View From The Gallery

Wow – All I can say is WOW. The view from the gallery in council chambers at last night’s council meeting was jaw dropping to say the least. I have so many opinions on The Town of Orangeville’s latest council meeting, that I don’t even know where to start… So I guess I will start out by saying that I am absolutely appalled by the behaviour of council as a whole at last night’s meeting. There is such a complete lack of respect amongst these people, that I can’t begin to fathom how the next 4 years will play out.

The Line Has Been Drawn

There is a very clear line in the sand that has been drawn…there are certain councillors who will always vote together…that has been made crystal clear in the last 2 meetings. And in my humble opinion, this is a counterproductive way to execute our municipal government body. As I say all the time to my staff at work, you don’t have to like each other, but you do have to respect each other and be open to hearing varying points of view. Whether or not you “like” the person who puts forth a motion should have no real bearing on your vote…and if it does, there are clearly larger issues at hand. As elected members of council, your job is to do what is best for the Town of Orangeville as a whole and your personal opinions should not affect your ability to do that job. I don’t know about you, but I would like to actually see some real issues in Orangeville addressed rather than petty and childish finger-pointing.

Code of Conduct

There was a motion brought forward at last night’s meeting for council to adopt of code of conduct…and the motion failed. Yes, you heard me right, the motion FAILED!!! I am sure that my facial expression was quite telling of how I felt about that…in fact my gasp of shock was probably heard throughout council chambers. How is it even possible for The Town of Orangeville Council NOT to have a code of conduct!?!?!?!? Ethics and integrity are so utterly important in all aspects of business – and probably even more so in the world of politics – and I, for one, have NEVER worked anywhere than didn’t have a code of conduct – it is pretty standard practice. What does this say about the moral compass of those who voted against this?? As a manager, if I had a new associate who refused to sign my company’s code of conduct, I can tell you for sure that they would NOT be employed by my company. And as a tax payer, who is responsible for paying the salaries of those who represent our town by serving on The Town of Orangeville’s Council, I have to ask…where lies the issue?? Is this some kind of foreshadowing for what to expect in the years to come?

Demanding Apologies

Perhaps the most astounding of all was Councillor Bradley’s “outburst” where she demanded numerous apologies from Mayor Williams on everything from where councillors were seated, to addressing a fellow councillor by his first name, to calling people up in the wrong ranking order. Really?? Was this a necessary piece of “new business”??  Is this really the maturity level that my tax dollars are paying for?? I would expect more professionalism from a Student Council…in an elementary school. I GET IT – You don’t like the Mayor – you have made that VERY clear…but to call him out in a public setting showed a complete lack of respect for Mayor Williams, his position in our Town and was a disgrace to women in politics as a whole. Can I be more clear when I say “You don’t have to like him, but you do have to respect him”. More childish games like this will continue to waste my tax dollars and I am not okay with that!! And I have to ask…Councillor Bradley, Did you take the time to speak to Mayor Williams privately about your concerns?

In my humble opinion, perhaps if we had a Code of Conduct, there would be more respect shown amongst our council? Food for Thought.