I’M BILL LONGWORTH, AND I’M SPEAKING HERE TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF VOTES---AN ACRONYM FOR “VOTE TO ELIMINATE SELF-SERVING POLITICIANS” AND OUR WEBSITE IS WWW.OSHAWASPEAKS.CA….I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO CHECK IT REGULARLY
THE ISSUE OF RETURNING TO THE GENERAL VOTE IS MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FACING THIS COUNCIL
COUNCIL’S PUSH FOR A GENERAL VOTE IS IRRESONSIBLE AND UNDEMOCRATIC AND CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED BY ANY STUDENT OF MUNICIPAL POLITICS OR BY ANYONE WHO KNOWS THE HISTORY OF OSHAWA’S GENERAL VOTE
WARD VOTING IS BEST…THAT’S WHY IT’S USED IN VIRTUALLY EVERY JURISDICTION IN THE COUNTRY
PEOPLE EXPECT HONEST AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THIS CITY…IF SOMETHING IS JUDGED TO NOT BE BEST THIS CITY, THEN VOTERS EXPECT YOU TO OPPOSE IT. YOU CANNOT SAY WARD VOTING IS BEST AS MANY MEMBERS HAVE DONE AND THEN VOTE AGAINST IT. THIS SPIN IS NOT GOING TO IMPRESS THE VOTERS OR THE VOTES GROUP. WE EXPECT YOU TO SUPPORT WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE BEST. VOTERS WILL NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING ELSE. THIS IS THE TRUST OSHAWA PEOPLE PUT IN YOU BY YOUR ELECTION….DON’T LET THEM DOWN. VOTING CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE BEST FOR OSHAWA IS IRRESPONSIBLE, UNPRINCIPLED, AND DISHONEST AND DESERVE NEITHER THE RESPECT NOR THE SUPPORT OF VOTERS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE…YET THE GENERAL VOTE GIVES LOCAL POLITICIANS CONSTITUENCIES LARGER THAN EITHER THE FEDERAL OR PROVINCIAL MEMBERS
IN THE END, THE PUSH FOR THE GENERAL VOTE IS GOING TO BACKFIRE ON THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS BEHIND THE MOVE AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THE CHANGE.
1985 OMB FINDING SAID, “ANY CHANGE TO THE EXISTING SYSTEM WHICH WOULD APPEAR TO BE OPERATING FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENTIRE CITY WOULD HAVE TO BE BASED ON SOME CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF INEFFICIENCIES OR RATEPAYER DISSATISFACTION ON A LARGE AND WELL-INFORMED BASIS. (PG. 13)
THE WARD SYSTEM WAS WORKING WELL FOR OSHAWA IN MAKING IT A VIBRANT PLACE AND THERE WAS NOT A WHIMPER OF RATEPAYER DISSATISFACTION…AND COUNCIL DID NOT SUFFICIENTLY INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE REFERENDUM QUESTION OR RATIONALE FOR A CHANGE….
THEREFORE THE REFERENDUM RESULTS SHOULD CARRY NO WEIGHT.
* ONLY 15% OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS VOTED FOR A CHANGE, AND
* I BELIEVE MANY OF THESE WERE CONFUSED BY THE CONVOLUTED QUESTION THAT REQUIRED THEM TO VOTE “NO” TO RETAIN WARD VOTING, AND
* VOTERS MAY BE EXPERT IN THEIR FIELD…BUT HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT CONCEPTS OF GENERAL OR WARD VOTE (2 DOCTORS I TALKED TO DIDN’T UNDERSTAND CONCEPT)
* THE STAFF REPORT ON THE REFERENDUM CLEARLY STATED THAT “THE RESULT INDICATED NO CLEAR MANDATE FOR CHANGE”---AND THIS IS THE fact COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE HEEDED
ALL OF THE INITIATIVE FOR CHANGE CAME FROM CITY COUNCIL AND IS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POLITICIANS, NOT THE PEOPLE…WE ELECT YOU TO SERVE THE PEOPLE, NOT TO SERVE YOURSELVES.
COUNCIL’S ACTION IS GOING TO RESULT IN A “REVOLUTION OF ILL-WILL” TOWARD THIS COUNCIL …PUBLIC SENTIMENT IS GOING TO EXPLODE AT THE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC MOVE IN PUSHING FOR THE GENERAL VOTE…A MOVE THAT IS BEING INCREASINGLY SEEN AS “SELF-SERVING” FOR THE POLITICIANS IN INSURING THEIR LIFE TIME SEATS ON COUNCIL
IF COUNCIL ATTEMPTS TO IMPLEMENT A GENERAL VOTE TO AVOID AN OMB APPEAL WITH THE METHOD SUGGESTED IN THE STAFF REPORT YOU RECEIVED TONIGHT, I WILL STILL APPEAL TO THE OMB BASED ON THE ARGUMENT THAT BECAUSE WARDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH VOTING BY TRADITION AND BY PRACTICE IN OSHAWA SINCE 1985, THAT A GENERAL VOTE FOR FUNCTIONAL PURPOSES WOULD DISSOLVE ALL WARDS IN FAVOUR OF ONE WHICH WE WILL ARGUE IS A CHANGE IN WARD BOUNDARIES
IF YOU ARE DOING WHAT IS RIGHT AND BEST FOR OSHAWA, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE FROM AN OMB APPEAL…WANTING TO AVOID A HEARING BY THE INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE OMB CASTS A DARK SHADOW ON COUNCIL’S ACTIONS AND WILL RAISE MORE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS IN THE MINDS OF VOTERS.
AT ANY OMB HEARING WE SHALL ALSO TRY TO REDUCE COUNCIL POSITIONS BY 3 BY ELIMINATING LOCAL COUNCIL POSITIONS…THE 1972 PROVINCIAL REPORT SETTING UP REGIONAL GOV’T SUGGESTED THAT IT WAS DESIREABLE TO REDUCE THE # OF PEOPLE SITTING ON LOCAL COUNCILS WHO ARE NOT ALSO SITTING ON REGIONAL COUNCIL
VOTES—VOTE TO ELIMINATE SELF-SERVING POLITICIANS
GROUP FORMED WITH 2 OBJECTIVES
* FIGHT TO RETURN WARD VOTING FOR OSHAWA
* ORGANIZE COMMUNITIES TO DEFEAT POLITICIANS WHO CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR GENERAL VOTE
* IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT OSHAWA DOES HAVE A GENERAL VOTE IN THE NEXT ELECTION, WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO STRATEGIZE TOWARD ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL RUN A “VOTES TEAM” ACROSS THE CITY TO RETURN THE DEMOCRATIC WARD VOTE TO OSHAWA…IN THE LIKELY EVENT OF WARD ELECTIONS WE WILL ORGANIZE TO DEFEAT THOSE POLITICIANS WHO HAVE PROVEN TO BE SELF-SERVING
WEBSITE http://www.oshawaspeaks.ca/ WILL BE ACTIVE VOICE OF THE VOTES MOVEMENT…ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK IN REGULARLY. YOU’LL FIND TEXT OF THIS PRESENTATION THERE!
THE ORGANIZATION AND WEBSITE WILL OPERATE THROUGHOUT THIS TERM OF COUNCIL TO INFORM AND ORGANIZE CITIZENS TO DEFEAT SELF SERVING POLITICIANS, AND WILL BECOME THE PRIME CLEARING HOUSE OF CITY POLITICAL NEWS AND OPINION
OSHAWA HAD THE GENERALA VOTE FROM 1933-85…LET’S LOOK THE DEVASTATING RESULTS THE GENERAL VOTE BROUGHT OSHAWA
* LAST GENERAL VOTE BALLOT WAS 11 X 14 WITH CLOSE TO 100 NAMES...HOW COULD VOTERS MAKE AN INFORMED VOTE EXCEPT TO VOTE FOR FAMILIAR NAMES…REASON WHY GENERAL VOTE LEADS TO NO CHANGE
* MOST OF COUNCIL CAME FROM SMALL POCKETS OF THE CITY LEAVING LARGE AREAS UNREPRESENTED FOR YEARS (7 ELECTIONS PRIOR TO WARD VOTE ELECTED TOTAL OF 109 ALDERMEN….NOT ONE OF THESE POLITICIANS FROM SOUTH OF KING STREET…ACCORDING TO OMB, OSHAWA VIRTUALLY HAD A “NORTH END” COUNCIL---8 MEMBERS LIVED IN OLD WARD 6 AND ADDITIONAL 3 MEMBERS LIVED IN ONE POLLING SUBDIVISION AT THE END OF REGENT STREET IN WARD 3
* FROM OMB FINDING…IN THE 7 ELECTIONS LEADING UP TO 1985, A TOTAL OF 109 SEATS WERE CONTESTED AND 3 OF 7 WARDS HAD NOT BEEN REPRESENTED AT ALL DURING THAT TIME---OSHAWA HAD A NORTH END COUNCIL.
* VIRTUALLY ALL CHANGE TOOK PLACE THROUGH DEATH OR RESIGNATION
* COUNCIL WAS VERY FRACTIOUS AS MEMBERS FOUGHT AND ARGUED WITH EACH OTHER IN SEEKING PRESS TO PROMOTE NAME RECOGNITION
* UNPRODUCTIVE COUNCIL…SO NOTHING HAPPENED IN OSHAWA…NO LEADERSHIP FROM COUNCIL…WHEN EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING, NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING ….GIVE WORK ANALOGY….GIVES INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
* GENERAL VOTE PUTS GREATER INFLUENCE IN HANDS OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS RATHER THAN TO INDIVIDUAL VOTERS…THEREFORE POLITICIANS MORE ACTIVELY PROMOTE THE AGENDAS OF THE LARGE ORGANIZATIONS.
WARD VOTING PROVIDES SUCCESS TO POLITICIANS WHO SERVE THE RESIDENTS OF THEIR WARD AND REQUIRES ACTIVE CAMPAIGNING AT ELECTION TIME….IT REQUIRES ENERGY AND HARD WORK….INTERESTING THE IDEA TO ADVANCE THE GENERAL VOTE WAS MOVED BY COUNCILLOR PIDWERBECKI AND SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR KOLODZIE, THE 2 OLDEST MEMBERS OF THE LAST COUNCIL WHICH ADVANCED THE IDEA….THESE ARE THE VERY MEMBERS THAT WILL FIND IT MOST DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE TO CAMPAIGN DOOR-TO-DOOR IN WARD ELECTIONS...BUT THE GENERAL VOTE WILL VIRTUALLY GUARANTEE THEM A LIFETIME SEAT ON COUNCIL WITH THE NEED FOR MINIMAL CAMPAIGNING AT ELECTION TIMES AND MINIMAL EFFORTS TOWARD CONSTITUENCY WORK...A PLUM JOB IF YOU CAN GET IT!
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