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The mayoralty race got started today (Sunday) when Deputy Mayor Sandra Cooper held a meet-and-greet at the Legion. And if that meeting was an indication of the trend among local voters, I'd suggest Sandra already has a lengthy lead against her competition.


Originally booked for the Legion's small room, organizers nervously took a last-minute chance and booked the larger room, but had only set up about half the room with chairs and tables, hoping for a modest turn out. By the time Sandra spoke to the crowd, tables and chairs had been shuffled out of storage to fill the room, with very few left empty. It was a full audience.

And it wasn't just the usual circle of friends and family around her. There were a lot of supporters,...

To the tune of Sixteen Tons...*

Chorus:
Dm.........C..............Bb...............A7
Six long hours, and wadda ya you get?
Dm.........C..............Bb...............A7
A little more debenture and deeper in debt
Dm...............................Gm
Mayor dontcha call me in camera to go
Dm.................................................A7
Cause behind closed doors things move too slow!

Verse:
Some people think a councillor's about as smart as mud
Others say he's not as bright as ol' Elmer Fudd
After six long hours of meeting, I think they may be right
Cause we talk, talk, talked long into the night

Chorus
...

In his book, The Local Food Revolution, Canadian author Gordon Hume wrote, "Food is a key part of community's reputation, image, the buzz created, and the local flavours and textures of the region... Food will continue to feed and shape our creative communities. It is also a crucial component that ties together the creative economy and innovative local community-building."

So when a staff report came up on Monday recommending a local food procurement policy for municipal events and functions, as well as recommending a coordinated effort between regional municipalities, farm produce suppliers, and the health unit to provide and encourage access to local foods, I thought it was a motherhood issue we would all stand behind.
...

Just before we went in camera, Monday, I asked Councillor Jeffrey if she had voted to pull the the BIA out of the contract it signed with the town. She said yes and indicated it was a unanimous vote (although it was not made clear who was at that meeting).

At that point, the mayor took over and shoved the rest of the discussion behind closed doors.

While some of that heated debate probably belonged there, how someone voted in a public meeting did not. I think that section should have been held in public. Instead we had an angry 90-plus minute "discussion" about it behind closed doors.

The public only knows, because I asked and she answered before we went in camera, that council's representative on the BIA - Kathy Jeffrey...

Yesterday, I was asked by a downtown merchant to get answers to a few questions re: the new licensing bylaw. He made some salient points I hadn't really considered during our debate on the bylaw, in particular about the merchant displays on the main street:

• Does a merchant HAVE to use a tent? The bylaw says "shall" which suggest tents are mandatory. But not everyone wants to use one (especially for a one-day sale) or to incur the additional expense of having to buy or rent one. What if they don't want one? Can they just put merchandise curbside without a tent, say on a rack or table?
• ...

Get over it. That's what Councillor Labelle wrote to me in an email when I recently suggested council might allow patios to open beside the buildings for the Elvis Festival, to let the restaurants capitalize on the crush of visitors this weekend.

...

I had to wonder whether some of council's sudden outpouring of concern for the extra costs borne by retaillers and restaurateurs over the new licence fees was really a genuine turn-around show of empathy for them, or just electioneering in face of growing public dissatisfaction over this issue?

...

Test your skill! Look at the three pictures below and tell me what's wrong in each one:



Let's see. People enjoying themselves. Lots of room for people to pass the patios. No obstructions to pedestrians. Customers enjoying a meal or drink outdoors on this beautiful July 1 afternoon. The almost-complete downtown reconstruction is looking good. The sidewalk is wider than ever. The downtown is full of people. So what could possibly be wrong?

Hint: Today is July 5.

That's right: these patios are illegal as of today, thanks to Councillors Jeffrey, McNabb, Labelle, Foley and Sandberg. So enjoy the photos, because you won't see the patios back beside the buildings until next term.

I just learned that the traditional pancake breakfast will not be taking place downtown on Canada Day this year. Council wasn't informed of this change, nor was council even asked whether or not we wanted to participate. It was just cancelled.

I only found out because an email meant for Helena Guergis' office was misrouted to my inbox. Our MP had already sent out an information flyer about Canada Day events mentioning the pancake breakfast. She's wrong, but I can understand the confusion. For the past decade or two, it has been held here. And hundreds of residents and visitors have enjoyed a low-cost breakfast courtesy of the town. Helena usually joined us at the grill for an hour or two.

Now it isn't happening and I have...

None of those buskers would be allowed to play on Collingwood's streets, because they use amplification.

Neither would this busker who performs to large crowds in Sydney, Australia.

But we won't allow any of them - or tens of thousands like them - to play here because they use amplification. Just check YouTube to see dozens, maybe hundreds of other busking videos.

Collingwood: We license culture, we tax culture and we control culture. But we don't embrace it.

Check the comments for more examples.