Wednesday, October 1, 2014

27 DAYS AND THE GLOVES ARE OFF

Well, they're really off over on Facebook where one-time comrades-in-arms are now sniping at each other over harassment complaints by a fired town employee (no, it's not that one) against the Ward 1 councillor now running for mayor. Add that to the accusation that Passero's "business" operates out of someone's basement, possibly without proper certifications and a tax number.  Keep it up boys, you're doing great work at exposing yourselves and your agenda to ridicule and scorn. Check it out for yourselves before it is deleted at Fort Erie Hi-Lites.

A helpful friend sent me a link to the November 6, 2010 issue of the Fort Erie Times. Interesting letters to the editor by Brigitte Bonner and Joy Russell. Bringitte talks about the "irregularities" that occurred in the voting process on election day in Fort Erie.  She called for a thorough investigation into the matter.  Didn't happen. In fact Mayor-by-five-votes Doug Martin even resisted a recount in the mayoral race; thought it was unnecessary. There was a recount and the mayor-by-five-votes retained the chain of office for another four years.

I was very interested in the letter by Joy Russell one of the original Yellow Shirt advocates for Douglas Memorial Hospital.



There it is as reported by Joy Russell, a well-respected local volunteer. Ironically, Bullet News Niagara just published an Op-Ed by Mrs. Russell.

"Fort Erie is a town that calls us back after moving away. 
It was, and can be, with the right leadership, the hometown we were proud of and part of. 
We can do it by working together to rebuild and use our natural assets and location to its full potential. Within our town boundaries there is open land for building, a gateway to the United States, an enviable waterfront, good schools, and easy access to highways leading to major cities.
We need to have strong leadership to put us back into the enviable position we once had, and we have to have a mayor who has the leadership capabilities to do it. 
We need a mayor that has had the experience to bring us back to a community that will be listened to, and renew our growth and credibility and one who has the knowledge, the negotiating skills and capabilities to work with various levels of government in Canada and the United States."



My opinion: the above description of a leader does not, in any way, describe our current Quasi Mayor, Jim Thibert, who was responsible for the racetrack letter of 2010.  The weak mayor-by-five-votes had to be led through the treacherous waters of change and Thibert was more than ready to use his position and that of the weak mayor to exact revenge against those who dared expect that the GM of the Economic Development and Tourism Corporation would actually have done more than oversee a taxpayer-bailed-out horse track. The new council, with its new power, wanted accountability and action from the man who has been getting millions of tax dollars to run the EDTC.  Just a look at one of his expensive "brochures" is a fantasy trip, complete with developments and plans that either will never happen or years away.  Meanwhile, he forgot to include the Point Abino Light House in his fancy brochure that he marketed to Toronto and Western New York. Of course, council and the press has been treated to his profane rants and characterizations. And who can forget the banner at town hall against the provincial government?  Lovely way to work with other levels of government.  

You see, folks. Elected officials, such as the four councillors, are working on behalf of the people and they are getting crucified by people like Jim Thibert for doing so.  He is only worried about keeping his job.

Do you want an un-elected, head of an arm's length corporation who defies council and does what he damned well pleases with taxpayer money, including suing a blogger and a councillor?  Yes, it appears that taxpayer money will be used in the separate conflict of interest suit against Don Lubberts.

Is this what will move Fort Erie forward?  


18 comments:

  1. I notice that Rick Shular emphasizes in his campaign literature that "we must strive for the FUTURE, through TEAMWORK, UNITY, AND EXPERIENCE. Please JOIN MY TEAM as we bring back our town to a level we can be proud of".

    We know he does whatever Jim Thibert wants him to do. Thibert told him to go to Mr. Hurren's office. There he filed a lawsuit claim against four duly elected Councillors. Rick Shular admitted under oath that he did just that.

    Is his preferred TEAM then Steve Pessaro, Kim Zanko, Marina Butler, George McDermott, all the same ones that are Thibert's choices?

    ReplyDelete
  2. view_from_the_beachOctober 1, 2014 at 8:42 PM

    Take a gander over at the new Facebook group

    Erection Central - Fort Erie
    More pricks than you can shake a stick at

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems that the fight has been erased. Too bad. I did get some screenshots though. What a bunch of morons. Knew this would happen.

      Delete
    2. view_from_the_beachOctober 1, 2014 at 9:03 PM

      Yeah
      Cloutier couldn't allow his main campaign outlet to show the kind of people that gravitate towards him. Or does he gravitate towards them?
      Ah..the mysteries of the moroniverse.

      Delete
  3. I was not at all sure about McDermot until having met him during one of his strong arm rants to a voter he wasn't even sure lived in his riding. I can report that my sense was as of much disgust as the first time I met dirty doug. (no preconceived notions at either time)

    If the hairs on your neck are standing up, listen to it good people of conscience, it is likely correct. We will live with the next council for better or worse for 4 possibly long unproductive years of silly lawsuits and partisan politics in the name of only greed and thus $$$$$$$$.

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  4. What is this facebook stuff you speak of. Please post a few adresses and site sharing? tips. Sounds really harsh, not to be judgemental but new to the tech and slow on this dinosour of a dial up, like using an 8 track to play a DVD.

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  5. Mr. Martin must be really proud of himself. He won the last election by 5 votes. There was a box of counted and uncounted ballots mixed together as well as letters to town and race track employees to vote for certain candidates, or else??? What if those incidents hadn't happened? Would the outcome of the election have been different? What a legacy! He will leave office with many unanswered questions and suspicions. Of course JT will never step down, but questions will remain and hopefully answers will surface.

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    Replies
    1. Only in Fort Erie do the taxpayers pay big bucks to a pimp wannabe to play golf, sit at the track Tiki Bar and sue anyone he decides is his enemy. All this is going to cost the taxpayers dearly. Brought to you by a very few people who want things their way - not what the voters want. The voters elected the four councillors. Mayor-by-five-votes and Jim Thibert have worked to destroy the people's choices. Just who is destroying this town? When was the last time a new company or plant opened in town? It's not the four councillors' fault that Thibert has failed to attract any new industry to the town. Anywhere else, he would have been fired long ago.

      Delete
  6. Here’s a passage from Wednesday’s now-deleted angry and prolonged Facebook exchange between two of the loudest voices on the internet from the pro-condo, anti-Four, pro-Thibert side of this Town’s great divide. This quote is by loud voice #1, who is now accused by loud voice #2 of throwing his former friends under the bus. #1’s story seems to support (to the extent that we can believe #1) the suggestion that the type of coercion to which Joy Russell refers does indeed occur. I can’t say that I trust #1, but it’s interesting, given his (former?) allegiance, that #1 relays a story that suggests the possibility that someone may have exerted pressure on a race track employee to support the track administration’s choice of political candidates in this October’s mayoral race. I'll copy and paste what #1 wrote:

    " I was told the race was already over by someone that works at the race track
    I said how so
    They didn't want to open up so I asked if they had a sign on their front lawn
    They said yes
    I said I have never known them to be supporting anything
    They said they were told to put the Stephen sign there and won't be voting as always
    Weird shit eh????”
    22 mins · Like

    Seems we can conclude that (a) #1 is relaying a story he was actually told, which, if true, suggests the possibility of improper behavior by someone at the racetrack toward a racetrack employee, or (b) #1 makes stuff up, which casts doubt on other things that have been written and claimed by the pro-condo, anti-Four, pro-Thibert camp.

    Another part of the argument between #1 and #2 is interesting. #1 is claiming that some employee was harassed then relieved of duty by Councillor P, who up until recently has been uniformly supported by the pro-condo, anti-Four, pro-Thibert camp. This story is reminiscent of the supposed employee harassment that this same camp is citing to try to destroy the careers of the Four Councillors that they have hated since the day they were elected. #1 argues that because of Councillor P's supposed employee harassment, Councillor P should be added to the list of people (along with the Four) to be destroyed politically. #2 and the other members of the camp feel they should be loyal to Councillor P and presume him innocent until proven guilty. #1 points out that this is inconsistent, and with that point I must agree. However, whereas #1 feels that all five councillors should be declared guilty without a trial, I believe that all five should presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty in a court of law.

    The so-called harassment claimed in the case of the Four, according to partial transcripts that have been released, consisted of asking what the employee felt was too many questions (despite the fact that it was the employee’s job to answer questions). The Four were already dissatisfied with the employee’s lack of cooperation and let her go. The Four were assured by senior staff that their actions did not constitute harassment, and certainly that seems logical. Whenever an employer is unhappy with an employee, there is bound to be some friction before that employee is relieved of duty. If that constituted harassment, then everyone relieved of duty due to employer dissatisfaction could claim he was harassed. And, if a mere unproven claim of harassment was enough reason to oust a politician from office, then every employee of a politician would have the power to destroy their employer’s political career simply by making a claim of harassment, no matter how invalid the claim. That’s simply not fair. I wonder if #2 might be starting to realize that now that it might be happening to a councillor that he likes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe Number Two will realize that he has been used and used badly by the Puppetmaster, who is at the top of the hate pyramid. What these people believe about those who sought to save public beach front property for the people is so warped as to be deemed insane. I will never forgive Greggers for his "Hitler Video.". They scare people by talking about fences on the beach and "summer residents" (Americans) telling Canadians how to run their town, yet they don't want people to remember that the four councillors were elected by Canadian voters by comfortable margins and their guy retained his mayoralty by five votes.

      I am upset that the voters of Fort Erie are being lied to and coerced into voting a certain way by an unelected man who fears he may lose his job.

      Delete
  7. You know the adage "the best defence is a good offence". It seems that is what JT is up to in his actions. In going after you, Sharon and the councillors he is hoping that he can defer attention away from himself. If he had nothing to hide, why not just let it go and act like a professional. He has already been implicated in Rick Schlar's court documents. Why was he involved in that? What about using taxpayers' money to sue Don Lubberts for conflict of interest? Is this true? He seems awfully involved behind the scenes.

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  8. I wonder if Bonito's girlfriend told him to take a hike, because it seems he is spending "allot" of time on "teh" internet with his childish ninja bull and his fighting with his former buddy and mentor. And still no meaningful employment.

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  9. I expect that Jim Thibert will try again to shut me down. The lawsuit against me was designed to shut me up. It was filed in Toronto so that I would have difficulty getting to court to defend myself. He knew I was a senior citizen on fixed income. Even his lawyer advised me that they were not going after court costs when the ruling went against me as I did not appear in court. I accept that he won that round but it just made me realize just how thin-skinned and unsuited he is to guide the economic development of Fort Erie.

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  10. When there seems to be no real election issues the voter turnout is probly going to be pretty dismal. Its still anyones race if someone would just come foreward with a viable plan regarding real job growth and improvements to infrastructure and quality of life issues such as increased parklands, widening road shoulders so its not so dangerous to walk in the rural areas and things like that. Even if its just a wish list we wish someone would come forward with some sort of a position on current issues, instead of tired election slogans and rehashed observations leading nowhere. Its going to be another game of musical chairs with the status quo being discussed in the council chambers if somthing doesent change soon with no real solid positions being taken. Its an example of this when you consider that the old pool behind the library could get so much attention in an election where such a variety of candidates with such a diverse number of viewpoints are running for office.

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    Replies
    1. I think voters should educate themselves about what a councillor can/cannot do. Council does not directly impact "job growth." Council can direct staff to come up a report and then enact certain by-laws that can make it easier for companies to settle in Fort Erie. Real job growth is the responsibility of the EDTC. Infrastructure improvements are part of the budget process, while upgrades to roads fall under various government levels.

      Don't you think that most candidates want these things? Only one candidate (Passero) is using that decrepit pool as a campaign platform. It is all part of an elaborate lie that he hopes will get him elected. Voters need to take a good look at the report of what has been accomplished in the last four years, not the S.L.A.P.P. Lawsuit against the four. It was created to eliminate the four councillors. The mayor-by-five-votes, Doug Martin and the head of the EDTC, Jim Thibert encouraged loser Tim Whitfield to file the conflict of interest lawsuit against the four councillors.

      Delete
  11. The ward 4,5 and 6 Candidates Night is tonight starting at 6 p.m. at the Stevensville Memorial Hall.
    Come out and listen to what each candidate has to say!

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  12. Was at the CHAMBER OF COERCE MEETING last night. One would think mayor martin was monitoring. Terrible heckling allowed. Such disrespect, shameful.

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    Replies
    1. See my latest post regarding the Chamber Horror Show

      Delete

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