Kearns loves the photo op; difficult to find a bylaw she introduced and shepherded to completion.

By Pepper Parr

October 21st, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Ward 2 is downtown Burlington.

Is has been undergoing massive high rise development.

The ward 2 Councillor has a significant impact on how issues roll out.

The consultants for the owners of the Waterfront hotel put it very well when they said that the intersection of Brant and Lakeshore Road is “ground zero” for Burlington.

That kind of hype can go to the head of a politician who doesn’t have a strong grip on what the real world that people have to live in day to day is all about.

The ward was represented by Marianne Meed ward from 2010 up until 2018 when she ran for Mayor.
Lisa Kearns is now the Councillor for the ward.

Lisa loves the photo op.

She defines herself as a policy wonk.

She thinks quickly, at times uses complex language to get a simple complex issue across. I still don’t know what she means when she talks about “the delta”.

In the first few years as Councillor she had a sense of humour and the ability to pop out one liners that were wickedly funny.

She can multi task like crazy.

Lisa also has one of the best brains working in the municipal sector that I have seen in some time.

She can see and work with the “big picture” ideas but has yet to come up with ideas, concepts or directions for the city.
It is difficult to find something she introduced and shepherded to completion.

And the truth is not always clearly defined in her hands.

An opportunity to take a principled position was missed.

An opportunity to take a principled stand was lost when the vote to proceed with the redevelopment of the Skyway Arena in the east end of the city was being voted on. The cost came in at $39 million which Councillor Stolte said was too high and something the city could not afford.

Kearns agreed with Stolte and said so but when it came to a vote – she went with the majority. Putting a vote behind the verbal support would not have put a halt to the project; instead of a 6-1 vote it could have been a 5-2 keeping the development alive but making an important point

Kearns tells people that actions speak louder than words – but there isn’t all that much in the way of measureable action to show for the four years she has been on the job.

She is going to ensure that the public gets value for the taxes they pay – how about keeping tax increases at the 3% to 4% level. The reality at this point looks like something that might be a double digit

Being a municipal Councillor is hard work – something the public doesn’t appreciate.

Does anyone understand why, in the middle of her first term, she agreed to be considered a candidate for the Burlington seat in the provincial Legislature?

She makes mention of a strong business community to have a “vibrant” downtown core. There is currently a group wanting to open what will be a pharmacy, massage and doctor’s office set up that is on hold due to a zoning issue.

There are literally dozens of seniors who would love to see a medical practice on Brant Street close to Lakeshore Road that they can walk to. Appeals to step in have been made to Kearns with nothing in the way of a response.

Being popular and being liked is nice – but most people would like to see results that make their lives more livable rather than a council member who wants to have her picture taken with them.

Unfortunately, Kearns is the best of the three candidates.

There is something unsettling with a politician who decides during a Zoom call to blurt out some information that was confidential that gets put out where it is public and then has an anxiety attack and asks to have the public comment taken down. And scrambling to talk to everyone about how to fix the goof on the part of the Councillor.

Why was she even talking about the amount of money that was being set aside for a legal defence?

No one outside of Council and the City Manager and the City Solicitor were supposed have access to that information.

The information was leaked at a meeting of the Burlington Downtown Business Association.

This was a case of someone showing off – loose lips sink ships and on this one her ship should sink.

Her council colleagues appear to have supported Kearns for what has been described as an unintended utterance – try that one the next time you are in traffic court. Quite how and why this was discussed in a Closed Session of Council is something we may never know..

The unfortunate part of Kearns’s candidacy is that she is the best of the three candidates-her community deserves a more mature individual who does not block people who want access to her social media simply because she doesn’t like hearing from them.

Maybe some growing up and a little less of the histrionics are in order. Some duct tape on the mouth would be a good start.
The really disturbing note with Lisa Kearns is that there is so much raw talent that isn’t being put to use; instead we are seeing someone who wants to be liked.

I’d like to be able to respect the woman.

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5 comments to Kearns loves the photo op; difficult to find a bylaw she introduced and shepherded to completion.

  • Lorraine Sommerfeld

    So everyone is cool with the casual misogyny you just throw around? Suggesting a woman needs her mouth duct taped to stop her histrionics is vile.

    Editor’s note: Duct tape could be used on men as well

  • Jimmy Perrenoud

    Penny – I don’t believe that Mr. Parr is as bad as Roland Tanner paints him in a five or six tweet thread. I do think that he is stuck in some sort of linguistic time-warp where phrases such as “the natives are restless” is still acceptable and has no overt racial bias. Still, he does seem to rather arbitrarily comment on comments – frequently with considerable bite. And his position on women is debatable at best.

    However, as one of his very regular contributors and a woman, I was quite appalled that you would comment on “whistles and coyotes” but leave a “duct tape” reference unremarked; one that is totally unacceptable now and would have been 50 years ago as well. I think that your quite obvious dislike of Lisa Kearns has clouded your better judgement and your better self.

  • Penny Hersh

    Don’t forget the ill-fated Coyote Whistles. No one talks about them anymore since the wildlife expert explained that the coyotes have been conditioned to come to noise as they think that there will be food waiting for them.

  • GBR

    Who did not vote for the new Skyway community centre?

    Stolte

  • Jim Thomson

    One thing she introduced: The First Rainbow Crosswalk.
    An idea so good the Mayor stole it and used reserve fund to pay for more.