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.