Overheard in the Oshawa City Hall Corridors of Power

"Okay Counselors…listen up you guys. Hey Tweedle Dumb! Listen up!!… We got another big night tonight. Our city council meetings gonna be on Rogers Cable TV. We gotta look and sound our best."

"Let’s have a little warmup. We need to rehearse our lines. After all this is prime Oshawa entertainment---it's reality TV--Oshawa style"

"Hey Counselor Tweedle Dumb--stop singing that stupid song, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have you any ideas for tonight’s meeting? Of course we got ideas…Let’s see--Eenny Meeny Miny Mo…that’s it! We gonna introduce the idea of returning to the general vote. That’ll be some interesting time filler for our meetings. If we work at it, we can probably keep this issue hot for most of the term."

"That’s great Boss, It's sort of, like, abstract for us. It’ll fill up our time for council meetings so we don’t have to, like, come up with new ideas all the time. The people won’t really understand the impact of what we're talking about. They’ll think, like, we’re philosopher kings or something. They’ll think we’re, like, really smart--ahead of our time. Even, like, ahead of Canada. They’ll think that we’re so progressive, like, setting the pace for the country."

"That’s right Tweedle Dumber!"

"But Boss… wouldn’t having a general vote result in very expensive city-wide elections that would prohibit all but the rich from becoming candidates. And wouldn’t that result in all of council members coming from just a few of the richest areas in Oshawa. And Boss, how would we handle all of the issues arising from the different neighbourhoods in Oshawa if we are no longer elected by the different neighbourhoods."

"Well it is true that long term there are a few problems with the general vote. But why are you interested in that? Aren’t you more interested in having your seat as long as you want it without any competition…or being accountable to neighbourhoods for solving their problems. That takes up a lot of time. Besides, if you are really interested in looking after neighbourhood problems, I guess we put names of those who want to continue to do this in a hat and draw lots. As for the campaign cost, you're on council. Just vote the right way for developers and they'll reward you with cash to pay for your election."

"But Boss....Duh, Duh, we had de general vote 'fore 1985. Duh, Duh, It didn’t work out too good for Oshawa back den. The people not like it and so they kicked dee idea out. Duh, Duh, We not go back to that can we?"

"Sure we can Councillor Joe. That was close to 25 years ago and people won’t remember that it didn’t work. They won’t remember that Oshawa was a “do-nothing" place and so no one wanted to live here and so housing prices bombed. They won’t remember that Oshawa was such an undesirable place that the only housing we could attract was the low end stuff like subsidized row house and townhouse complexes. They’ll think that Oshawa was always the vibrant place it is today. Besides, I got a friend that wants to get back on council--figures to be a lock under a general vote, but couldn’t get on with the ward vote."

"But Boss--Do you really think its right for the people of Oshawa that we try to turn back the hands of time to the past?"

"Look Counsellor , Forget about what’s best for the city. What's best for us? Look, I’ve got big competition in the next election and this could happen to you if we don’t take some action. We gotta protect our turf. We gotta make a change so that our rear ends are protected. What would we do if we lost our seats and lost all of that easy city cash. We gotta look after ourselves."

"But Boss, that guy Longworth that brought the ward system has proven that he’s pretty persistent in doing what he says he’s going to do. He worked for five years against all odds to bring us up to date with the rest of the country in 1985 when he won the ward system for Oshawa. We haven’t heard from him for a number of years now. Do you think we can slip this through without waking him up?"

"Counselor, that is a good question. We’ll have to develop a strategy to give the thing legs before anyone finds out about it. Once we give it enough momentum, it will be tough to stop."

"Okay Boss, we’re with you, but how do we keep Longworth asleep on this?"

"Counsellor, that’s a good question. I think the answer is to keep the thing secret. We’ll not make any big announcements. We won’t communicate to the people about it. We’ll work at giving the people a question that’s sure to produce a result calling for a return to the general vote. We’ll trick the people with our question. We’ll catch them cold in the voter’s booth where they will be confronted with the question for the first time. We don’t really want them to know about it in advance, otherwise people may start discussing the issue and then they’ll wise up to what we’re doing. If you counselors want to win this thing, keep it quiet. Don’t say anything about it. If the word gets out, it will destroy our efforts to return to the general vote that will guarantee us council seats as long as we want them. I’ve come to depend on all of this money and can’t lose it now. Besides, we’d lose all of those extra perks like the city charge cards, auto allowances, our blackberries for free world-wide telephone and internet use, entertainment budgets. Look our lifestyle could get ordinary if we lost all of that stuff. You must all promise to keep this a secret. If this thing gets out, we'll all fall off the wall, just like Humpty Dumpty!"

"Okay Boss--now councillors, let’s give our warm up chant before we enter the chambers, "Mirror Mirror on the wall, Isn't our boss the smartest politician of them all"

"It’s off to work we go, Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s off to work we go. We absolutely can’t go wrong as long as we keep this thing secret. Hi Ho."

Hints for Political Success in a Ward Voting System

1. Be very visible in your community…shop, walk, talk, and socialize there!

2. Be very helpful and efficient in handling all problems that your constituents give you.

3. Talk to your constituents…ask them what they think should be done in the neighborhood.

4. Knock on doors regularly even between elections to meet your constituents and get their input and feedback…make sure they have your contact information so they can call you any time of day or night.

5. Attend as many functions in your ward as possible so the people come to know you and feel welcome in seeking your help.

6. Represent the interests of your ward strongly on council.

7. Send news flyers regularly to keep your constituents informed.

8. Always ask for advice from your constituents on important city-wide issues.

9. Put out surveys asking for public input.

10. Make time for scheduled community forums where you can engage in discussion about the issues with your constituents.

11. Communicate, communicate, communicate, listen, listen, listen.

12. Set aside time regularly on a scheduled basis and in a regular location to make yourself available for consultations with individual constituents.

13. Work hard at your political job...always remember it is a 24 hour job! You are always "On Call".

14. Like Alice in Wonderland, you'll have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place...so keep those buns and those feet movin for your ward boy or you'll soon be out of a job.

Hints for Political Success in a General Vote System

1. The name of the game is name recognition so don’t waste time on problems of individual ratepayers because the small vote payoff is not worth the effort.

2. Make sure that you are very visible on the televised council meetings and try to dominate so that you get more than your share of face time.

3. Try to be controversial, argumentative, and unruly as the media will more likely reward you with the press which is good for promoting your name.

4. Whatever you do, don’t support the ideas of fellow council members, even their great ideas, as they are your competitors for votes in a general vote. You want to do everything in your power to prevent your competitors from getting the press...especially for something good. Avoid this at all costs!

5. Make sure you listen to the large groups in the city like the trade unions, churches, the golf club, senior’s centers, etc. as these groups have the potential of influencing their members who live city wide to vote for you…so be a friend of the large groups…do what they want!

6. Election funding is expensive…so be especially friendly to the development industry and other potential big election donors and do everything in your power to keep them happy with your votes.

7. Try to secure help from the large organizations in promoting your name within the organization particularly for things like getting sign locations and election help as big organizations and big budgets are required for election... If you are especially friendly with these large groups, they may be a good source of campaign volunteers. Keep the large groups happy with you!

8. Try to glad hand at large functions around town. Try especially to get your name and picture in the paper or any communications published by large groups.

9. It is quite impossible to get to enough doors city wide, so campaign by having a mail drop of your material and holiday in Florida during the election. There are so many candidates that no one will miss you. Election will just come down to the money you have been able to raise…so pay someone to run your campaign and pay workers for things that have to be done. There will be so many candidates at All-Candidates Forums getting 2 minutes each and so no one will miss you when you don't attend.

10. Above all…relax during the campaigns…because political campaigns are not too important in getting you elected. If you’ve done a good job in promoting your name, you won’t have to do much else to get elected. You’ll have a seat for the rest of your life. There will be so many candidates that the sucker voters will not know any of them and will just go down the list aimlessly marking the names they’ve heard---yours! You’ll thrive with the impossibility of voters making informed choices. The voters will be frustrated with the immensity of the task. They won’t remember that you got all of the press by all of the negativism that the press thrives on.

11. Make sure that you use all of your middle names fully spelled out on the ballot because the longer the name, the more it will stand out and attract votes. If you don't have enough names, invent some. It would be helpful if you were born with a family name starting with "a" as names are alphabetical on the ballot and names listed first have a better chance of being selected. So maybe you should change your name for election purposes to make sure it stands out in a preferable location on the ballot. The position and visibility of your name on the ballot may be the most important factor in getting elected in a general vote as there are so many names on the ballot, no voter gets to know who the candidates are or what they stand for. Because of this, you want to enhance everything about your name in attracting as many random votes as possible.

SO NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN THE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF CAMPAIGNS, WHICH DO YOU THINK WOULD PRODUCE THE KIND OF POLITICIAN YOU WANT FOR OSHAWA?

Laying Down the Gauntlet!

To The Mayor and Council
c/o Oshawa City Clerk

cc: Letters to Editor, Oshawa This Week, Oshawa Express


We have indication that many members of City Council are regularly checking our website at www.oshawaspeaks.ca.

Saying as how Council members have given the public very little explanation for the way they have voted on the ward/general vote issue, we challenge them to provide the public with their rationale for including the plebescite question on the ballot and/or their rationale for their voting record on this issue. We think the public has the "right to know".

The public also has a right to know why Council has neglected and/or refused to provide any information describing the various systems and the benefits accruing from each so that the public could make informed decisions on this important governance issue.

Without all of this information, the escalating "revolution of ill-will" will continue to grow culminating in "outright anger" when voters are confronted with a "general vote" ballot of 50 or 60 names in the next election when it will be impossible to make an informed choice absolutely necessary for a healthy democracy.

We expect our city leaders to have solid, responsible, and explainable reasons for their votes on important issues...and the ward/general vote governance issue is the most important item that Council will address this term. It is so important for Oshawa's health that some jurisdictions where the same question has been addressed have called it the "most important issue for the next 50 years!"

We are especially interested in arguments that Council Members may have to state why they believe the general vote is better at serving the interests of Oshawa. Certainly if Council Members cannot justify the General Vote as being the "better way", and in the interests of the City of Oshawa, they should not be supporting the change, no matter what other variables arise on the issue. The only justification for supporting the change is that it is best for Oshawa. The future health and vibrancy of Oshawa is at stake here.

We pledge to publish any and all submissions from Council Members on oshawaspeaks.ca in entirety without revision to our rapidly growing readership. If Council prefers, we would also invite them to submit their items as Letters to the Editor, Oshawa This Week or Oshawa Express. I know these publications as well are eager to hear a rationale for your votes which, in the absence of explanation, does not seem to make a lot of sense.

After all, the public does have the right to know.

To insure that this invitation and challenge comes to the attention of all members of Council, I am sending it as a letter to the Mayor and Council so that it officially comes before Council and is acknowledged in the Council Minutes.

If no rationale is forthcoming from Council Members, we will know that they have none that will justify their positions outside of "self-interest" in insuring their permanent Council positions.

Politicians, or anyone wishing to respond to this challenge, can email their submission to me using the communication link near the top of the right sidebar on this site.

Bill Longworth,
Founder & Chair of VOTES (Vote to Eliminate Self Serving Politicians)

Democracy--Lip Action Only!

LETTER SENT TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL

For your information, attached are 2 recent letters sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and also to Oshawa This Week Letters to the Editor that analyzes and undermines the elementary argument that some councillors have made, "we have to accept the public will on the referendum if we accept their decision in electing us."

I would also request prior notice when any item concerning the ward/general vote issue is to be discussed at council and a standing request to address council "on short notice" regarding any and all of these items when City Hall guidelines make it impossible to meet the existing guidelines.

At the February 5th meeting of Council, for example, it was blatantly undemocratic to have an important item on the agenda whereby council was going to consider a staff report suggesting that council could adapt a general vote and avoid any appeal to the OMB as long as they maintained the existing wards. It was required that objectors to this strategy had to request to address council by Wednesday, January 31, 2007, even though this report was not made available to the public until after City Hall closed on Friday, February 2, 2007.

These timelines seem designed to stifle any public objection and public input to this important decision and thus is blatantly undemocratic...the principle that some councillors have flagged as the very reason why they supported the referendum result despite their best judgement that the ward system is best for Oshawa.

The referendum question was gerrymandered continually by the last city council until they got the "right" question...right because it would produce the desired result. There was nothing democratic in this. Also, Council kept the public in the dark regarding any rationale for the change and any benefits from the change to be accrued to Oshawa. Nothing democratic in that either. Democracy requires an informed public and council refused and continues to refuse to inform them. Those who claim "Democracy" should not keep the public in the dark. Those who claim "Democracy" should not continue to use the word while working to pull a "self serving fast-one" on the Oshawa public.

Council should become far more open and democratic. In the end, it will not "fool" the public about the manoeuvring on this ward/general vote issue to get the result that they wanted and make Oshawa "unique" in the country by becoming by far the largest city to adapt the general vote without also adapting a political party system as in Vancouver.

There is evidence already that if we have the general vote, a political party which will utilize a growing "Revolution of Public Ill-Will" will spring up to return ward voting to Oshawa and will utilize this negative public sentiment against the self serving actions of this council to remove those supporting a change to the general vote.

We are presently working on our organizational plans to "harness" the negative public energies that will be focussed on an impossible ballot in any General Vote containing the names of 50 or more candidates. In the event of ward voting, we will organize the wards defeat those who have proven they are more interested in their own council seats than in serving the interests of the city. In the event of a general vote, the city will be organized for the same purpose.

Sincerely,

Bill Longworth,
Founder & Chair of VOTES (Vote to Eliminate Self Serving Politicians)
www.oshawaspeaks.ca
159 Spirea Court,
Oshawa, Ontario

905 579 3971

Marimpietri Unduly Influenced by "Gang of Four"

From the votes recorded at the last council meeting regarding limiting public input and limiting information to the public so that they are reasonably informed about the ward/general vote issue, it is apparent that young councillor, Tito Dante Marimpietri, has come under the negative influence of the "Gang of Four" and thus is close to being targeted for defeat in the next election.

The only thing that saved him so far...his vote to hear VOTES chair Bill Longworth at the Feb. 5, 2007 council meeting...one of his few positive votes regarding this issue so far.

At that meeting, Council tried to pull another "fast one" by "sneaking" in a staff report that suggested that Council could avoid an OMB appeal if they supported a move to the General Vote but at the same time kept the existing wards, a strategy they adopted later in the meeting.

This report became public after City Hall closed on Friday, February 2, and any request to speak in opposition to that report would have had to have been received by the city clerk by the previous Wednesday, January 31. Such are the "FAST-ONE TRICKS" being used by City Council to PULL THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES and SNEAK things in without public comment.

Realizing the unfairness of this undemocratic strategy, Councillor Nicholson made a presentation to Council quoting the timelines that made opposition comments impossible and so Councillor Neal moved, seconded by Councillor Nicholson, "That a delegation from Bill Longworth be heard." This was supported by Councillors Nicholson, Sholdra, Cullen, Lutczyk, Marimpietri, Neal, and Mayor Gray. The "Gang of Four", Councillors Parkes, Pidwerbecki, Kolodzie, and Henry were opposed...naturally!

Mr. Longworth made his presentation, the text of which appears in the February 6th post on this site, and we are working on posting the TV coverage of his presentation on this site.

Democracy is dead in Oshawa!

Why does city council want to keep you in the dark on the Ward System Issue?

At the City Council Meeting on February 5, some very reasonable motions were proposed that would provide you with information and also a chance for greater input to the politicians regarding the present ward system for electing council members and the change they are proposing to the general vote. The "Conspiracy of Silence" continues. Council defeated all of these motions because they must want to keep this most important issue affecting the future of Oshawa a secret. They want to keep this most important issue that the council will face as silent as they can so they can continue pulling a “fast one” on you. They figure if they keep it a non-issue, that it’s unlikely the citizens will protest. If they can get this passed, it will guarantee their re-election until death or resignation without requiring them to perform any real service to the people.

What motions did they defeat?

MOTION 1:

Moved by Councillor Nicholson, seconded by Councillor Neal

“That a series of (rather than one) public meetings on the ward/general vote issue be held in each ward similar to those that occurred during the Strategic Plan Development Process.”

MOTION DEFEATED!

FOR A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS: Councillors Cullen, Lutczyk, Neal, Nicholson, Shouldra

AGAINST A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS: Councillors Henry, Kolodzie, Marimpietri, Parkes, Pidwerbecki, and Mayor Gray

Why limit public input and debate of this vitally important issue that will affect the future of Oshawa by disenfranchising voters in huge sections of the city, guarantee a stagnant council because no new ideas will come from new people on an aging council as politicians will either have to resign or die before they are replaced, and having unaccountable politicians who will get elected only on name recognition and not their service to the various communities of Oshawa. You’d think responsible politicians would want as much public input as possible on this vitally important question.


MOTION 2:

Moved by Councillor Nicholson, seconded by Councillor Neal

“That staff be directed to prepare an information brochure on the pros and cons of ward system versus central vote methods of election and that a copy of the brochure be circulated to each household in the City of Oshawa prior to any public meetings on this issue.”

MOTION DEFEATED!

THOSE WANTING AN INFORMATION BROCHURE PROVIDED: Councillors Cullen, Lutczyk, Neal, and Nicholson

THOSE NOT WANTING AN INFORMATION BROCHURE PROVIDED: Councillors Henry, Kolodzie, Marimpietri, Parkes, Pidwerbecki, Shouldra, Mayor Gray

Why does Council want to keep the citizens uninformed about this vital issue? Don’t they realize that the very essence of democracy is an informed public? They should have prepared an information brochure for distribution to all residents before the last municipal elections….but I guess they felt an informed public wouldn’t give them the result they wanted! Is Democracy dead on Oshawa City Council?


MOTION 3:

Moved by Councillor Nicholson, seconded by Councillor Cullen

“That the City Clerk provide written notice to each household in the City of Oshawa outlining the date and time of the public meeting concerning city-wide elections.”

MOTION PASSED

FOR NOTICE OF TIME AND DATE OF PUBLIC MEETING: Councillors Cullen, Lutczyk, Marimpietri, Neal, Nicholson, Shouldra, Mayor Gray

AGAINST INFORMING PUBLIC OF TIME AND DATE OF PUBLIC MEETING: Councillors Henry, Kolodzie, Parkes, Pidwerbecki

This motion passed so at least residents will be informed of the time and date of the public meeting, but sorry...no information about the issue in this mailing. BUT LOOK AT THE DINOSAURS THAT DIDN’T WANT TO INSURE THE PUBLIC KNEW ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING---TALK ABOUT KEEPING THE PUBLIC IN THE DARK! You will note also that this “GANG OF FOUR” IS THE GROUP WE’VE TARGETTED FOR DEFEAT IN THE NEXT ELECTION. Now you can see why. Also cross reference this gang with those voting to defeat the other motions regarding the issue. They voted against every one! They do not deserve your support. They are more interested in their own agenda rather than the health and vibrancy of this city.


MOTION 4:

Moved by Councillor Parkes, Seconded by Councillor Kolodzie

“That ads be placed in Oshawa This Week and Oshawa Express outlining the date and time of the public meeting concerning city-wide elections.”

PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

This is the lowest order of information. Now how many of you check these papers for this kind of announcement? While a few may, flyers sent to every residence as proposed in Motion 3 would be far more effective and would have a far greater chance of being seen. The provision of information about the issue is the most important aspect however but politicians voted against providing information. Why?

Why do we need the general vote when the ward system was working well without a whimper of public complaint?

MOTION 5:

Moved by Councillor Nicholson, seconded by Councillor Cullen

“That the by-law to be presented at the public meeting stand for a general vote election system and dissolution of ward boundaries”

MOTION LOST

For: Councillors Cullen, Lutczyk, Neal, Nicholson, Mayor Gray

Against: Councillors Henry, Kolodzie, Marimpietri, Parkes, Pidwerbecki, Sholdra

The information provided to councillors suggested that Council’s move to a general vote could not be appealed to the OMB as long as the wards were not dissolved. Those voting against the motion, “THE GANG OF FOUR + TWO” don’t want the impartial and objective Ontario Municipal Board to review the need for this change and council’s actions leading up to it. Perhaps they feel that if the OMB looks at the issue, they will also feel that Oshawa Council is pulling a “fast one” on the people and find the change unjustifiable by any case the city could present. The change just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever and is being done purely for politician’s personal and selfish self-interest. There can be no other reason!


MOTION 6:

Moved by Councillor Parkes, seconded by Councillor Henry

"That the bylaw to be presented at the public meeting stand for a general vote election system and retaining ward boundaries"

CARRIED

FOR: Councillors Henry, Kolodzie, Marimpietri, Parkes, Pidwerbecki, Sholdra, and Mayor Gray

AGAINST: Councillors Cullen, Lutczyk, Neal, Nicholson

The GANG OF FOUR + THREE want to insure that the bylaw is not appealed to the OMB for an impartial and objective “second look” to insure that the change is in the interests of Oshawa. They want Oshawa to be the largest city in Canada using this system without political parties like Vancouver. They want the area and number of people represented by each member of Oshawa Council to be twice the size of our Provincial and Federal Members of Parliament or three times the population size of the average federal riding in Canada. They believe that it is democratic that the bulk of city politicians come from a few of the richer areas of the city leaving most parts of the city without any representation. They believe that they deserve a lifetime seat on Council that is not at all dependent upon the leadership they give to the city. I have lost my belief and my trust in them! Those who want to serve themselves rather than the people of the city need to be turfed out of office…and I think voter anger will swell up to do just that!

We Need To Keep The Ward System In Oshawa

An Oshawa resident writes that We Have To Try To Keep The Ward System In Oshawa. This article was recently published in "Oshawa This Week" and is worthy of everyone's time to read it. The writer puts together a very readable and logical article about why we need the ward system. Click the "blue link" in this post to see the article.

Seeking Clarification re OMB Appeals

The Hon J. Gerretson,
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing,
Queen’s Park,
Toronto

Dear Minister Gerretson

In researching recent revisions to the 2001 Ontario Municipal Act, I note that permissive powers have been given to single-tier municipalities like Toronto and Ottawa to pass bylaws in respect of their governance structure. Such permitted changes I understand cannot be appealed to the OMB.

I do not see, however, a reference to this same authority being extended to cities like Oshawa that are principally governed by an upper tier regional government and thus I expect actions being taken by Oshawa City Council to revert from ward voting to a general vote could be appealed.

Would you be kind enough to have your officials provide clarification on this question, and if I am wrong, could you have them provide the source details.

Irrespective of the questions above, could your officials please provide me the current step-by-step OMB appeal process as there are at present two additional arguments for appeal beyond the permissive powers above that we are developing.

You and your officials may be interested in the site www.oshawaspeaks.ca where we are working to provide Oshawa Citizens with information on the ward vs. general vote question.

Sincerely,
William Longworth

Feb. 13, 2007

YOU...Are Our Greatest Strength

Our Blog audience is our greatest asset…how about sending in your ideas and opinions to bill_longworth@hotmail.com along with permission to publish your letter…or add a comment to a regular posting.

The fight to save the Ward System is everyone's in Oshawa... Everyone must get involved to STOP the undemocratic push toward the General Vote. If the politicians behind a return to the General Vote are successful, we will all suffer. The entrenched council supporters of the General Vote seem to be Nester Pidwerbecki, Joe Kolodzie, John Henry, and Louise Parkes. At this time, we are targetting these individuals for defeat in the next election. They have to show a lot of change before we change our mind on them. We are keeping an open mind on some others even though they haven't yet shown the necessary democratic spirit for representative local government for Oshawa.

The only winners in a general vote are the politicians who want to guarantee themselves a lifetime seat on Council. Our organization will work against their self-interest over the term of council and into the next election. Oshawa needs politicians that want to serve the city, not themselves!

The ward system guarantees accountable politicians and assures citizens that they will work for us...not themselves!

Write letters addressed to the Mayor and Members of Council, the newspapers, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and demand an end to this self serving action of council.

Also pass on the address of this web site to all of your Oshawa Contacts. We have to get everyone active and involved to stop this undemocratic, irresponsible, and self-serving nonsense from Council!

A Reader's Comment---Campaign Street Litter & Overflowing Recycling Bins

People were ALREADY complaining this past election about the number of signs and amount of campaign literature that came around during the elections.

Now, let's look at the averages. From using an average of 3 regional candidates per ward (22 in total) and 5 local candidates per ward. Instead of receiving propaganda from the 3 mayoral candidates, 3 Regional candidates, and 5 Local Candidates, we will NOW receive material from the 3 Mayoral Candidates, as well as ALL FOURTEEN Local Candidates, and ALL TWENTY-TWO, yes, that's right, ALL TWENTY-TWO Regional Candidates!

So, that means that you, the people of Oshawa, will have to make your choices, based on seeing a few flyers from THIRTY-NINE DIFFERENT CANDIDATES IN THE ELECTION!!!

Why is it that there are some out there that ACTUALLY believe this is better? Ironically enough, their reasons are simple and selfish.

They know that there are certain entrenched politicians in this city, that THEY HAVE A PERSONAL AGENDA AGAINST.

Now, they choose to ignore the fact that they cannot vote for nor against that person or persons, because they do not live in the wards in question, so they think the only way to get these people out is to make them run city wide, instead of having them focus on wards.

What they FAIL TO REALIZE (shockingly), is that the reasons that they dislike these people, are because these particular politicians, are doing EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT THEIR CONSTITUENTS HAVE ELECTED THEM TO DO!

Realistically, the day that ANY of these politicians FAIL to represent the people of their ward in the manner that is expected, they find themselves unemployed. It happens to them all! So, why is the change from Ward System to General Vote needed?

In fact, what everyone seems to be missing, is that Oshawa OVERWHELMINGLY supported the Ward system when it was first introduced in the 1980's, and as such, WHY WAS IT EVEN BROUGHT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Bob Graham, Oshawa


Comment from Bill Longworth...as explained in an earlier post, the chances of a small group defeating an incumbent politician under the general vote is negligible. A group of 200 people make very little difference in a general vote of 20000 which is a ballpark figure that the winning candidates may require. On the other hand, a group of 50 or so have a far larger impact in a ward vote of 3500 votes that the winning candidate may get. Quite apart from this, however, is the fact that ward voters will get to know a candidate far better than the city wide population and will probably be in a far better position to judge the worth of the candidate and defeat him/her if they are not worthy of support. A far more difficult problem is that politicians will do what is required to get elected. If it is service to the people required under ward voting, then they will provide this. If it is "growing" their name profile across the city, they will concentrate on this rather than providing service to the city and its people. Under the general vote, as well, because all politicians are competitive with each other, they are reluctant to acknowledge and support good ideas arising from their peers on council. Therefore, we lose on two counts...1) no one to troubleshoot, investigate, and provide service to little ward problems, and 2) no real political leadership coming from council which stagnates into "name recognition" contests. Both of these problems have very serious consequences for growing Oshawa as a desirable and vibrant place to live. If Oshawa once again becomes an undesirable place because nothing happens here as occurred under our general vote councils prior to 1985, all homeowners will suffer with decreased property values. It will hurt us all!

Conspiracy of Silence

The conspiracy of silence continues. Unlike responsible municipalities like Vancouver and Guelph that wanted their citizens to make informed decisions including the history of the municipal vote, our politicians continue to be keep information from the public to "blind-side" them and pull the wool over citizen’s eyes. As I said in my address to council last Monday, Oshawa Council wants to avoid an OMB hearing because then Oshawa people will discover that our politicians have been "pulling a fast one" on our citizens. Otherwise, why would they want to avoid the impartial and objective judgement on their actions that the OMB would provide.

City Council failed to provide any reasonable information regarding the plebescite questions catching voters “cold” in the voting booth where they were confronted with the plebescite questions they had neither considered nor thought about. This was by design of council. I suggested information flyers be prepared and sent to all Oshawa households but council failed to acknowledge this suggestion or act on it.

Neither have they ever given us any rationale why the plebescite question would be on the ballot.

At last Monday’s council meeting, council defeated motions calling for information flyers to be distributed to all households and then decided only to publish the date of a public meeting to be called to get public “input” into the question. I fear this public meeting is a “sham” though as politicians have already decided that they will switch to a general vote but keep the wards intact so as to avoid an independent OMB inquiry into the change. The city solicitor has been quoted that, “it is a done deal,” as has Nestor Pidwerbecki who is working behind the scenes to solicit council support. Some council members have stated that the ward system is best for Oshawa but that they will vote to support the plebescite in which they kept the citizens in the dark. Hardly democratic!

When the city manager was asked by Mayor Gray if it was possible to prepare an information flyer on this question for the public, he responded, “We couldn’t get it right!” Does he mean that there is no way to prepare an honest and objective brochure at the same time as satisfying council’s earnest desire for a general vote to protect their lifetime seats on Council without serious threats of defeat?

Changing to the general vote is purely a political question with no logical reason to change and no positive benefits to be achieved. In fact, the general vote will have a severe negative effect on Oshawa’s future, even affecting the value of real estate here as vibrant and accountable leadership vanishes from this city.

Because of the political nature of the question, as the city manager suggested, responsible and professional staff certainly could not produce a flyer satisfactory to their masters, the politicians, since they know also that politicians want the general vote, and there is no other reason to change.

The city manager could have suggested a flyer be produced by political science consultants or professors expert in municipal government who could write the brochure expressing the pros and cons of each system. These experts are independent of staff and not accountable to the politicians but the city manager would realize that this would not get the support of council.

Council certainly uses communication experts for their other publications…why not for this one? Of course, city politicians would want none of this…if there is a message getting out, they want to control its content! And a change to the general vote cannot be supported by any honest logic other than to protect Councillors from serious competition at election times. Realizing this, one alderman under Oshawa's old general vote used to holiday in Florida during election campaigns and still got re-elected. She realized that virtually all change in council took place through death or resignation and she was on Council until one of these events occurred.

Politician’s also expressed the question in such a way that the “yes” vote that the majority of people would naturally give resulted in a change to the general vote. People would have to vote “no” on the convoluted question to preserve the present system. The politicians revised the question a number of times until they got what they considered the “right” question. Right because it would produce the desired result. They operated on the principle of knowing what result they wanted and then phrasing the question to solicit this result. And then in the interests of democracy (they say), insist on voting to uphold the plebescite result despite statements they think ward voting is best for Oshawa.

Oshawa voters have been misled about why the question was worded the way it was. Mayor Gray has explained that council was informed according to the municipal act, they needed a question with a “yes” answer if it was going to result in change. This rationale says if you want change, word the question so that a yes response describes what you want. In point of fact, Guelph also put the ward/general vote question on their ballot but the question was "Are you in favour of retaining the current ward system as the method of electing city councillors?" This was the way Oshawa voters were told the question could not be phrased. Why are we being misled? The Guelph question in all probability would have resulted in keeping the ward system in Oshawa, a result the politicians didn’t want.

If Oshawa Council proceeds to the general vote, it will be necessary for political parties similar to Vancouver's to be formed so that voting makes sense to the people so they know what promises have been attached to their votes. They will vote for a political party platform by choosing the slate of that political party. There is evidence of such organizational efforts already in Oshawa.

Here You Go Oshawa…Here’s Your General Vote Ballot

This is what your ballot would look like if the recent municipal elections had been held under the general vote and you were a public school supporter. It is important that you are aware of what each of these candidates stand for in order to make INFORMED CHOICES for good government in Oshawa. GOOD LUCK—and good luck to Oshawa because your choices will determine Oshawa’s future.


FOR MAYOR---SELECT ONE

John GRAY

Dawn TURNER

Alexander William KEMP



FOR LOCAL COUNCIL ONLY---SELECT UP TO THREE

Doug BAIN

John C. BURNS

Dave CHYZNAK

Tim DOBSON

Robert GOHEEN

Doug HAWKINS

Michael KETTELA

Kyle NICHOLSON

Tito-Dante MARIEMPIETRI

Johnny MILOSH

Louise V. PARKES

Maryanne SHOULDRA

Dave THOMPSON



FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL COUNCIL---SELECT UP TO SEVEN

Pauline BEAL

Cathy CLARKE

April CULLEN

Mary Jo CUNHA

John HENRY

Steven GAMSBY

Lanny JOSEPH

Joseph KOLODZIE

Robert LUTCZYK

LynneMarie McCARTHY

John NEAL

Brian NICHOLSON

Mike NICHOLSON

Nestor PIDWERBECKI

David PURDY

Doug ROSS

John RZESNUT

Bruce SMITH

Murray STRONG

Doug TERWILLEGAR

Gord VICKERS

Yoge PATEL



TRUSTEE, DURHAM REGION SCHOOL BOARD---SELECT UP TO THREE

Michael BARRETT

David C. CONWAY

Margo E. HAWKINS

Kathleen Ann HOPPER

Larry JACULA

Julia McCREA

Ken PARKS

Bill PATTERSON

Susan SHETLER

Pamela VERHAGEN




Does this make sense to you? We have to turn around Council’s ludicrous move to implement a general vote….just to insure their lifetime seats on council. That is the only reason why this move is being put forward. Voters are more likely to select names they've heard of, the members of council, whose names are regularly in the press. That is why politicians will argue, backbite, bitch, and bicker to get the press to "grow" their name recognition. As every council member is a competitor for votes under the "at-large" general vote, they will be reluctant to support council peers with good ideas that is likely to provide them press. The result? Council stagnates into a "do-nothing" government as happened under Oshawa's past with the General Vote prior to 1985. We can't let Council turn back the hands of time to the devastation of a General Vote.


If you demand a stop to this council "self-serving" nonsense, then write the mayor and council and tell them so. The link is on the right sidebar and any letter addressed to the mayor and council has to be accepted by council and appears in the official minutes of Oshawa City Council. Letters to individual members are unofficial and can be disposed of with no record of your concern.

We need a system that serves the city and its people, not the politicians!

Recent Letters Received...Published with Permission

Thank you Mr. Longworth for your efforts I would very much like to add my name to your petition as well as my husband and my mother.

We did not know we were going to be voting on this to begin with.

Knowing you only get about 25% turnout for elections of any kind, why would such an important question be asked in the first place?

We all get tax bills so why not include it in that and then it gets to EVERYONE.

Also the wording of the questions were not clear. Both my husband and I are University educated and I answered wrong by mistake. My mother at the age of 85 wanted to cast her vote for councilors but had no idea of what was being asked in the questions so she just didn't answer.

I am having problems with vandalism in my area and am having difficulty getting help from my WARD councilors as it is now, so what hope do I have with no ward system. I would like to help you with this issue which I feel is major.

Please let me know how to sign the petition and help out.

Josie Pascoe,
Oshawa

P.S. - I watched the Council meeting and was also disgusted with council members stating that they do not agree with getting rid of the Ward system but then voting to get rid of it. How can we trust these people?





Following is an Unpublished Letter to the Editor...Oshawa This Week


This is going to turn into a popularity contest only. I will not go out to vote if we have no Ward system.

Judging from news items and letters to the editor, the issue of election by ward vs. election at large is not one that is going to go away any time soon.

Councilors, many of whom have admitted voting against their better judgment, will need to caution staff not to expend too much time with the conversion, lest it be reversed.

There are times when, the voters having made a bad decision, a councilor has to do what is right and then educate the voters to his/her position in order to obtain re-election.

One point that has not been addressed is that conversion to a general vote puts an exceptional amount of power in the hands of the media.

In this day and age, politicians and CEO’s are increasingly being paid celebrity incomes rather than merit incomes.

The media are in an excellent position to give face time and recognition to specific politicians and to create, and destroy, celebrity status.

Those conditions follow increasingly when voters do not know their elected representatives personally.

Wrong decisions by councilors also follow when the councilors do not know the people they represent, whether they voted or not.

Somehow we have drifted into (by) law making using the adversarial system rather than looking for consensus. The adversarial system should remain in the law enforcement arena, not in the law making arena.

The ward system does not set one ward against another. That is kind of thinking that caters to special interests, rather than the general interest, for which council needs to strive. The ward system does allow representatives of the wards to bring the interests of the wards to the table. That having been done, the consensus of the general interest or interests of the city takes over.

Another point that needs to be made is that election at large invites even more participation of political parties into local government. It is generally accepted that election to local council needs at least the tacit support of one political party or the other.

Now that all levels of government are committed to the 4 year electoral cycle, with increasing political party involvement, we are aligning ourselves increasingly with the Republican system of the United States.

Ed Goertzen,
Oshawa, Ontario


VOTES Chairman comment 1...As Mr. Goertzen states in his item above, I think there is evidence at this early stage that we are seeing the seeds of development of political parties in Oshawa Muncipal Elections. This will be a "must" with general vote elections in a city the size of Oshawa. It will be impossible for voters to get to know all of the general vote candidates and therefore people will have to be presented "party platforms" so that elections make sense to the voter. Without party platforms, voters will not be able to make informed decisions. The City of Vancouver that has the "at large" (general) vote has approximately 10 political parties that run slates of candidates and people vote for candidates because they are part of certain slates. Of course when Oshawa had the general vote prior to 1985, the Oshawa Labour Unions selected slates of candidates and many politicians of the day kow-towed to the unions to get their blessing. One of the problems with the general vote is that it caters to the wishes of large groups and organizations at the exclusion of the interests of the individual homeowners and ratepayers. In Oshawa's history with the general vote, a question of increasing taxation levels for the Oshawa Golf Club came up to the dismay of the golfing fraternity. The result...the golf club members organized and took over city council. The result? You guessed it!

VOTES Chairman Comment 2--The author above talks about the power of the press to create/destroy celebrity status to selected politicians...The newspapers are in the business of attracting readership and increasing their circulation as advertising revenue depends upon circulation. They choose to print things that will help in this pursuit. As a result, they are more apt to print something "quotable", "outrageous", "controversial"... and not "good news" stories. Politicians realize this and their comments and behaviour will start to reflect the competition among them for press. Under the general vote, name recognition is the name of the game for electoral success, so this becomes "job 1" of general vote politicians...all at the expense of co-operative and serious work on behalf of the voters. Fixing a problem on your street is not worth one line of print and maybe only 1 or 2 votes and so this kind of work is not going to be worth the time and effort of general vote politicians who have to campaign across the city and may need 25,000 votes for election even on a poor voter turnout. Therefore, general vote politicians will only devote time and effort to big issues attracting lots of votes...but every politician will compete for recognition for doing big things...but other politicians, being competitors, will be reluctant to support things giving another politician any credit or press...the result...stagnation! That was the devastation of Oshawa's past under the general vote when city politicians would not even replace our burned out library or arena. Nothing happened in Oshawa...and so few wanted to live here. The result...the cheapest housing around...cheaper than Ajax, Pickering, Whitby and even Bowmanville and Newcastle. Because housing here didn't sell, the only new development we could attract was townhouse complexes, co-ops, and assisted housing units. Under the ward system, Oshawa has wonderful new recreation facilities throughout the city, a new university, expanded library services, tons of high quality housing, and one of the fastest growing places in Canada. Let's hope we don't turn back the hands of time to the sleepy nothingness of the past.

Group blames Pidwerbecki for change in the system

The following is reprinted from "Letters to the Editor", Oshawa Express, Feb. 7, 2007

Oshawa citizens are becoming more aware of Oshawa City Council’s desire to return to the general vote and some anger has arisen at their self-serving actions. Council failed to provide voters information about the issue prior to the referendum vote and political action groups like VOTES (vote to eliminate self-serving politicians) have sprung up to fight the change. Citizens are finally being provided information about the issue by sites such as http://www.oshawaspeaks.ca/ which is the VOTES website.

Some angry residents have asked who was responsible for the referendum question and who supported it.

The sole architect of putting this asinine referendum question was Nestor Pidwerbecki. This was despite the fact that there had been not been a whimper of public discontent for the ward system. It’s unfortunate that he was able to solicit council support to get the question on the ballot. Voting for the ballot question were Councillors Nestor Pidwerbecki, Brian Nicholson, Mike Nicholson, Cathy Clarke, John Neal, Joe Kolodzie, and April Cullen. Voting against were Mayor Gray, Councillors Robert Lucyk, Tito-Dante Marimpietri, and Louise Parkes.


According to press reports Pidwerbecki’s rationale for introducing the issue was: 1) Oshawa was growing too large for a ward system, 2) that a ward system council was too divisive and, 3) councilllors should have a city-wide mentality. Pidwerbecki is dead wrong on all counts and hopefully he brings less faulty thinking to his council votes. I suspect, though, that Pidwerbecki is smarter than this and that he is “stretching” to justify the unjustifiable.

Let’s analyze Pidwerbecki’s argument.

Oshawa is growing too large for a ward system---This is completely opposite from the truth. In reality, a general vote is only valid where the municipality is quite small and everyone knows each other. Using Pidwerbecki’s argument, Toronto’s council of 44 members representing 2.48 million people because of its vast size should be an obvious candidate for the general vote because he would argue it is too large for a ward system….ridiculous and absurd!

A Ward System Council is too divisive---How so? General vote politicians compete with each other at every meeting for press necessary to foster high name recognition. Therefore, they hog the floor and backbite, bitch, and bicker to steal the press. Ward politicians are not election competitors and have to be far more co-operative with their peers in order to gain support for the needs of their ward

A general vote promotes a city-wide mentality---Not so! A general vote politician gets elected through high name recognition and thus promoting themselves at the expense of real productivity becomes job one for general vote politicians. A ward vote politician gets elected through service to his/her constituents and so service to people becomes job one for a ward politicians. Ward politicians have to develop positive relations with their fellow politicians to get support for any of their ward initiatives. The very nature of co-operation leads to politicians working together to set priorities for the betterment of the city.

The general vote cannot be justified on any grounds for a municipality the size of Oshawa, It is obvious Pidwerbecki is stretching for straws trying to justify the unjustifiable…Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes.

When we got the ward system in 1985, Pidwerbecki was quoted in the press as saying, “They are going to have to break up the country club and it is going to be the best thing that ever happened to Oshawa. How can I describe our feelings,” he continued, “we’re elated.” He said up to now Council had been composed of people who have had enough money to afford the high price tag of a general election campaign. “Now people who are relatively unknown may figure they have a chance where there was none before,” he said. “Instead of spending a lot of money to cover the whole city, they can now concentrate on one area and reduce the cost factor.” Describing the then “General Vote” Council as an “elite group”, Pidwerbecki said he expects some new faces on council after the next municipal election in November.

Pidwerbecki knows the value of ward elections but has changed his tune now that he is a member of council. His bringing up a return to the general vote can be no less than self serving in insuring his re-elections without serious competition and thus a LIFE-LONG seat on council.

Self serving politicians deserve neither our respect nor support. Councillor Pidwerbecki will undoubtedly be #1 on our hit list for politicians to be defeated in the next election. We will organize his ward to ensure this. We are keeping our options open on other council members to see how they vote on the Bylaw that has to be introduced before a change. We shall appeal this bylaw to the OMB and have every expectation of a “slam dunk” win.

Bill Longworth,
Founder and Chairman of VOTES (Vote to Eliminate Self-Serving Politicians)
www.oshawaspeaks.ca

Politicians Say!!!

Politician’s say, “If I accept the citizens’ wisdom in electing me, then I have to accept their wisdom in voting for the way they did on the referendum question.”

This is the spin that politician’s are spouting requiring them to support the referendum. Nonsense!

This is very shallow thinking that is dead wrong. Hopefully the politicians bring more analytical ability to their political decision making on our behalf.

Politicians campaigned and promoted themselves. Their brochures, flyers, door knocking, hand shaking, baby kissing, etc. all informed the voters about them. They got elected because of their campaign and because of their incumbency on council.

It does pay to advertise…and that is why Mayor Gray reportedly spent $35000 on his campaign. Mayor Gray demonstrated himself superior to his opponents in his knowledge, grasp of the issues, etc. during the all-candidates meetings. It didn’t hurt of course that Mayor Gray was regularly in the paper, on TV, on the radio, and at many official functions. That is why Mayor Gray got elected…it does pay to advertise.

Similarly other politicians got elected by the effectiveness of their campaigns and their public image.

Who campaigned for the ward system or general vote? NO ONE!

Politicians were busy in promoting themselves as they should in an election…but who took the responsibility of informing the public about the ins and outs of either voting system….NO ONE!

The public was kept uninformed either by design or by oversight…therefore voter knowledge on this issue was minimal or zilch when compared to knowledge of the politicians. The less informed voters are, the more random are their responses. And a YES vote always results in a greater choice in random selection as people are more positive than negative. YOU MAY BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT THE REFERENDUM QUESTION WAS "REVISED" BY POLITICIANS CONTINUALLY UNTIL THEY GOT JUST THE "RIGHT" QUESTION TO GUARANTEE THEM THE ANSWER THEY WANTED AND PLOTTED FOR.

When some questioning politicians bring up the idea that voters didn’t understand the question, this immediately brings up the “over-the-top” rhetoric of rabid general vote council leaders like Nester Pidwerbecki and Joe Kolodzie, “Are you calling the voters stupid?”, they ask. The voters are certainly not stupid, but they were uninformed. It was city hall’s responsibility under the direction of council to see that the electorate was informed…and they failed.

When I accidentally found out about the referendum question a month or so before the election, I wrote the Mayor and Council suggesting an information brochure be prepared and sent to all households. I even offered to write up the “pro-ward” argument. My offer was not acknowledged…perhaps because the Council did not really want an informed voter. Maybe they wanted to catch voters “cold” seeing and considering the question for the first time in the ballot box without ever previously discussing or thinking about the issue.

So if any Council Members are presenting the viewpoint that their own election was in any way similar to the referendum question, their level of analysis is very suspect and I don’t think I want them making decisions for me on Oshawa Council.

Democracy requires voters to make informed choices. Without an informed electorate, many choices are random and not truly a reflection of voter's wishes. Therefore the referendum result is very suspect as a measure of public opinion. It should carry little weight as too many voters were confused or uninformed about the issue….But this is not the spin the politician’s are putting to the facts.

It’s unfortunate that so many of them are hanging their hat on the poll of an uninformed electorate. Voters may be outstanding mechanics, builders, doctors, sales people, etc., etc., etc., experts in their fields, but not knowing much or even caring about politics. Democracy requires that everyone be informed about questions if they are going to be asked their opinion on them….and Council did not take this responsibility to inform!!!

Council failed us on this! Irresponsible, irrational, and undemocratic! Shame!

Letter to Minister of Muncipal Affairs and Housing

Hon. J. Gerretsen,
Minister of Muncipal Affairs and Housing,
Queen's Park,
Toronto,
Ontario

Dear Sir:

Oshawa City Council was highjacked last night by the majority of members who voted to revert to a general vote when the present ward system was serving Oshawa well and without a whimper of civic discontent.

At their meeting of Feb. 5, 2007, Oshawa Council adopted a motion to switch to a general vote but keep the existing wards. Advice from the city solicitor was that they had the power to unilaterally change the method of electing council without possible appeal to the OMB but that if they changed the wards, this could be appealed.

We believe that because of the fact that wards are associated with voting by tradition and by practice in Oshawa since 1985, a general vote for functional purposes dissolves all wards in favour of one which we argue is a change in boundaries that can be appealed to the OMB.

We believe that a review of Oshawa's City Council's action must be undertaken by the independent, objective, and impartial OMB and are anxious to lodge an appeal with them.

Without such a review, we believe city council will lose public confidence as it now appears that they are being self-serving in insuring lifetime council seats with the need for little accountability (constituency work) and little need for serious campaigns at election time.

The disastrous history of the general vote in Oshawa before 1985 was that virtually all change took place through death or resignation of council members and political power became vested in a few of the richer areas of Oshawa leaving most of the city unrepresented for years. The last general vote ballot of 11"X17" containing close to 100 names made it virtually impossible for voters to make an informed choice...and of course, people voted for names they'd heard of, the existing council members whose names were always in the paper as council members competed with each other for press....the secret for election under the general vote.

Also at last night's council meeting:

1) Council defeated a motion that would result in an information brochure being sent to all residents which would include the date for a public meeting.

2) Council defeated a motion that would result in a series of public information and input meetings so that politician’s could gauge public opinion about the issue.

3) Council defeated a motion that would have collapsed the wards to be consistent with the general vote so their move could not be appealed to the OMB.

It looks like Democracy is dead in Oshawa when City Council can plot and strategize to steal voting control from the public by limiting information and public input and debate on such an important issue.

We would ask for the help of your office in reviewing the actions of Oshawa City Council in moving to adopt a general vote with the hope that you will see fit to intervene in their undemocratic and self serving actions. Barring your personal intervention, we would ask that your officials review this situation to see indeed if Oshawa City Council action can be appealed to the OMB.

Sincerely,
William Longworth
February 6, 2007

The Highjacking of Oshawa City Council

As expected, City Council last night adopted a motion to switch to a general vote but keep the existing wards. Advice from the city solicitor was that they had the power to unilaterally change the method of electing council without possible appeal to the OMB but that if they changed the wards, this was appeal able.

Ludicrous!!! We will have a ward organization in Oshawa but it will not be used for election purposes. This means that you will lose your ward representative chosen by your neighborhood on city council. Thus in the next election, you will choose the council from a huge list of names where it will be impossible to get to know the candidates. Therefore you will elect the familiar names…the present council members who will fight for press over the term of council to enhance their name recognition. The last time we had a general vote we had half the city unrepresented for 7 consecutive councils as all of the political power resided in north end residents as half of the council lived in the old ward 6 of the day.

In my presentation to council last night, I asked why council would be afraid of an OMB appeal if they were convinced their actions were serving Oshawa best. I pointed out that public confidence in their decision would have been enhanced by having the OMB, an outside, independent, objective, and non-political arbiter rule on the change. Council however, does not want their actions looked at in this way.

Council does not want the OMB involved because they know that this heist was an inside job to replace the ward system that was working excellently for Oshawa and without a whimper of public discontent. Every step of the way was a strategy to get their desired result. The question of changing the political system came from the politicians; they kept the voters uninformed, asked a convoluted question in such a way that voters had to vote “NO” to preserve ward voting, and insured that the first time voters had considered the complicated question was when they made a choice in the voting booth. As few voters even knew of the existence of the referendum questions, they did not have a chance to consider or debate the issue before this. Deliberately keeping the voters uninformed about the meaning and impact of the change from Ward to General Vote is deceitful, dishonest, and a travesty of the trust we place in our politicians to serve us.

Along the way to adopting this decision last night, council voted on a number of motions.

1) They defeated a motion that would result in an information brochure being sent to all residents which would include the date for a public meeting.
FOR…Lutczyk, Nicholson, Neal, Cullen
AGAINST …Kolodzie, Marimpietri, Pidwerbecki, Parkes, Shouldra, Gray, Henry
COUNCIL STILL WANTS TO KEEP THE PEOPLE UNINFORMED!

2) They defeated a motion that would result in a series of public information and input meetings to that politician’s could gauge public opinion about the issue.
FOR…Nicholson, Lutczyk, Shouldra, Cullen, Neal
AGAINST…Kolodzie, Henry, Pidwerbecki, Parkes, Marimpietri, Gray COUNCIL WANTS LITTLE PUBLIC INPUT INTO THE SITUATION

3) They defeated a motion that would have collapsed the wards to be consistent with the general vote so their action could not be appealed to the OMB.
FOR…Nicholson, Lutczyk, others to be determined
AGAINST…Pidwerbecki, Kolodzie, others to be determined
COUNCIL DOES NOT WANT AN OMB APPEAL BECAUSE THEY WANT TO AVOID HAVING AN INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE PROVINCIAL BODY HEAR THE FACTS ABOUT THE CHANGE AND HOW IT OCCURRED TO SEE WHETHER CHANGE IS JUSTIFIED BY THE FACTS AND IN THE INTERESTS OF OSHAWA CITIZENS. PERHAPS THEY ARE CONCERNED THAT THE OMB WILL SEE THAT OSHAWA POLITICIANS HAVE KEPT VOTERS UNINFORMED, THAT THE CHANGE WAS PURELY DRIVEN BY COUNCIL MEMBERS WITHOUT ANY EXPRESSED PUBLIC CONCERN, AND THAT THE MOTIVATION FOR THE CHANGE WAS SOLELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE POLITICIANS IN INSURING THEIR LIFETIME SEATS ON COUNCIL.

It looks like Democracy is dead in Oshawa when City Council can plot and strategize to steal voting control from the public. Council appears to be on its way to implement a system that serves them rather than the people. Oshawa people must act if they want to preserve a system of accountable politicians.

How can you help? Write to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and demand that he act to stop council’s move to a general vote. Ask him to insure that we retain ward voting to keep our politicians accountable to the people. Complain that council did not inform the public about the impact of the change. Tell him that it appears that Council deliberately withheld information to keep the issue secret until voters were confronted with it in the voting booth. Tell him you found the questions confusing when you had to vote “NO” to retain the present ward voting. We need to flood his desk with citizen concern if we are to stop this undemocratic mad grab at a life-long seat on Council by the present members. We deserve a system that serves the people and not the politicians!

Bill Longworth Presentation to Council, Feb. 5. 2007

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!

Should Oshawa Council Serve the People…or the Politicians?

Oshawa City Council is likely to play loose with Democratic Ideals once again at a meeting of Oshawa City Council scheduled for 6:30 pm Monday, February 5, 2007. The basic question Council will have to ask itself is, “Who does the Council serve, the people or the Members of Council?” I’m betting that Council will adopt a position that makes it clear to all that they believe the system of local government should serve them first…the people be damned!

At Monday’s Council Meeting, politicians will receive and debate a staff report suggesting that they can adopt a general vote and this cannot be appealed to the OMB as long as they do not alter the wards. This means that they would retain the ward boundaries but that they would not be used for electoral purposes.

At the OMB hearing leading to the 1985 finding for ward elections in Oshawa, the first argument proposed by the city solicitor was that the OMB did not have jurisdiction in the matter. This argument was rejected by the OMB Chairman. This is the argument that the staff report is presenting to the politicians…that the OMB only has jurisdiction to alter wards but not to determine the method of electing council.

Indeed, the 1985 OMB ruling did lay out both wards and the election method to be used in Oshawa. At that time they ruled a ten ward system with one regional councillor to be elected from each ward and five local councillors to be elected from paired wards with the Mayor to be elected at large. The Ontario Municipal Act makes it clear that the ward vote is the expected for cities the size of Oshawa, and the general vote is the exception.

In any case, because of the strong association of wards with municipal elections throughout Ontario and its use in this context in Oshawa since 1985, we will present the argument in our OMB appeal that indeed for functional purposes the general vote does alter the wards…dissolving all wards into one for electoral purposes.

I have previously asked to be on the agenda to address Council on this question and encourage as many people as possible to attend and also to write the Mayor and Council and to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing who administers the OMB, the Municipal Act, and Municipal Elections stating your concerns.

This Council seems to think that our local system of government should serve them first. As ratepayers, we should be mad as hell that they place their self-interest before providing good representative local government to the city and its people.

This is Canada…and Council is being blatantly undemocratic!!!