New council, new concerns from former mayor
I was a little nervous.
We have a new mayor with limited experience in life, business and politics. We have three new councillors with no council experience and some of the the returning councillors were not the stars. These folks now have stewardship over an operating budget approaching $290 million a year.
I sat through the love-in at the library a week ago ago and listened to the mayorelect at the time make a declaration that she would serve with impartiality and then I see the list of council appointments Monday night. Coun. Henry Clarke, the most experienced member of council and in my opinion one of the hardest-working councillors and certainly one with a high degree of integrity, who I had the privilege to work with over the years, got nothing. So much for impartiality
One of her group of five from the last council takes over as finance chair and a new councillor with no experience on council is appointed deputy mayor. There was another female member of council, if that was a criteria, one with experience (but not of the group of five), that could have filled that role. So much for impartiality.
Another member of the group of five will join the mayor on the police board. So much for impartiality.
The higher up you go the more help you need so I don't understand not taking advantage of the experience available at the council table and in the finance portfolio.
Even though the previous council voted to sell PDI a number of current councillors are still talking about it. Why? And now the mayor has appointed two members of the group of five (herself and Councillor Keith Riel) to the Peterborough Holdings Inc. board where they will what, try to change the decision or maybe they will learn learn that it is an asset declining in value.
Now I am really nervous
Peterborough Holdings Inc. goes through a very rigorous process to fill a skills matrix to ensure they get the best business minds available to guide these city-owned corporations. These folks (some have been successful executives in international corporations) are then put forward to council who approve their appointments based on their expertise
(not necessarily so with council appointments).
These directors are bound by the Business Corporations Act to make decisions in the best interest of the corporation. I don’t know all the reasons they made that decision to sell the wires and poles but I suspect being surrounded by Hydro One, diminishing opportunities for economies of scale, and an aging plant were some. These are not new. They were discussed a number of years ago when I served on the board.
The folks on the PDI board had all the information and their advice was ignored by five members of a council who had appointed them for their expertise. Go figure.
We have a representative government. An electoral system where citizens vote to elect people to represent their interests and concerns. Those elected meet to debate and make laws on behalf of the whole community, instead of the people voting directly on laws and other debates. We expect these elected people to make tough decisions.
Theorists such as Edmund Burke believe that part of the duty of an elected person is not simply to communicate the wishes of the electorate but also to use their own judgement in the exercise of their powers, even if their views are not reflective of those of a majority of voters. He said “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
Six members of council used their judgement just as the PDI directors fulfilled their duty under the Business Corporations Act.
It's time to move on. Let’s concentrate on what is ahead of us. Let’s concentrate on how to best invest the proceeds of the sale so the annual interest can be used to benefit the taxpayers of Peterborough for years to come. Paul Ayotte, Rogers Street.