OVERWHELMING ARROGANCE

Is there a better term to describe a Mayor who would appoint a panel of intelligent, worldly citizens to a very difficult committee with the expectation that he and he alone could absolutely control their decisions, their direction and their conclusions? Did he believe that by unilaterally cancelling both private orientation meetings as well as public CPAC meetings that he could continually keep them off balance? Did his control of the process through appointing himself Interim Chair make him feel omnipotent and invincible? This process includes Agenda items, Minutes and whether or not to reschedule meetings. Finally did his removal of one of his appointees early on (last May) make him think he had intimidated the rest of them? What an absolute ... he has shown himself to be.

The question is why. If he believed that the old CPAC were co-opted and had strayed from their mandate of restoring the Elmira drinking water aquifers; then why is he behaving badly and treating this CPAC disrespectfully? In hindsight I believe that he got rid of the old entrenched CPAC members because he knew he couldn't control them. His private reason given to me and others was indeed correct and a good one but not his real reason. His disrespect and ... behaviour towards the new CPAC extends further than what I have written here today or in the past. In my opinion his arrogance and disrespect have put him on a collision course with his own handpicked Chemtura Public Advisory Committee. These are honest, intelligent people who sincerely want to fulfill their mandate. This includes working in the public interest regarding cleaning up the local aquifers. They are not interested in saving Chemtura money nor in saving face for the Ministry of the Environment.

On two (Editor's note: now appears to be only one) occasions within the last eight days the Mayor has indicated that he is not on board with the notion that the October 7, 1991 Settlement Agreement is also a blatant sweetheart deal which indemnifies Chemtura from liability for their decades of local pollution. He may be misleading CPAC by claiming that the silence and secrecy he has demanded around this sweetheart deal is for the purpose of quietly negotiating with the M.O.E. in order to gain concessions. Horsefeathers ! What I believe he is doing is helping them and Chemtura prepare their defence for the March 29/12 public CPAC meeting. I have been e-mailing advice and observations concerning the November 1991 Control Order and the Settlement Agreement to both CPAC members as well as the local media. I have not been including the Mayor in my e-mails. Chemtura and the M.O.E. have money and decades of manipulation under their belts. They don't need any other help.