You are Cordially Invited to Tim Brown's Pity-Party

In the July 7th edition of the Almaguin News (page 3), Kearney Councillor Steve Sainsbury and his conjoined twin Councillor Barry Dingwall do a pretty good Proudfoot Sidestep as they whine about how their campaign manager Tim Brown has been treated by us and others who took exception to the shenanigans at the council meeting of March 11, 2011. You can read the original story here.

Sainswall and Dingbury are trying to get the public to come out to their pity-party for Tim Brown, who they claim has had his reputation "attacked".

But if Tim Brown's reputation is suffering, let's look at the facts:

• Tim Brown didn't petition council in person. Instead he recruited a local to do it for him.
• Tim Brown also petitioned using the name of his "company" Ethical Wealth Corporation. If you Google "Ethical Wealth Corporation" you'll get ZERO hits outside this blog.

Two layers of concealment, but no smoking gun so far. But...

• Mayor Paul Tomlinson had to be asked more than once before he admitted that the petition was Tim Brown's. And it was blatantly obvious that Tomlinson didn't want to come clean.
• Tim Brown is/was a member of the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents' Group (GLLRG), as are/were Mayor Paul Tomlinson, Councillor Dingwall and Councillor Sainsbury.
• Tim Brown has been a guest in Mayor Paul Tomlinson's home.
• Mayor Paul Tomlinson, Councillor Dingwall and Councillor Sainsbury all failed to declare that they had a pecuniary interest or conflict of interest when their friend Tim Brown came looking for a $1000.00 favour. Even if Brown was fully entitled to the fee waiver, the Proudfoot Three were required by law to declare their conflict.
• Mayor Paul Tomlinson, Councillor Dingwall and Councillor Sainsbury all failed to declare that they had a pecuniary interest or conflict of interest AGAIN when they were asked point-blank, by former mayor Jeff Johnston, if they had any sort of relationship with Tim Brown. (Damn that Jeff Johnston and his vigilance!)

So if Tim Brown's reputation has been sullied, perhaps he should thank Mayor Paul Tomlinson, Councillor Barry Dingwall and Councillor Steve Sainsbury for breaking the law and attempting to deceive the public, effectively casting a cloud of suspicion over Brown in the process. Instead, in typical Proudfoot fashion, they'd rather take pot-shots at the messengers instead of taking ownership of their own unethical behaviour.

Are you surprised?