Region’s tone-deaf can make amends

Whistleblowers deserve newsmaker of the year honours

David Barrick might be the most tonedeaf politician in Niagara.

At a time when many area residents are shocked, dismayed, embarrassed, frustrated and/or angry over revelations regarding Niagara Region’s CAO contract, the Port Colborne regional councillor is complaining about leaks to the media that informed the public of this mess.

My, what an ethics-minded fella, huh?

Mind you, some might think other motives are in play here.

The image of council’s ruling conservative cabal, of which Barrick is a member, is being damaged beyond repair by the aforementioned revelations as is the leadership reputation of Chairman Al Caslin. So why not try to divert attention away from the contract craziness by attempting, however abysmally, to foment outrage over the actions of allegedly disloyal councillors and staff ?

The idea that people who provided details about Carmen D’Angelo getting inside help when he applied for the CAO’s job or who fed information about Caslin unilaterally extending and adding to D’Angelo’s contract should be condemned is, to be put it mildly, misguided.

Indeed, I have an unsolicited suggestion for The Standard. For your newsmakers of the years, select Whistleblowers of the Region.

In many instances, the cabal is its own worst enemy when it comes to the leaks.

Its members will happily tell you over and over and over again they’ve kept tax increases low; helped bring GO train service to Niagara; played a strong supportive role in landing the Canada Summer Games; and allegedly created a strong economic development climate. How much truth there is to the above and what credit they deserve for it is, like a lot of stuff in the political world, very much in the eye of the beholder.

The cabal has also, in some people’s eyes, polarized debate at council along partisan lines and politicized the bureaucracy, which has roiled nonmembers and helped create a seemingly toxic atmosphere at the Region.

Cabal members don’t talk about this much. So, dissenters attempt to provide evidence of debilitating fractiousness through strategic leaks to the media.

A recent example of leaked information, as previously alluded to, concerns the unilateral extension of and addition to D’Angelo’s contract by Caslin.

In normal circumstances, government bodies would discuss the merits of such an extension/addition in camera and, once the deed was done, announce it publicly.

Take, for example, what happened in September 2014 with the Niagara Regional Police Service board and then-chief Jeff McGuire. A deal was inked to extend McGuire’s existing five-year contract for another three years to 2020. It included the proviso that he not seek the Toronto police chief job, which was open at the time. All of this was announced publicly. A few months later, not everyone was delighted with the extension. A municipal election had ensued, and three new regional councillors — cabal members Barrick, Niagara

Falls Coun. Bob Gale and St. Catharines Coun. Andy Petrowski — were appointed to the police board. Gale was elected board chair; Petrowski board vice-chair.

These councillors were annoyed the previous board had locked McGuire into a long contract, shortly before a new board, with potentially different views, was to take over.

Gale was particularly miffed, and revealed as much after his board bought McGuire out of his contract at a hefty price.

In a letter to his fellow councillors, Gale wrote that while he recognized the previous board had the right to re-up McGuire, it “was done without sensitivity to the upcoming election, and to the fact that over half of the board’s membership could be replaced — which in fact happened.”

If McGuire was a municipal CAO, a “lame duck” provision in the Municipal Act would have prevented the extension from being signed, Gale wrote.

How about that, eh?

In light of this, you have to figure Gale and Barrick are steamed about Caslin extending D’Angelo’s contract well into the next council term. And he did it on his own and in secret.

I don’t have any inside sources, so I’m unaware whether Gale and Barrick have expressed their disgust with this contract extension during an in-camera session of council.

But why should these two wait for someone to leak their anger with Caslin?

Don’t be tone-deaf. Speak publicly about it. Citizens will love your openness.