County Officer’s Item CO 09-032, regarding security of the property of the municipality and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.”
That this actually meant hiring a PR firm came to light a couple of weeks later and at the September 22, 2009 county council meeting, after some more in-camera juggling, another  resolution was moved by Wasaga Beach Mayor Cal Patterson and seconded by Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White.
(Link to the stopdumpsite41 website for this and other key votes.)
The PR question was fully addressed at last week’s all-candidates’ meeting in Minesing and the other mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates were unequivocal in rejecting this approach to communicating with the electorate.
“There’s public relations and there’s advertising and there’s information,” said Bill French. “I don’t think there’s any appropriate amount of money that should be spent on public relations.”
Guergis had suggested that there’s a need to inform county residents of vital services like the paramedic service or social services and French agreed – but, he said, not through expensive full-colour publications “because they’re not competing with anyone.”
“We shouldn’t have to spend that much money to tell the public that we’re doing it,” said Linda Collins, urging better use of websites. But the best communication, she said, should be done by councillors. “We are the ambassadors .. and people do like the personal contact.”
It’s a question of transparency, said Alison McLeod, one of the two candidates for deputy mayor. “It’s very simple to have that happen.”
Dan McLean, a retired provincial bureaucrat, said he didn’t agree with the $250,000 item and added: “Bureaucracy is out of control, there’s too many senior officials in the county government that are dictating to the councillors that are on council, telling them how the county should be run. It’s got to be the other way round.”
Quick points
-Guergis brings two documents to meetings – the first, an economic development strategy prepared by consultant Millier Dickinson Blais that he says he has presented to 13 different provincial ministries and two federal ministries. The second, a community campus strategy to save Elmvale District High School that he developed with his daughter and that he says Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky wants to use as a model across the province.
-Neither French nor Collins see any between the role of mayor and the role of county councillor or warden. “I’ve no ambition to be warden and I believe your integrity should be your backbone regardless of what position you take on,” said Collins. “If I make a commitment at the township level I don’t care what’s happening at the county level,” French said. “Whatever you tell the people when you’re campaigning, if you can’t stand up for it, no matter what the office is, you shouldn’t be running for any position.”
-On solar farms, French dislikes mega-projects and wants to “push back” on the province’s abolition of municipal approval for Green Energy Act projects. Collins is looking to “our planning department to get a voice for us.” Guergis is a “huge supporter of solar energy. I would love to see as much of it as we can in the appropriate location.”
-All candidates at the meeting (mayor, deputy mayor, wards 1 and 2) agreed with the idea of having a question period for the public at council meetings.
-Dan McLean said he will push for a “zero increase” to the Springwater budget in 2011 and no more than 2 per cent in 2012 – and promised to resign if he votes any other way.
There are two more all-candidates’ meetings in Springwater. Tonight, Wednesday October 13, 7:30 Midhurst Community Hall, Doran Rd. Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors Ward 5, school board and tomorrow, Thursday October 14, 7:30 Orr Lake Golf Club, Councillors Ward 1 and 2, school board Sponsored by the Orr Lake Ratepayers Association.

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