Thankfully, regional council term at an end

On Monday, Niagara voters head to the polls in what could be the most noteworthy municipal election in the history of the Region.

Hyperbole, you say? We argue it is that important. The past four, controversy-filled years have been, in many ways, numbing, exasperating, anger-fuelling and wearying.

A two-page overview of the chaos which surrounded this term of council appeared in these pages Thursday. As shocking as it was to see in one place what has transpired over that time period, it’s also important to remember the two-page spread, and accompanying online interactive info-graphic, offer just a taste of the sour and often petty goings-on at regional council.

There have been few good stories to lighten the history of this council – its ability to get the Canada Summer Games is one, as is the continued survival of plans to get GO train service to Niagara. But these events are overshadowed by other less savoury ones.

To get the full flavour of the distasteful meal taxpayers have been served, one would have to go back and peruse at length the detailed coverage The Standard, Review and Tribune have provided of this council during the past 96 months.

There have been the obvious, large problems, such as the three investigations by the Ontario ombudsman’s office, one of which is still underway. That one, into the process used to hire current CAO Carmen D’Angelo in 2016 and the way current regional Chair Alan Caslin unilaterally extended D’Angelo’s $230,000 annual contract, could end up being the most damaging of all.

There was the unforgettable moment when Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk and citizen blogger Preston Haskell had their constitutionally guaranteed rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms violated when Caslin and D’Angelo led a charge to have them expelled from a council meeting and regional headquarters on the baseless accusation of recording an in-camera proceeding.

There have been myriad issues surrounding the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and its board. There’s been the goings on at the Niagara Regional Police Services Board, which was bound and determined to hire its own chief, a move which cost taxpayers close to a cool million to pay out former chief Jeff McGuire and no doubt exacerbated an always problematic budget situation.

There’s been the ongoing saga surrounding St. Catharines regional Coun. Andy Petrowski, whose political career mercifully seems to have come to an end with his decision to not seek re-election this fall.

But these major, headline-grabbing items are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Below the surface has been the underlying nastiness of the current regime.

Its attempts to undermine mayors and councillors it perceives as enemies at both the Region and lower-tier municipalities stands out, as does the way many of its supporters have tried to twist facts in tortured ways. Does anyone recall the attempt to portray Justice James Ramsay’s decision in the NPCA lawsuit against activist Ed Smith as a victory for the conservation authority? That ‘win’ saw the NPCA receive a severe tongue-lashing in Ramsay’s written decision, not to mention an order that the NPCA pay $131,000 to Smith for his legal costs.

Consider the fate of Lincoln regional Coun. Bill Hodgson, whose career in municipal politics is ending – a good, municipal leader driven out of the field, a shameful event damaging to his constituents and town.

We could go on — indeed this version of Niagara regional council is worthy of a book. But what’s important now is for voters to remember this sordid history when casting their ballots on Monday.

Yes, there are some incumbents at the Region still worthy of support, but our best advice is to recall who the leaders of what Standard columnist Doug Herod has called ‘the cabal’ have been and to vote accordingly.