WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP INTERFERENCE WITH CPAC

Today's posting deals with municipal interference in what is advertised as an independent citizens' committee. This interference is not restricted to just Woolwich but is a fact of life with all committees of council. Politicians at all levels do not delegate power and authority. They do however delegate work as well as blame. The purpose is to allow an arms length "independent" group of citizens to appear to be influencing and participating in all decisions. The reality is considerably different.

The purpose of today's overdue posting is multifold. One, paraphrasing my friend Richard Clausi, sometimes the watchdog has to do more than bark; he has to bite. I have been disrespected and insulted by Woolwich Council although two of the councillors were misinformed and misled by their colleagues. I have waited patiently for the Mayor to either make amends or to rectify his petty behaviour of two years ago. Instead he continues it as I indicated here a couple of Saturdays ago with the demand that I drop the Elmira Advocate before he'll agree to put me back on the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC). The problem with a Mayor who has been described by a friend as not being a liar, simply someone who tells people what they want to hear; is if I was dumb enough to end the Advocate he would likely renege. His condition was told to two of his friends simply to keep them satisfied that he was amenable to my reinstatement.

Another purpose of my letting the cat out of the bag as to the extreme control the Mayor has attempted to exercise over CPAC is to let the public know how fragile the underpinnings of public consultation really are. Currently there is a request before CPAC to reexamine their Terms of Reference. I have written here before and have spoken to CPAC & SWAT (Soil, Water, Air, Technical) as recently as yesterday as to the nonsense that is in those TOR which fortunately has been ignored by both past and present councils and CPACs.

The third purpose is this: this current CPAC have proven themselves to be extremely resilient and extremely fair and balanced in their approach to various hostile and unfriendly forces. Whether it is in the manipulative, disrespectful and rude behaviour of Chemtura towards CPAC's Chair just before Christmas at a council meeting, or attempts at bullying by the mayor, this CPAC have soldiered on. Credit must go to their internal fortitude, self confidence and keeping their eye on the ball.

So what further horrible behaviour has our mayor induged in? Well after the resignation of Councillor Herteis as CPAC Chair back in the spring of 2011, Mayor Cowan appointed himself Chair. Overall he did a pretty good job at public CPAC meetings. He did however have two public outbursts with a CPAC member but she put him in his place both times and it looked good on him. Way to go Vivienne. Behind the scenes he fashioned himself to be a dictatorial tyrant. He brooked no disagreement from CPAC members and the final straw occurred last spring (2012) in a private meeting with them when he threatened to dismiss the entire committee. This did not go well for Mayor Cowan. CPAC were not cowed and went on the offense immediately. He was told in no uncertain terms as to what he was and what he was in for if he attempted such a disgusting stunt. Yours truly got involved and made a phone call to one Woolwich Councillor who did his due diligence. Keep in mind that Mayor Cowan had stated that he would be an interim CPAC Chair only, a year earlier. As a result he resigned as CPAC Chair and Councillor Bauman stepped in as the council representative on CPAC. It was a face saving device that solved CPAC's problem without publicly blowing up the mayor.

There is a moral in all of this. CPAC prevailed and are stronger and tougher. Woolwich Council, with or without all the dirty details, reacted properly. The mayor was removed (resigned???) and Dr. Dan Holt became the new Chair. Here is the irony in all of this. I am still glad that Mayor Cowan defeated Bill Strauss and Pat Mclean in the last election. At this point in time I still think I would support him for a second term depending on who he's running against. That being said he has feet of clay and I will not look the other way nor stay silent when he behaves badly. The public have a right to know and if he thinks otherwise then he'd better get out of politics.