Mayor Trainer needs your help NOW! ***UPDATE***

This post reprinted with the exclusive permission of www.VoiceofCanada.ca

IMPORTANT UPDATE 1240 EST, Aug 12/07:

YOUR MAYOR STILL NEEDS YOU! Haldimand Council was told its attack on Mayor Trainer’s privacy might not be legal (duh!), so instead of just voting to drop their silly resolution (scroll down to “ORIGINAL POST” below) at their August 8th meeting, the entire council voted to defer it – again – until Monday, August 13 at 6pm. The Mayor was the only one to vote against deferral, asking that the stupidity stop right then and there.

Please…take some time out of your busy schedule to be there. I know I will be; after all, if they can do it to your mayor, someone can do it to mine. Gary McHale wasn’t able to make the last meeting due to a last-minute emergency, but he assures me he will definitely be in Cayuga for this meeting. Hopefully, Councillor Sloat won’t attack us. (See Aug 07/07 update below re Sloat’s unprovoked attack on a member of the public on the steps of Haldimand County hall.)

My sources tell me that the mayor really appreciates the support shown so far. Let’s send a strong message to Council that their attempts to undermine democracy will not be tolerated.

To Haldimand Council:

I suspect that if council is actually stupid enough to pass this resolution, you’ll be begging to rescind it in no time. That’s because the mayor’s supporters will start sending emails and letters to her asking important questions like, “Is Councillor Sloat going to be attacking anyone else today?” or “Will there be police to protect me from King Sloat?” or “How do you cope with such backstabbing, sneaky, underhanded tactics from fellow councillors?”

I’m sure the mayor would love to receive copies of VoiceofCanada posts or CaledoniaWakeUpCall editorials that staff would have to copy for distribution to council. Perhaps you’d each like to receive a copy of the 400+ pages of documents that make up The Ipperwash Papers. Let’s see…6 councillors x 400 pages… You get the idea.

If council wants the mayor’s mail, we’ll give it to you. I’m sure the mayor is capable and willing to set up a back-channel method of communicating with her for the important stuff.

Furthermore, if this resolution passes, every member of council who votes in favour will be subject to complaints to the Privacy Commissioner, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and whatever other legal actions we can take against you to restore the mayor’s right to communicate privately with her constituents.

Do the right thing on Monday to end this un-democratic nonsense. If not, the fight will just be getting started. I promise.

P.S. Instead of subverting democracy, why don’t you suggest to King Sloat that he apologize for embarassing Haldimand with his insult to a Korean war veteran, and his unprovoked assault on a member of the public on the steps of city hall?

References

• CaledoniaWakeUpCall feature: Haldimand Council fights against Democracy, Free Speech and Privacy (Don’t miss ‘Hail King Sloat’ – a must-read!)
• Haldimand’s Unheard Voice, Aug 10/07: Bold Attack on Freedoms (reprint of letter by Caledonia resident, Mike Parent. Another must-read!)
• Haldimand’s Unheard Voice, Aug 9/07: Haldimand Vote Deferred Again
• CaledoniaWakeUpCall blog, Aug 08/07: Haldimand council fighting desperately against democracy – Your help is needed (Read Jeff Parkinson’s first hand account of Councillor Buck Sloat’s unprovoked attack on him)