A reader writes in

I would like to add that debate of reducing council size the following points.

Larger cities like Richmond Hill Ontario has 163,000 people and 6 councillor.
ratio is approx 27,000 residents to 1 councillor.

Brampton Ontario has 523,000 people and 5 councillors
ratio is approx 104,000 to 1 councillor

Although both have regional council as well they do take on larger areas.

Why does Kearney require 7 councillors? What about reducing the numbers to save money, so not to give current council pay raise either.

I think that the ward system needs to come back so that people from all over Kearney can be heard
from Proudfoot, Sandlake, Clam Lake, and others.

"Marty McFly"




Thanks for your input, "Marty".

Richmond Hill actually has 9 councillors and the ward system. Brampton has 10 councillors and the ward system.

The Town of Kearney might not need 7 councillors, but there is significant concern that the supporters of the reduction are only trying to reduce the number in order to tighten Proudfoot's control of Kearney. The cost-savings argument is ridiculous since this council has had THREE pay raises since taking office in 2010. At the same time they've slashed jobs, services, and funding, while depleting reserves and adding debt. It's pretty obvious that the Proudfoot contingency of council puts their own interests (and the interests of their friends) above the interests of the town. Reducing council to 5, without the ward system, could allow Proudfoot to have complete control of Kearney. Bring back the wards system, then let's talk about reducing the number of councillors.

Mayor Tomlinson just can't shut up

Kearney Mayor Paul "I'm just one cake-hole" Tomlinson has been trying so hard to prove that he's still Big Man on Campus, that he's developed a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease. Most recently, Tomlinson felt the need to demonstrate what a big man he is by running his mouth publicly about several confidential matters, such as bragging to the Almaguin News that he personally fired the previous town clerk, openly lamenting in the Iron Skillet restaurant about having to put a town employee (and repeatedly using her name) in her place and how she had the audacity to file bullying and harassment charges against him. (So much for any sincerity in that apology, eh Paul?) Now, again in the Almaguin News, Mayor Tomlinson decided to out Councillor Barry Dingwall’s emotional problems. 

In the January 24, 2013 Almaguin News article, "Debate procedure one of many items under debate" Mayor Tomlinson states, "I would be loath to limit debate. Councillor Dingwall would be reaching for his Valium..." 

What is Valium? Valium (diazepam) is used to treat anxiety disorders, as well as other medical problems such as alcohol withdrawal symptoms or seizures, but in the context of the interview we can assume that Mayor Tomlinson was referring to an anxiety disorder. We hope.

As a side-note, we were disappointed to learn that Being-A-Dick wasn't listed as a disorder that Valium will effectively treat.

So, it seems Councillor Dingwall has some mental health issues that are serious enough to be considered when creating council policy. We already suspected this, but thank-you Mayor Tomlinson for your continued openness and transparency about Councillor Dingwall’s ongoing mental health issues. It's troubling, but we should just be relieved to know that the mayor doesn't seem to be openly worried that any of our other elected leaders could snap at any moment.

Are you surprised?

Proudfoot moves forward to reduce council

The council of Town of Kearney is seeking three volunteers to sit on a committee to address the issue of "future council composition". What this means is that the Proudfoot Gang, led by Jim Skelton, wants to reduce council from 7 members to 5 members.

First of all, what problem is Proudfoot trying to solve? "To reduce costs", they say. Well, this council has given themselves a 21.5% salary increase over the past two years and Tomlinson is telling us that with only 5 council members, they could attract the higher-educated seasonal folks, by paying them more, instead of those “Kearney inbred idiots”.

But, what’s the real reason Tomlinson, Skelton, and the Proudfoot Gang want to reduce council? 

Answer: Ultimate Control. 

Cast your minds back to 2008 when the Wards Committee was formed. It was comprised of GLLRG's Barry Dingwall and Steve Sainsbury, SLAPOA's Dave Matson and Jim Skelton, with Mayor Johnston, Councillors Fetterley & Lesperance, and 2 members of the public. The Proudfoot Gang went through the charade of pretending to listen to the public and to hold a "public" meeting where Proudfoot was notified but the rest of the town wasn't and they tried to suppress any input from Mayor Johnston. The committee majority (again, the Proudfoot Gang), not surprisingly, voted to dissolve the ward system in Kearney.

Council of the day rejected the committee’s recommendation asking that the committee consider new information. Mayor Johnston wanted to consider the new information, but the committee majority (again, the Proudfoot Gang) refused. Instead, Skelton organized a Proudfoot petition, and Sainsbury/Dingwall ran to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Throughout the process, Skelton and the Proudfoot Gang also pushed to have the OMB reduce the size of council from 7 to 5. The OMB dissolved the wards system, but stated they had no authority to rule on the size of council. So, now Proudfoot is on to Plan B.

So, how has the dissolution of the ward system worked out? The Town of Kearneyis now controlled by a handful of autocrats in Proudfoot Townshipwhile we witness the steady demise of our town.

However, given the ghastly behaviour of Mayor Tomlinson, Dingwall, and Wadsworth, the rest of council has recognized the tremendous damage that can and is occurring with a power base being centred in one corner of town. However, reducing council from 7 to 5 gives the Proudfoot associations’ (GLLRG and SLAPOA) electoral machine an easier road to total control through the use of propaganda  emailed out to absent seasonal property owners. We all saw this in action in 2010.

The town is looking for three volunteers to sit on the Council Reduction Committee along with Councillor Dingwall (Chair of the Wards Dissolution Committee) and ex officio committee member Mayor Paul Tomlinson, who voted in favour of dissolving the wards system. 

But what problem is reducing the size of council going to address? If there is a problem, where is that defined? Why limit the committee to three members of the public if true public input is being sought? What are the criteria for selecting the volunteers? Why will council base their position on the recommendations of a committee that is suspect to begin with, and why no full and open public debate? Why not pose this question during the next election along with "Should the Wards System be reinstated in Kearney?" Candidates in the next election (2014) can state their positions on the two questions and the voters can decide by electing candidates that support their views on these two issues. Or, why not hold a referendum and let the people decide?

  

Meanwhile, to head off the Proudfoot Power Machine, submit your name to be a member of the council reduction committee, officially known as “Future Council Composition Advisory Committee”. If you don’t stand up and fight, we all lose.

To help understand the general public view, and given that our blog has had a pretty good following, with over 50,000 hits, we are conducting our own survey on;

1) Should the Wards System be reinstated in Kearney?

2) Should Council be reduced from 7 to 5 Members?

More from Paul Tomlinson's big mouth

We have been informed that Mayor Paul Tomlinson had breakfast the other day at the Iron Skillet in Kearney with his new lawyer Rob Pritchard (of Proudfoot). No wonder Mr. Pritchard thinks Mayor Tomlinson is doing a marvellous job, when it's obvious that Mayor Tomlinson will likely bring lots of legal business Pritchard’s way. 

But the story doesn't end there. Apparently, Tomlinson felt it necessary to have a very public discussion with his lawyer on the harassment and bullying charges that were laid against him by a member of Kearney staff. Tomlinson even went so far as to name the staff member several times in his diatribe to Pritchard. 

Although we now know the name of the staff member who filed the charges of bullying and harassment against Tomlinson, we will not repeat it here. We applaud this person’s courage, and we recognize that such action had to have been taken as a last resort.

So, in a matter of a few weeks, we have Tomlinson declaring in a newspaper interview how he had to fire the previous Town Clerk and now, in a public restaurant in front of total strangers, identifying the staff member who filed the bullying and harassment charges against him.

Are you surprised?

To the Concerned Citizens of Kearney:

You might be interested to know about an experience a young lady in Kearney had when she decided to go skating the other night (before the thaw). When she got there the ice appeared to be in excellent shape and ready but the rink and portable toilets were in complete darkness, no lights on. 

The lady went home and her husband suggested she call the mayor. She called the mayor and he said he would get back to her. He never did. 2 days later, the lady’s husband encountered Mayor Tomlinson at the dump. He asked the mayor why he had not gotten back to his wife. Mayor Tomlinson said he doesn't respond to calls from drunks. Naturally, some words ensued.

Note: The lady made the call herself, and she does not drink.

 

Those are the facts. Here's for you to decide...

A) The lady does drink and was drunk.

B) Mayor Tomlinson was drunk and meant to say that he doesn't respond to calls when HE'S drunk.

C) Mayor Tomlinson is just an asshole.

Signed,

Anonymous

2012 Kearney Council Report Card

In January 2012, we presented a performance report on Mayor Tomlinson and members of council, mostly because Tomlinson has never followed through on his campaign promise of quarterly reports from council. Unless you want to count the occasional flyer explaining how everything can be blamed on past employees or computer glitches. Anyway, we were going to provide a more detailed report on Tomlinson's fairy-tale interview with the Almaguin News, but we have since learned that council is planning to start releasing a formal "Report from Council". So instead of flogging the interview, we would provide our second annual performance report on Mayor Tomlinson and Council.

Performance is rated as follows:

A - Outstanding

B - Very Good

C - Good

D - Poor

F - Failure

and a new category: "T" - Tyrannical.

Mayor Paul Tomlinson

In terms of personal contributions, leadership, guidance, and management, we would still rate Mayor Tomlinson as last year: An "F". However, given the many instances of misbehaviour, lying, bullying, harassing, lack of conscience, terrorizing the vulnerable, and so on, we were forced to come up with a new category for his outstanding anti-performance, and his many acts of tyranny. Any accomplishments for the betterment of the town during Tomlinson’s first 2 years are projects started and funded through the previous council. Everything else has been negative, or regressive, or punitive, or tyrannical. Mayor Tomlinson also continues to be conspicuously absent from most community events or makes only a minimal appearance for the photo-op. He's also never belonged to any of the community organizations that form the backbone of our town.

Grade: T+

Councillor Ken Ball

Ken’s quiet, positive approach and strong support for doing the right things, has been instrumental in ensuring council transparency and keeping Mayor Tomlinson in check. Well done Councillor.

Grade: A-

Councillor Barry Dingwall

Barry Dingwall continues to contribute nothing, continues to ask stupid questions at council (indicating he still doesn’t read the council material beforehand), and in 2012 he ratcheted up his bullying ways to the point where he was even slapped down by his former best friend, Councillor Sainsbury. Is it any coincidence that Dingwall's next-door neighbours, Cindy Varcoe (of "inbred idiots" fame), and James "Rhys" Milner, who achieved fame by stalking and threatening the former mayor and his family, then attacking the former mayor’s son, were all pumped up ready to do Dingwall's will? And like his pal Mayor Tomlinson, Dingwall has never belonged to any community organizations and is rarely seen outside the council chamber. Doesn't live here. Doesn't want to know you.

Grade: F- 

(or "T"-wannabe)

Councillor Art Murdy

We are moving Councillor Murdy from C to B- given his strong support this past year in censuring Mayor Tomlinson and asking for the Mayor’s resignation. You have given the good guys the balance of power at the council table and some positive things are starting to emerge. You also show up and participate in community events. Thank-you Councillor Murdy.

Grade: B-

Councillor Steve Sainsbury

Councillor Sainsbury has been pivotal in turning this council around and shutting down Mayor Tomlinson. That took a lot of guts and has been a strong indication that Councillor Sainsbury wants to do the right thing for the people of Kearney. But he has a long way to go to distance himself from the favouritism he's shown his campaign manager Tim Brown (while denying he ever knew the man), and focuses more on moving the town forward in areas such as the economy, restoring services, financial management, and bringing the seasonal folks around to a better understanding without the divisiveness we still have. Stay away from doing Skelton’s wishes by trying to reduce the size of council from 7 to 5, and admit you made a mistake in pushing for the dissolution of the Wards System. This will take a lot of guts but we think you can do it. Keep up the good work and show us that your actions are born from genuine concern for Kearney and not just political savvy.

Grade: B-

Councillor Louise Wadsworth

We're moving Councillor Wadsworth from a C to an F. While Councillor Wadsworth  worked hard and successfully to promote recreational programs in 2012, as chair of the budget committee, she's sticking to Tomlinson's mandate of reducing taxes at any cost. Under her watch, the Reserves dropped from $1.4 million to less than $1,000,000 in 2012. Now the town will have to borrow $200,000 for bridge rehabilitation that would have been covered by Reserves. The Reserves are also not being replenished, so by year end, the Reserves will likely be down to $600,000 and well below Municipal Affairs & Housing guidelines. Taxes will rise in 2013 but only by a token amount. Meanwhile we continue to carry a $100,000/year CBO who brings in less than $30,000 in building permits. Wadsworth has demonstrated that she has no real leadership abilities and will allow her husband Cam and his buddies to sway her against town policy and take control of her meetings.

Grade: F

Councillor Yvonne Wills

Councillor Wills, now Deputy Mayor Wills is not afraid to stand up to the Tyrant. Wills has several significant achievements in 2012 including the new gym floor and kitchen, providing a leading role on creating the new Seniors Centre Agreement, the Seniors kitchen renovation, Regatta (which we know was a very frustrating exercise) and, of course, putting Mayor Tomlinson in his place on several occasions. Deputy Mayor Wills is also very involved in our community. Wills almost rates an A+, but she's failed to step up on a couple of harassment and bullying incidents, preferring instead to look at her feet, or worse; leave the room. Sorry Councillor, but community leaders need to demonstrate that they'll protect their constituents' rights and not just look the other way.

Grade: A-

As we said, council has announced that it will be publishing a regular Report from Council in 2013. Hopefully, it will provide specifics instead of Mayor Tomlinson's usual "I'm just one voice. It's everyone else's fault" or the alternative "It's all lies, but I never have any actual facts to support that." 

We also noticed in 2012 that Mayor Tomlinson attended some very expensive conferences at tax payers’ expense, yet not one word from the mayor about any value-for. Perhaps council should take a look at its policy of providing free holidays away for Mayor Tomlinson and instead send someone who will bring something back instead of a cell phone bill for $1000.

In 2012, Mayor Tomlinson was asked by his council to resign. He refused. That was probably a good decision on his part, although he made it for the wrong reasons. If Mayor Tomlinson resigns, he leaves under one of the biggest black clouds of any mayor in Kearney'shistory. However, if he hangs on, Tomlinson has an opportunity to come clean and try to turn things around, and end his term next year on a positive note. But, we don't think Mayor Tomlinson is smart enough to realize his opportunity nor capable of changing his ways. He's dug in his heels only because he's a self-righteous asshole who just likes to talk the talk.

And we know Mayor Tomlinson never, ever, EVER reads The Blog but maybe his sycophant Barry Dingwall - who we know does - can whisper our observations in Mayor Tomlinson’s rear. While we're at it, maybe we should post council meeting packages on the blog. Then Council Dingwall might know what’s going on. If he even cares.

One final bit of trivia: Mayor Tomlinson likes to pretend that he and members of council are far too sophisticated to read or even speak of our blog, but His Honour might be interested to know that not only does his council read our blog, but several councillors actually subscribe to it. This means that they get our articles delivered directly to their email inbox.

Are you surprised? 

A Letter from a Reader

Dear Concerned Citizens,

The Council Meeting Agenda for January 11, 2013 had some very positive elements and some very disconcerting elements.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS

·      Item 11 H(i) Resolution re: Proposed Changes to Procedural By-law – some clarification and efficiency changes seem good.

·      Item 11 H(i) Section 9(1) (b) if our interpretation is correct, questions from the Public re items on a Council Agenda will be addressed in open forum at the respective Council meeting. This may reduce the need for Question Period which is being eliminated.

·      Section 12 – re censuring, seems positive but so far the censuring of the Mayor doesn’t seem to have had any impact. Tomlinson still shoots his mouth, talks publicly of firing the previous CAO, and Council does nothing. 

·      Section 14 – New provision to read “A Mayor's/Chair's objective role means he or she does not participate in the debate.” Again, a noble gesture but given council’s failure to follow through on the Mayor’s censure-ship and no reprimand for the Mayor’s disgraceful/disrespectful interview in the Almaguin News January 3rd, don’t count on this rule being adhered too.

·      Section 20 - General (10) “The Mayor shall call a semi-annual public meeting….” This should be strengthened with a program description, e.g. Report from Council, and time-frame built into the By-Law, e.g. May long weekend, Labour Day long weekend. 

·      (iii) Resolution re: “Clerk Administrator Performance Evaluation Process” Why single out the Clerk Administrator? Shouldn’t a Performance Evaluation Process be introduced for all staff, possible one for management and a different one for non-management. Whatever council does, the Mayor needs to be kept out of it. His track record warrants as much separation between the Mayor and Staff including all confidential information. Tomlinson can’t keep his mouth shut, too busy being a big shot.

·      Councillor Wills re (ix) “…creating a “Council Newsletter” Excellent idea and long overdue. We have had nothing from the Mayor in 2 years re direction and objectives for the Town and according to his interview of January 3rd, he is still trying to figure things out.

·      12. Correspondence – Reminder to Council – Please review Council Information document for matters of interest to be brought to the next Council meeting.” This, of course, is directed to Councillor Dingwall who shows up at meetings consistently ignorant of what’s going on. Or is it just apathy? Putting this message on the Agenda serves little purpose because Dingwall won’t have seen it. However, we know Councillor Dingwall is an avid reader of the Blog so, as a public service, I'm repeating the message here. OK Barry?

DISCONCERTING ELEMENTS

·      Item 9(4)(5) Eliminates “Question Period”. Some tough questions have come before this Council that were not on the Meeting Agenda, such as depletion of Reserves, huge deficit discovered in March 2012 ($600,000), make work projects for the high cost CBO, e.g. illegal septic inspection program, passing minor variances and waiving fees for the Proudfoot Campaign Manager while ignoring neighbouring property environmental concerns, etc., etc. If it is not an Agenda item, this appears to be another opportunity to hide what council is doing, especially from the seasonal folks.

·      Item 10 (b)(1) & (2) – Question Period (b) “...questions and answers will be shared with the rest of Council and the public without debate or discussion”. This appears to usurp council’s authority by restricting members of council from participating in the decision-making of a final position (on a possibly controversial item), being taken by the Town. This appears to violate the Municipal Act and the democratic process of council.

·      Question Period (c) - once again “…without debate” seems to usurp Council's role and authority. More "Proudfoot Democracy".

·      Section 12 – censuring seems to be a very hollow act considering the Mayor has been censured with little effect. He still shoots his mouth off, talks publicly in the press about confidential staff issues, and he seems to have reverted to his attitude of much "ado about nothing", and no remorse. Council has had an opportunity to put some teeth in the “censuring” authority by appointing an Integrity Commissioner. Why Council is not doing this raises the question of how sincere this Council is in cleaning up the Mayor’s act.

·      New Section 3 CONDUCT TO BE OBSERVED. We don’t understand what that means but it seems to be somewhat restrictive and bureaucratic. What problem is being addressed here?

·      AND MOST DISCONCERTING – Item 11 (ix) “…establish an Advisory Committee to prepare a recommendation for Council 2013 concerning the size and composition of Council”. This is an euphemism for reducing the size of council from 7 to 5.This is a Jim Skelton/Proudfoot Property Owners Association (PTPOA/SLAPOA)/Grass & Loon Lake Residents Group (GLLRG) initiative which was part of dissolving the Wards System and placing Proudfoot Associations in a majority position at the council table? How’s that working out? With all the power in one corner of the town, favouring one segment of the community while beating up on the rest with punitive by-laws, phony septic inspections, no winter clearing of public sidewalks, no Lions Park pavilion, and now destroying the financial health of the Town? Jim Skelton/SLAPOA/GLLRG are not satisfied with mere control, they want to decimate any representation from the rest of Kearney, kill economic growth, drive the Town of Kearney into Third World status, and perpetuate divisive tactics for the unsuspecting seasonal folks. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN, AT EVERYONE’S PERIL!!

·      Reducing Council from 7 to 5 - Kearney’s image with the rest of the world is abysmal. Negativity, divisiveness, corruption, financial mismanagement, bullying and harassment of staff, censuring of the Mayor, council request for Mayor’s resignation, the Mayor’s tongue displayed in households across the country (what is he, 12 years old?). Reduce council to 5 and that will be the final nail in the town’s coffin. There will be a fight, probably the nastiest thing the town has ever seen, and the end result, regardless of the outcome, will be cataclysmic!! 

·      Reducing Council from 7 to 5 - Kearney’s Regatta, has been reduced to a minor event at best, and for 2013, a Kearney Regatta is still up in the air. This council has no will to ensure a Regatta, nor to remove all of the restrictions the Mayor placed on the 2012 Regatta. Councillor Wills has had enough and we applaud her supreme efforts, in spite of Mayoral interference, restrictions, bullying, and harassment. I notice that the Proudfoot Regatta proceeds uninhibited year after year...

·      The real consideration for council is to bring back the Ward System. Thanks to Barry Dingwall and Steve Sainsbury, the Town of Kearney has experienced ½ term without a Ward System, and all the power residing in one corner of the Town. All for the good of everyone, right boys? Over the past 2 years the Proudfoot-controlled council has virtually decimated the town of Kearney in all aspects. It hasn’t worked, we have been violated, and our town is in tatters. Bring back the Ward System. Hold a referendum and let the people, all people, of Kearney speak. And keep the Proudfoot Associations out of the debate!!!

Thanks!

(Please don't publish my name or email.)

Councillor Wills gives Mayor Tomlinson a taste

Click on image to see full-size

This appeared in the January 10th, 2013 edition of the Almaguin News. 

Kudos to you, Councillor Wills!

Sadly, Paul Tomlinson has always liked to talk the talk, but has never and will never walk the walk. As the line goes: "It is a tale told by an idiot..."

Sorry to keep you waiting, Paul.

Many of our readers read Mayor Paul Tomlinson’s pre-Christmas interview in the January 3^rd, 2012 edition of the Almaguin News, and several of our readers submitted their personal takes on the mayor’s fantasies with varied views: “disappointing” (from someone who actually believed in him); “outrageous”; “unbelievable crap”; “delusionary”; “laughable”; “starting to believe his own lies”; “the poor pathetic little man”. And Tomlinson has been wearing out his refresh button waiting for us to write something, so without further adieu let us take a quick look at what His Honour had to say.

“It was all good last year.”In spite of losing the support of his council, being asked by council to resign, being censured by council, being found guilty of bullying and harassing staff (again), being asked to explain a $600,000 deficit, having his tongue’s picture in the National Section of the Toronto Star and in the Almaguin News (on 2 occasions), etc.

“We probably accomplished more to date in our two years of council than ...the previous two terms of council...”, but can then only cite some punitive by-laws his By-Law Enforcement Committee created to nail our poor and elderly. He goes on to try to take credit for the work of others but we'll get to that.

“But, no we have not heard any specific complaints on the sewage inspection program. In fact, it was long overdue and welcome by the majority of the community.” Is Tomlinson really that far out of touch with reality or is he hoping that if he lies often enough those lies will magically become truths? Maybe the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing and NBMCA would be pleased to offer the Mayor a reality check.

Re: CBO “...These are all unfounded complaints... have been dealt with... concerns have been addressed and it’s over and done with... It’s not an issue”. Here he goes from no complaints to unfounded complaints. Is Tomlinson now referring to the 200 signatures on the petition, or is Tomlinson referring to the CBO-inspected foundation that collapsed in Proudfoot, or is Tomlinson referring to the damage the CBO caused to the antique countertop in the Candy Store? Is Tomlinson referring to the many complaints that went to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, or is Tomlinson referring to the annual $100,000 cost of our new CBO compared to when we had a shared service with Perry Township at just $35,000 per year.

NOTE: if we returned to a shared CBO for 2013, the $65,000 we save would fund the Kearney Library ($25,000), a rink attendant ($10,000), and plow the sidewalks ($30,000 one time capital investment), and we'd still have improved CBO Services.

“…Unprecedented road construction, that’s the (Highway) 518.” This was a project initiated and funded by the previous council. But if you can't find any example of real personal accomplishments just take credit for other people's work. Right, Paul?

“Our reserves... will probably approximate at about $1 million at end of this (2012) year”Oh yeah? How can you come into 2011 with an unexpected loss of $621,000 and then need to borrow $200,000 to fund bridge rehabilitation, and still claim $1 million? Let’s wait for the official 2012 Audit Report to know the real truth on this one. But, we do love the way Tomlinson looks us square in the eye and says, "probably approximate at about".

Re: Regatta 2012 not necessarily a good news story – “I think it is.” Not sure what the mayor’s criteria are for a “good news story”, but Regatta 2012 certainly wasn’t one. It lost money for the first time, lost attendance, lost events independent of the weather, such as Battle of the Bands, Best Dressed Boat, Children’s Water Sports, Steel Band Orchestra, Kearney Review, and the Street Dance which is a “home coming/community festival event” that draws folks young and old from across the country.

Re: Dog Sled Races big success – what is the difference? A non-response from Tomlinson. The real answer is that Tomlinson did try his controlling antics with Dog Sled Committee as he did with Regatta. The difference? Dog Sled told him to go to hell or else, and Tomlinson had the good sense to back off. Then he turned his wrath and frustrations upon Regatta. Tomlinson’s interference is the difference.

What do you see coming up? There is so much two-faced crap in Tomlinson’s response, it’s not worth trying to paraphrase his response. Suffice it to say, Tomlinson is on record as the strongest critic of the graphite mine and demanded it be shut down and their assets seized for back-taxes. Too bad the graphite mine didn't owe any back-taxes, Paul. Duh.

Anything else in the plan for next year? “…despite a couple of hiccups this year (2012)... there is a lot of catch up... as we agree on a sense of direction...” What??? More than half way in his term, Tomlinson has been so busy systematically dismantling everything built up over the years, he has run out of time to even consider a sense of direction. Meanwhile the Economic Development Committee was cancelled, the Roads Committee was cancelled, the Planning Committee was cancelled, jobs have been cut, funding has been cut, and all the volunteers who had excellent experience and knowledge to offer have been chased off.

There is a faction out there that is in opposition...“If we are talking specifically about the blog...” “...don’t think even half of [council]read it anymore… so outrageous... so misinformed... stuff in there is just ridiculous... bent on a vendetta... against myself... other members of council…” For someone who does not read the blog, Tomlinson seems very preoccupied with the blog. Wouldn’t the simplest and most effective way for Tomlinson to reduce the credibility of the blog would be to matter-of-factly present where the blog is misinformed. The Almaguin News gave Tomlinson an entire page, but instead of taking the opportunity to set the record straight by pointing out where we, and his many critics, have gotten it all wrong, he just resorts to the same old rhetoric. Conversely, we quote from reliable sources including the town own documents, and we provide verifiable facts and numbers. Sure, we like to make sport of the Proudfoot bunch, but we always show our work. We give you real numbers and real sources so you, Dear Reader, can make informed decisions. But all Tomlinson can offer up is the same old, same old.

Do you think that this blog has had any impact on the way this council does business? “No.” “...so misinformed it’s ridiculous” “The blog has not influenced council actions behaviour in any way, shape, or form... none of council have in over a year, dignified the blog with response to any of the outrageous lies they are putting in it.” Maybe Tomlinson isn’t keeping a close enough watch on his council. Check again Paul. Councillor Barry Dingwall wrote a wonderful diatribe against us and bloggers as recently as last August (there's no such thing as bad publicity, so thanks for that, Barry). And we noticed you aren’t going around sticking your tongue in people’s faces anymore. Or are you?

What would make you run for mayor? “My job is undone.” If your “undone” job is one of “undoing” you have undone a marvellous job. Virtually everything the town and previous councils, staff, and volunteers have built up over the past 25 years, you have managed to undo in just two. Well undone, Paul.

“I had to outplace our past CAO.” We didn't know what "outplace" means so we looked it up. It means "To terminate a person's employment, but help the former employee to obtain another post". So Tomlinson is once again talking publicly about personal staff issues while pretending that he, while a mere councillor and "just one voice", personally fired the previous CAO. But, if she found a new job, Tomlinson wants to take credit for that, too. Thanks for letting the world know that Kearney's previous CAO was fired, Paul! People love it when you reveal confidential information about them in the local paper.

…members of council were asking you to resign.“It was unwarranted and uncalled for.” Even though he was found guilty of bullying and harassment, gross misconduct, found guilty by the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office for secret meetings, censured, inappropriately demanded $1000 from the town for his misplaced Blackberry, tried to publicly influence the death of the Duck Lake project, etc., etc., etc. This coming from the man who demanded Mayor Johnston's resignation every 10 minutes during the last term. Or was that just “…pure and simple political shenanigans…”, Paul?

“…and the folks in this town won’t forget it.” Damn tootin’, Paul. In less than 20 months your reign of terror and destruction will be over. Only the lawsuits may remain.

There you have it. An entire page in the Almaguin News and all we got out of Tomlinson was a bunch a vague BS about how great he is and how everyone else sucks. 

Stay tuned for Part 2, when we look more closely at Mayor Paul Tomlinson's interview.