By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON April 28, 2013. The earth moved; the ground shifted. It will be awhile before we see the effect of these changes but they are significant for your city.
There is a candidate, described as credible by those who have worked with him in the venture capital markets and in the public service sphere, who has decided that he will enter the public arena and stand for election next year – 2014.
He will win the council seat he runs for and serve a term as a Council member and then, in the 2020 municipal election, he will run for Mayor – whether it is against current Mayor Rick Goldring is something that Goldring will decide, for Goldring will be returned in 2014 and find a very able new addition to a Council that has a combination of weak blood and tired blood on it now.
This candidate deciding to run will bring to an end the Mayoral aspirations of current Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who many feel has done significant damage to the economic interests of the city.
Completing the Pier this year and re-building city council next year would be quite a change. The Pier has cost us our shirts – will a newer council bring in the kind of business the city needs to see some real growth?
One possible change to this scenario – this candidate may decide that the city cannot afford another four years of Goldring leadership and decide to run for Mayor in 2014 and take a pass on sitting as a Council member first.
One other interesting development on the electoral health of our Council members: the Roseland Community Organization is thinking of running an advertisement for someone to run in Ward 4, currently held by Jack Dennison. His decision to push for bike lanes on Lakeshore Road was irritating to the community but it was something they believed they could defeat, which they did.
Dennison’s decision to seek a severance of his Lakeshore property was a step to far for the RCO people. All that can do is impact on their property values and in Roseland that is a no-no.
Who would you suggest for Ward 4?
Any initials you’re willing to share or even the ward the phantom councillor may run in?
The phantom messiah cometh??????????????e
Do I detect a hint of opacity?
I’m a big fan of Westerns. The lone shadowy figure of a cowboy riding into town to clean it up; or, the local folk advertising for a new sheriff to save them. And your story has both plot lines! Amazing how you can spin and weave together a terrific yarn from a few strands of information. Hi-yo, Pepper!