Tuesday, September 16, 2014

"QUIT BASHING THE EDTC," HIZZONER SEZ

It must be really bothering Doug Martin that he is now a real Lame Duck - not just on paper like most of the other councillors.  He had to hang it up because he knew that his five vote margin in the 2010 municipal elections would not hold up under tighter scrutiny and more competition.

Still, that didn't stop him from declaring that a discussion about a report on the Memo of Understanding that the town had with the Economic Development and Tourism Corporation was "bashing" the corporation - feudal kingdom ruled by Jim Thibert.  That report was requested a couple of months ago by Ward 6 Councillor Paul Collard and was expected in August. Unfortunately, it was delayed and just became available, now in the so-called "lame duck" period of council where council is limited in what it can do. Council can still discuss a report; it just can't enact any sweeping changes as a result of the report. It cannot terminate an employee of the town nor can it enter into an agreement to disburse property over $50,000. in value. It was entirely out of line for the Lame Duck Mayor to call out councillors for merely asking for clarification of certain aspects of the report, including the rather damning observation that the 1994 MOU had been greatly watered down in a 2007 rewording of the agreement. (cough-cough: Martin and his privy council of sycophants let that one go through)

Meanwhile, the palace blog has re-entered the fray with an "anonymous" letter purporting to be the authority on the Conflict of Issue lawsuit currently stalled (another cough-cough) in the court system (according to the plan hatched shortly after the 2010 municipal elections dubbed Project 4-2-0.)  In that letter comes the startling admission that Mayor Martin, Stephen Passero and Rick Shular violated the confidentiality of closed sessions in order to give former, beaten by a landslide, councillor Tim Whitfield the ammunition needed to proceed with the lawsuit that he admitted later under oath was suggested by Mayor Martin. Here it is:


"Mayor Doug Martin, Councillor Stephen Passero and Councillor Rick Shular provided resident/ratepayer Whitfield with sworn affidavits accounting for the details of a variety and number of closed session meetings and issues.
Those affidavits are now part of the court record."
In his cross examination, Whitfield admitted that he had no interest in anything to do with local politics after his crushing defeat by John Hill in Ward 4. He also admitted that he was approached by Doug Martin about a "legal matter" and was invited to a meeting at the office of Dave Hurren, the lawyer who is on record as the representative of Whitfield as well as others.

So who's bashing whom?  Sounds like Mayor Martin and others are not only "bashing" certain duly-elected council members, but he and his buddies are trying to assassinate the councillors' reputations.

Just in time for the election.  Get ready folks, it will get worse.  There is a lot at stake. Do the people of Fort Erie want to go back to the way it was before the people elected four members of council who did not follow the old boys' script? The last four years have seen many improvements and changes in Fort Erie, yet all the local, highly compromised press can report on is the COI cases and the Kinsmen Pool.  BTW, the reports were true. The Underwater Recovery Unit had not received the lease agreement. According to Eddie Haskell (a.k.a. Stephen Passero) at council last night, er-ah, they were to receive an amended version today and have a meeting about it on Wednesday night. So, the saga continues.  Passero is counting on pulling this off as he has pretty much screwed up everything else he's touched.  How's that cake baking business going, Steve? Where is it? Why hasn't it been inspected by the health department in over three years?  Is it still registered? Inquiring minds (and voters) want to know. It has already been established that you Steve have no problem breaking the confidentiality of closed door sessions and being careless with the truth, so 'fess up. 

The disrespectful gang that disrupts meetings was there in force last night behaving like teens at a high school assembly. And Kim Zanko made a cameo appearance.  I still recall overhearing her say at a council meeting four years ago when she ran unsuccessfully for Ward 3 councillor: "Since I'm running for council, I thought I should find out what goes on at council meetings." Yep. She's one of the "chosen candidates" from the Old Boys Network, ready to fall into line with their directives.
Please read the actual transcripts of the cross-examinations of Martin, Shular, Whitfield and Passero contained in part here in other posts on this blog.  I will be providing more pages very soon.

Speaking of Conflict of Interest:  what do you call it when a council member sits on a committee, making decisions and having discussions regarding the local school situation while his wife works in a school in Fort Erie?  


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