City Hall is scramblinginto Big Brother"Thought Control" Mode

VOTES REQUEST TO
ADVERTISE IN LEGEND'S CENTRE

From: Bill Longworth
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 4:29 PM
To: Percy Luther, City Hall
Subject: Price for attached Advertising sign in Legends Centre


Please provide a price for a 2 ft x 3 ft advertising sign in the Legend's Centre identical in price and conditions to the Colin Carrie sign mounted there. The sign would have the message attached.

Bill Longworth,
www.oshawaspeaks.ca




CITY REFUSES VOTES POLITICAL ADVERTISING

Subject: Price for attached Advertising sign in Legends Centre
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:26:22 -0500
From: staff name removed@oshawa.ca
To: bill_longworth@hotmail.com


Thank you for your interest in advertising at the Legends Centre. Your request to purchase a 2’ x 3’ sign at the Legends Centre has been declined as the proposed messaging does not meet the criteria outlined in the City Sponsorship, Advertising & Donations Policy. Specifically, your proposed sign is not “consistent with the vision, policies and goals of the City of Oshawa” and “The City reserves the right to reject any or all unsolicited sponsorships, advertising and donations offered to the City and to reject any and all proposals”.

Regards,
Staff name removed





MY RESPONSE TO CITY REFUSAL
TO ACCEPT "VOTES" ADVERTISING


CITY REFUSES POLITICAL ADVERTISING IN LEGEND'S CENTRE BECAUSE IT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE CONTENT BUT ACCEPTS POLITICAL ADVERTISING WHERE IT DOES SUPPORT THE CONTENT...THEY WANT TO CONTROL THE POLITICAL MESSAGES CITIZEN'S RECEIVE!

THEY WANT TO BE YOUR "BIG BROTHER"


...But controlling the message you receive is nothing new for city council...remember they asked you a plebiscite question about voting reform and then refused to tell you what the question meant, why it was asked, or what its impact on the city would be....REMEMBER?


To: Mayor and Council--RE: Price for attached Advertising sign in Legends Centre‏
From: Bill Longworth
Sent: November 12, 2008 2:57:46 PM


To the Mayor and Council,
To writer of correspondence above...name removed


Please forward a copy of the city's Sponsorship, Advertising & Donations Policy along with the date it was enacted along with any revision dates.

In previous communications on Oct. 3, 2008, you suggested that Colin Carrie's sign in the Legend's Centre adhered to the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards without any reference to the existence of any controlling city policy and thus implied advertising was acceptable if it applied to that standard. My sign, though politicians do not like its content, does conform with that standard.

In my return correspondence to you I stated that, and I quote from the letter, "I am also interested to know whether advertising in public buildings is subject to any policies developed by the city and approved by council. If there are no such policies, I would judge this to be a severe shortcoming in civic political and administrative leadership." I didn't hear from you and thus assumed, and still do, that there was no such city policy.

In my Oct. 2 response to Percy Luther to a letter I received from him that same day, I questioned advertising standards in the city in which I stated, and I quote, "If there are no advertising guidelines, this demonstates a serious deficiency in staff and political leadership in Oshawa." Again, I was not alerted to any policy guiding advertising in city facilities. Again, I assumed, and still do, that there was no city policy.

Despite two queries from me about city advertising standards, this is the first indication that there "may" be a policy. The title of this document though suggests that it applies to the city sponsoring, advertising, and donating, rather than the public advertising in city facilities.

In a public building purchased, operated, and managed with city taxpayer dollars, if the city is going to allow any political advertising, then it cannot discriminate against political signage simply because city politicians do not like its content. That is like refusing political signs from a political party because city politicians and/or staff do not support the political party philosophy, and thus will shield taxpayer's from it, but do accept advertising from political parties favoured by city politicians and staff, and will confront the public with it. In a public building you cannot refuse my sign and accept a political sign from the area MP because his office/philosophy, as you suggest by accepting his advertising, is "consistent with the vision, policies and goals of the City of Oshawa.”

I await reconsideration of my request to advertise in the Legend's Centre and I await receipt of the city's Sponsorship, Advertising & Donations Policy.

Bill Longworth,
www.oshawaspeaks.ca