COURTS, ELECTION EXPENSES & COVERUPS

Today's history lesson is from the October 1, 2015 Woolwich Observer newspaper and from the October 2, 2015 Waterloo Region Record. The first is a cartoon showing me standing behind the counter in the Municipal building saying hello while pretend mayor Sandy Shantz is in a backroom flushing money labelled "Useless Legal Expenses" down the toilet. While it's a funny cartoon it does somewhat attempt to diminish the seriousness of multiple local (Woolwich) politicians playing fast and loose with the Municipal Elections Act for many, many years. They had gotten so comfortable with their tame Municpal Clerk knowing her place that they simply made up their own election rules as they went including Mark Bauman not eveb filing any Financial Statements multiple times. And the Clerk who is entrusted to provide at least a modicum of supervision simply went along with it. She even told me that some of the illegalities "...were a Woolwich tradition" as if that excused them. ........................................................................................................................................ The second article (Oct.2/15) is written by Paige Desmond of the Record and is titled "Woolwich Mayor Shantz's court date delayed to Oct. 28 due to mix-up". Boy does that describe the pathetic and pitiful court processes and procedures that I stepped into in attempting to hold the mayor (pretend) and two other councillors accountable. Disorganized, woefully uninformed and grossly user unfriendly. A complete waste of any citizen's time who is trying to get election laws enforced in this stupid province. Neither Justices of the Peace, clerks, staff, lawyers , prosecuters or anybody seemed to know or care what the Municipal Elections Act (MEA) insisted upon. Why do our legislaters pass laws at any level that they will not enforce nor will they properly assist citizens who have stepped up and exercised their legal right to lay a charge? From Superior Court in Kitchener to criminal court to Provincial Offences court it was a huge waste of time due to the incompetence and apathy of those involved to seriously examine the facts and the evidence. Keep in mind the only reason I went to court is because the municipal system of MECAC (Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee) was nothing but an old boys and girls club made up of former municpal politicians rallying around current politicians all of whom likely misbehaved exactly the same when in office. What a joke!