By Pepper Parr
June 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
If Paul Sharman does not wander down to city hall before August 19th, Marianne Meed Ward will be returned as Mayor in the October election.
Mayoralty candidate Annn Marsden will surprise people with the number of votes she gets but she will not be the Mayor.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
Paul Sharman, Councillor
Anne Marsden
Sharman certainly likes the idea of being Mayor and it would be one heck of a way to end a political career. But Paul Sharman is cautious, especially when it relates directly to his personal interests.
He has to decide if he wants to watch Meed Ward whittle away some of the gains that have taken place.
He has a vision for the city but isn’t yet at the point where he can advocate for and speak to that vision. It probably has some rough edges yet.
The challenge for Paul Sharman is deciding what kind of a mark he wants to make before his political career comes to an end.
Will he go for the brass ring and be known as someone who took a risk and made Burlington a different and better place ?
Or will he settle for having been a four term council member and retiring – to what?
There is a lot riding on the decision Sharman makes.
There are three other members of the current council that harbour dreams of becoming Mayor – a lot of growing left to be done for all three – a meeting with a guidance counsellor in the near future for at least one
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
Paul Sharman would have our votes. I hope others encourage him to run, as he has the knowledge and experience needed to steer our city in the years ahead.
Either of the candiates present in the article would serve Burlington well as mayor
I’m sure many potential candidates are wondering, if the Ford government will make changes to the Regional Councils. We are aware of the cuts that were made to the council in Toronto before the last municipal election.
Paul Sharman would have my vote!
I know of a few more.
At this point there is no one running against MMW.
I have had multiple dealings with Paul Sharman as I live in Ward 5. He is conscientious, thorough, and his follow up on issues is excellent. I haven’t always agreed with his stance on different issues, but I respect his business acumen, and admire the fact that he can disagree with you without dismissing you.
I don’t know Anne Marsden personally but I have read and followed her comments on the Burlington Gazette. She is clearly knowledgeable, informed, passionate and sincere.
It is still “early days”, and it would be encouraging if others such as Greg Woodruff or Tom Muir would run whether for Mayor or Council. Clearly, the City needs elected officials who not only understand the issues in depth, but also, have the moxie to stand up and challenge the so called “subject matter experts” at City Hall. My biggest fear is that the City is being run by technocrats who not only lack an understanding of the words “citizen engagement”, but aren’t particularly respectful of divergent opinions.
Your last sentence says it how very few understand it is Stephen, sad that it has come to that as we truly believe there are more than enough excellent candidates out there who could have done far better since 2010.
Political strategists may disagree with you Pepper. Dunkirk was seen as a failure in WW2 but without that supposed failure we would not have been on the winning side. Nothing is carved in stone when it comes to a Mayor’s race that is four months away. Lots of time for significant bombs to drop on the Meed Ward and Sharman campaigns. No-one expected a Liberal candidate dropping out of the Provincial election as late as they did and not being replaced because of a Nomination Paper filing impropriety, as we understand occurred. Lots of time yet for revelations that could leave both the Mayor and Councillor Sharman wishing they had done things differently since 2010.
As our five year old grandson learnt on the weekend when he captured 1st place in his first event in a 5 and under provincial BMX meet and got a bi to the Main Event that decided places. Its not always the fastest out of the gate or the one with the biggest success record who wins. Rather, it was the tons of practice hours he has put in for two years, building up his skills and yes maybe the 30 minute nap he took before the main event, that saw him take the lead and hold on to it in his qualifying race and then get a 5th place trophy for the main event, up against 13 riders all with likely more experience than him.
Burlington would be well served if Paul had a term as Mayor