The Mail-In Vote Revisited

The Proudfoot Four ran for election partly on the mail-in vote issue. They say that restoring the mail-in vote will restore democracy to Kearney (where, according to Paul Tomlinson, we've been living in a communist dictatorship for the last four years under Comrade-Mayor Johnston).

But the mail in vote is about, well... voting. Right?

So why are the Proudfoot Four ignoring two polls that have clearly shown that a HUGE majority prefer the in-person ballot box? A poll is really just a tabulation of votes, isn't it?

The first poll was run by Councillor Louise Wadsworth on her blog. Wadsworth arrogantly assumed that her poll would show that the majority wanted a mail-in ballot, but her poll surprisingly showed that 69% favoured the ballot box. In typical Proudfoot fashion, instead of acknowledging the democratic will of the voters, Wadsworth buried the poll and fed her constituents the lie that Mayor Johnston ordered her to remove it.

Okay, so let's pretend she was ordered to remove it. Did she still represent her constituency at the council table when it came time to vote on the mail-in issue? Of course not! Tomlinson's will be done, and she voted against the clear majority of voters. Proudfoot democracy in action.

But this is ancient history. Let's look back just a few weeks before the election...

CottageCountryNow, the website for the Almaguin News and other regional newspapers, ran a poll on the mail-in vote issue and 84% vote against it!

So now that the Proudfoot Four have control of the town (Damn your clairvoyance, Mayor Johnston!) will they ignore these two, very clear, polls? Or will they put their money where their mouths are and show that they truly wish to represent the people of Kearney?

And how would they do that? Another poll?

No.

Here's how you do it: When the town puts out the tax bill, simply insert a questionnaire to the ratepayer asking them what method of vote they prefer. Then vote at council according to the popular vote of the electorate. It's called a referendum.

Simple.

But they won't do it. The Proudfoot Four don't represent the people of Kearney (two of them don't even live in Kearney). They represent the Proudfoot cottage associations that sponsored and funded their campaigns. Wadsworth already polled the ratepayers and we know how that turned out.

But we can always dream.

Inauguration Update

Mayor-Elect Paul Tomlinson hasn't even assumed office and he's already breaking his election promise of fiscal responsibility and falling back into his old spending habits. Because almost half of the new council doesn't actually live in Kearney, Tomlinson's first order of business as the new mayor will be to change Inauguration Day from Wednesday Dec. 1 to Saturday Dec. 4. This is to accommodate councilors like Sainsbury, Dingwall, and Murdy who normally only come to their cottages in Kearney on the weekends. Apparently, being sworn in as the new leaders of Kearney just isn't important enough to merit a day off work, so Tomlinson is going accommodate them and force the town staff to come to work on their day off.

And who will be footing the bill for the overtime? Why the ratepayers of Kearney of course!

As with the new two-tiered system of Proudfoot "democracy", we're now starting to see Proudfoot "fiscal responsibility" in action.

Are you surprised?

And this just in:

"The Mayor and members-elect of the council... request the honour of your presence..." to celebrate the new Inauguration Day on December 4th. "The Mayor"? Mayor Johnston? No. By "Mayor" the invitation is referring to Paul Tomlinson who, despite not having been sworn in or starting his term, is already calling himself The Mayor around town. Couldn't wait another week, eh Paul?

We hope Mayor Johnston has cleaned out his desk; Tomlinson's probably already changed the locks.

Are you surprised?

Where's Pauldo?

On Friday, November 26, the Town of Kearney held a "farewell" luncheon for the outgoing council. Attendees included Town staff, members of the fire department, and others who wanted to express their appreciation for the outgoing council's hard work and dedication.

Not surprisingly, Paul Tomlinson and Louise Wadsworth were nowhere to be seen. Both had been invited, but Tomlinson decided the luncheon wasn't important enough for the two of them to bother leaving Proudfoot for. 

Besides, a Townie might try to talk to them or something.

Are you surprised?

Inauguration of the New Council

Your new council will be sworn in on Saturday, December 4th, at 2 pm. The term of the new council actually starts on December 1st, but that falls on a Wednesday, and almost half of the new council only visits Kearney on the weekend.

We guess like voting, democracy will be served in Kearney so long as it's convenient for the Proudfoot Four.

• No wards
• Less councillors
• Part-time governance
• Secret meetings

And they're not even in office yet...

Tomlinson Just Makes It Up As He Goes Along

In the Almaguin News on October 28, Paul Tomlinson is quoted as saying,

"Thrale has agreed to be involved in a number of committees and projects over the next four years."

But it seems that Tomlinson has been fast and loose with the facts again. Although Thrale has a general interest in increased community involvement he hasn't made any commitment to Tomlinson as the latter would have us believe.

Word on the street was that Thrale was not impressed with Tomlinson's statement and on November 10, Lance Thrale wrote the Almaguin News to set the record straight:

"I have not had any discussions about future work on any committee or project with anyone despite statements in news articles, random emails, or blogs."

Welcome to Tomlinson's fantasy factory, Lance.

Are you surprised?

The Jim Skelton Flyer

Recently we received, in our mail, a flyer from Jim Skelton, self-declared Proudfooter and Paul Tomlinson worshipper.

A quick perusal made us think, "Hasn't anyone told Jim that the election is over?"

A more thorough read left us with a few more questions:

Doesn't Jim Skelton know that Jeff Johnston will no longer be mayor in a couple of weeks, and that his buddy (more on this in a moment) Paul Tomlinson and the other Proudfoot Three were elected?

And why is Skelton sending out a flyer telling everyone that he emailed his complete genealogy to Mayor Johnston FOUR years ago? The email never actually says what he so upset about but does go into great detail about how, while Columbus was discovering America, his mom discovered Kearney. We can only imagine that Mayor Johnston's ADD kicked in at about the halfway point, as did ours. Skelton may have written down the cure for cancer in there somewhere, but no one will every know because they'll never read that far. Sorry Jim, but your flyer was only slightly less boring that watching (FOUR-year-old) paint fade.

What is most interesting is Skelton  griping about Mayor Johnston (four years ago) warning that former Proudfoot cottage association president Paul Tomlinson and his cronies were trying to take control of the town. Again, has no one told Skelton that the election is over? Has he not read the Almaguin News article that states, "We find equally disturbing the manner in which [Paul Tomlinson] describes the way seasonal residents seemed determined to use the ballot box to punish local residents with a slate of their choosing."? So what is Skelton bitching about? That Jeff Johnston was right?

Skelton also extols the virtues of "mutual respect", "rising above spreading false rumours", "making sure you have all the facts", etc. Which is very ironic since... Hang on. Before we get into the irony, let's talk a little about Jim Skelton and his connection with Mayor-elect Paul Tomlinson.
 

Jim Skelton and Paul Tomlinson are buddies. More that just buddies, in fact. You see, Paul Tomlinson, as chair of the financial committee during the last term, recruited Skelton as a member. And while Skelton was a member of that committee, he published the following statement regarding Fire Chief Rick Philip's recommendation on a new fire truck (Here comes the irony):

 "I personally question both [Rick Philip's] judgment and his motives."

Which would say to any normal person that Jim Skelton believes that Rick Philip is not competent and that he has motives or an agenda that lie outside a good faith recommendation on the fire truck issue. Or more specifically, Rick Philip has an ulterior motive that should be questioned. (Or maybe he's just the f'ing fire chief and might have some experience in the matter, Jim!)

And that's what council thought as well when they tabled a motion for Jim Skelton to resign from the committee. (For those of you just tuning in, that's the same committee that Tomlinson ran over budget to the tune of $50,000, (which equals a 2% property tax increase) in 2009)

But that's when Tomlinson jumped in and declared that if the council did not defeat the motion for Skelton to resign, the Financial Committee would block the purchase of the new fire truck.

Let's spell that out:

Paul Tomlinson considers his personal friends MORE important than your safety.

(Hey, you voted for him!)

Anyway, enough councillors felt that public safety outweighed a little comeuppance for Skelton, and the motion was defeated. Once more, Tomlinson proved that good guys finish last.

But the issue doesn't die there. The Philip family next addressed council and asked Paul Tomlinson, point blank, if he (as the committee supervisor) endorsed Jim Skelton's public statement that Fire Chief Rick Philip is essentially incompetent and corrupt.

Councillor Tomlinson did a little Proudfoot sidestepping, hummed and hawed, checked his Blackberry a few times, then stood firm that he will not say anything against his buddy Jim Skelton, 'cause, Hey! what a little libel? Apparently, the Philip family agreed and once more, Tomlinson proved that good guys finish last.

So Jim, instead of cranking out your family history that nobody really gives a shit about, how about you set an example and go apologize to Rick Philip for besmirching his character to everyone in Tomlinson's address book?

And to the rest of Kearney: If your house catches fire, you better hope that Paul Tomlinson likes you.

 

Remembrance Day

Paul Tomlinson has never shown up for any of Kearney's Remembrance Day ceremonies in the past, but I guess he'll have to now that he's the mayor-elect.

What a drag, eh Paul? Now you actually have to rub elbows with the locals.

Council Meeting Friday Night

Mayor-elect Paul Tomlinson (despite not having been sworn in yet) will be holding his first council meeting on Friday, November 5th, at his home. The meeting begins at 7:00PM and if any members of the public wishing to attend they can call Paul for directions at 705-636-1608 or attend at 1070 Grass Lake Road, Kearney.

Secret Meetings and Job Cuts?

Now that the Proudfoot Four have been elected, they've been secretly meeting to plan their strategies for when they take control of the town on December 1st. According to one inside source, a main topic of these meetings is how they will make good on their campaign promise to lower taxes. One way they are planning to do this is by reducing town staff levels.

Screw you and your years of loyal service! YOU'RE FIRED!

Isn't it nice that Paul Tomlinson has no problem with spending $50,000 (over and above his budget) for an outside financial consultant to attend a few meetings, but has no qualms about firing a full-time employee (who probably only makes about $30,000 a year) just to please his Proudfoot masters?

Mind you, we're not too surprised... This will give Tomlinson the "legitimate" excuse he needs to get even with the employees that filed harassment complaints against him when he was a councillor.