A city should not be run like a business

As a citizen of Peterborough, a taxpayer, and someone who will be voting in the upcoming municipal election, I am getting a little tired of incumbent mayor Daryl Bennett speaking of our city as if it were a business, whether to proclaim that Peterborough should be "open for business,” or that the city is "not in the business of wealth distribution".

Let's get one thing straight: Although it's a given that Peterborough should exercise sound fiscal judgement, a city is not a business. Its reason for being is not to make a profit, but to work in the best interests of its citizens. Which brings up another refrain in Bennett's playbook: His repeated and disparaging comments about "special interests.” If, after two terms in public office, Bennett has not learned to value the input of engaged citizens, then it is clearly time to step aside. Peter Laurie, Aberdeen Avenue