Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society provides grassroots leadership and an inclusive process, with a voice for all community members, to ensure that our community grows and develops in a way that incorporates an environmental ethic, offers a range of housing and transportation choices, encourages a vibrant and cultural life and supports sustainable, meaningful employment and business opportunities.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Taking Sides as an Elected Official

Mayors and Councillors are entitled, of course, to their personal political opinions but as an elected official of a community and supposedly representing the community as a whole, many would consider it inappropriate, distasteful and insulting to have an elected official use that position to endorse one political party, for as such they speak for their whole community. Mayors and their Councils must work with their Provincial and Federal representatives, from any party for the betterment of their communities and it might be considered very unwise to blatantly take sides.

Unfortunately Cranbrook’s Mayor Pratt chose to do just that by endorsing one political party in a paid political advertisement in the Thursday, October 8th edition of the Townsman.

“By taking a position you’re basically taking a position on behalf of the entire municipality,” said Welland Mayor Frank Campion. “I think it would be wrong and probably insulting to take a position on a particular party.”
Campion said that he recognizes it’s no secret he ran for the Conservatives in the last provincial election, and that people know where he’s coming from, but as mayor he won’t throw support behind any particular party or candidate.
He said his personal politics are cross-party, saying he agrees with certain aspects of each party’s platform.

“But otherwise I will stay uninvolved in the campaign because I think I’m the mayor of all the people — I’m the mayor of Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats, Greens, Rhinoceros Party, Marijuana Party people,” he said. “I’m the mayor of all the people and it is my job to get the best deal for Toronto and not to get involved in the campaign.” Toronto Mayor Tory


No comments:

Post a Comment