COLOURFUL TOWNSHIP MAYORS

Oh boy, here comes a little bit of stereotyping. Mayors, M.P.P.s. M.P.s etc. of larger communities i.e. cities tend to be a little smoother and more polished than those of our rural communities. I'm particularly thinking of former Mayor Bill Strauss up here in the wilds of Woolwich Township. Easily forgotten is his extensive business background in the petroleum industry. Easily remembered is his less than smoothest public presentations and speeches. In one sense, likely a major sense, we elect our politicians more on how they look and sound than on their qualifications. "Qualifications" not just of education, experience, volunteer work but also of class, colour, appearance, dress, speech and gender. Clearly locally reasonably attractive and short men have no problem getting elected and similarly reasonably attractive females can get elected.

What I'm wondering is if Mayor Les Armstrong of Wilmot Township fills the mold of a less smooth, more blunt talking individual getting elected as Mayor than would likely happen in Kitchener, Waterloo or Cambridge. I don't know the man personally however I do know that his words in Saturday's Waterloo Region Record were not smooth or as politically correct as were many of his colleagues. Colleagues whom I do know and do not particularly care for. Unfortunately for Mayor Armstrong, today's Record article is even more damaging for him as it turns out that he posted a video on Facebook framed with the title of "White Lives Matter". Oh boy! That is not good. Regional Chair Karen Redman has referred to Mr. Armstrong's posting as being "reprehensible and tone deaf". Well I certainly have no doubt that it is tone deaf. I would find it reprehensible if in fact he was not tone deaf and fully realized the implications of his posting that video. If he's just not keeping up to what's going on in the U.S. and the world right now then maybe he could claim that he wasn't agreeing or disagreeing with the video and simply passing along a different viewpoint. Something like former mayor Todd Cowan's defence in court that he was both dyslexic and not very knowledgeable about numbers, budgets etc. That is one hell of a defence to a Fraud charge when one's job includes being a guardian of the public purse.

Coincidentally I put Mr. Armstrong in the naughty column here in my post on Saturday in regards to his quoted position regarding defunding the Waterloo Regional Police and putting the money instead directly towards social programs including poverty, employment issues, racism etc. Today's article in the Record is titled "Wilmot mayor unapologetic for sharing "White Lives Matter" video". I hate to praise smooth talking horse manure artists (most politicians) but sometimes they actually do need to listen carefully and then spout what most of the public want to hear even if they themselves (politicians) disagree with it. At least that is if they want to get re-elected which is the raison d'etre (reason to be/purpose) of most of them.