Rates council C-minus or D

Dear Editor: Living legends. What does this term mean?

Most dictionaries have this annotated as: “a person who is famous while still living for doing something extremely well.” Have you read the recent local news media where each councilor was asked to assess their performance thus far and come up with a grade (Penticton Western Advertiser)?

They all come out with “B” or, in one case, better grades. How did they arrive at these grades one might ask? Perhaps they fantasize about being living legends as I alluded to earlier.

Probably the biggest living legend right now is Donald Trump and he hasn’t really accomplished anything politically yet. His claim to fame might be that he is probably the world’s foremost misogynist.

As a former teacher, I recall the system by which grades were allocated. I don’t believe that much has changed except for the fact in some cases grades are not used but percentages are.

Let’s go back a little and see what statistics were needed to assess performance. Based on standard letter grades without intergrading, the grades were A, B, C-plus, C, D, F. Pretty cut and dried. Nowadays there are “massaged grades” being used. They include A-plus, A-minus, B-plus and B-minus. What these actually mean is anybody’s guess. The A grade used to mean done extremely well, almost excellent. Now we have A-plus. Does this mean that something is done better than excellent? Is a B-plus better than a B but not quite an A? Is B-minus better than C-plus but not quite a B? So much for grades!

Let’s look at the City of Penticton’s grades. These should be based on such things as: openness (showing concern for the public and related public issues), transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility and the ability to listen to concerns and admit it when mistakes are made. How has COP done in these areas? We shouldn’t have to ask when it is a self-evident truth in that most of these should receive no more than a C-minus to D. The independent Oraclepoll sponsored by

The Herald showed us this (21 per cent approval rating.)

It is ironic that many members of council have almost broken their arms patting themselves on the back and saying something similar to “atta a boy, job well done!” Oh, did I miss something here? They did their own back smacking probably because no one else would.

A C-minus to D grade seems like more of a fit than B and Bplus. How else can the Peter Principle be rewarded?

Ron Barillaro Penticton