Is It Au Revoir to Gridlock Sam

Is it finally the end of the road for Sam Schwartz in Windsor? If so, what will the Mayor and Council say when confronted by citizens who elected them to find a border solution? Sam was their only hope!

You remember Sam Schwartz don't you, the author of the famous Schwartz Report on the border. You have not heard a lot about him for some time.

He was the world famous traffic guru; the man who helped coin the word "Gridlock." He was the traffic engineer who could deliver a pitch with the best of them and who dared us to THINK BIG as only a New Yorker could.

His Report became Windsor's Holy Grail. Whatever our problem was, Schwartz was the answer. His Report was the salvation that the Mayor and Council needed to demonstrate that they knew what to do on the border. "Schwartz, Schwartz, Schwartz" was their rallying cry. It became simple for them. Just mention the Report and that would keep everyone quiet it was hoped.

Without going through the gory details, the Report was undercut by our Mayor on Detroit TV two days after it was issued when Eddie conceded that the Bi-national was the decision-maker. From receiving a standing ovation to the report being ripped apart shortly thereafter, it became clear that the Report was more a political document than an engineering one. When the Report became a "starting point" for the City after months of Eddie trying to sell it unsuccesfully and then Cansult tore out the guts of it, we knew that it was over.

Sam had a couple of last hurrahs. Frankly one was an embarrassing one as far as I was concerned at the Joint Councils meeting in Detroit and then at the Council meeting in Tecumseh. But the fire was gone. He just went through the paces it seemed.

My understanding is that Sam Schwartz of Canada, Ltd. required a Certificate of Authorization to engage in the business of offering and providing professional engineering services to the public. As I have posted before, Marko Paranosic left Sam's office and joined Stantec in Kitchener. I have been advised that:

• "When the only engineer of a CofA chooses to leave his/her current employment, or if a member is “Lapsed/Resigned/Retired or even Deceased”; as per the Professional Engineering Act and Regulations the CofA has to be suspended, and the CofA holder is given certain amount of time to pursue finding a suitable replacement for the departing P. Eng., which is the case of Sam Schwartz of Canada ltd. as of the yesterday [August 30]."

What does it all mean to us? Will Sam find a replacement or will he let his Certificate lapse? Who is Windsor's expert now? Whose name does the Mayor use to impress others and whom does Eddie drag along to meetings? Why would Marko leave and Sam not replace him if there was still work to do? Will Sam get another chance to make some money or is the office closed except for face-saving purposes?

Clearly we are hearing less and less of Schwartz and more of "quality of life" and tunnels. Since they failed miserably with Schwartz, Eddie and Council need to pretend that they are accomplishing something when in reality they have achieved little. The failure is overwhelmingly disastrous for us since they had all of the key players eating out of their hands when they were first elected. The Senior Levels and the Americans waited on us, wanting to know what we wanted and we were let down by our leaders. In a few simple words, the Mayor and Council blew it and blew it badly.

They disappointed the people that elected them and did it in the most outrageous manner possible. The people elected on a platform of open and transparent government hid everything from us on the border issue and they still are.

We are worse off now than we were three years ago. Windsor has no position; we just posture. We react to what others do as before and are no longer proactive. We have given up. We are worn out. We wonder why no one listens to us. We have no friends and have become isolated. We have no one around whom we can rally since we no longer have the trust. There are no innovative ideas from Council, no solutions. It is just hanging on and hoping it can all be kept quiet until after the election.

To be quite direct about it, I think that Eddie knew he lost early on or perhaps never cared since he is focusing on the Tunnel so much. I think Schwartz was meant to divert people's attention away from the Tunnel and Eddie's Plan. Frankly, I think Eddie secretly hoped that the Senior Levels would get fed up and impose a solution on Windsor. Then it would NOT be his fault and no one could be angry at him or blame him for THEIR decision. He could still be our hero tilting at windmills.

What has it all come down to--the Made in Windsor border solution will be made by Transport Canada and the Bridge Company, probably sooner rather than later. And you know what, I think most Windsorites would welcome it now.

So au revoir Sam if you decide to go. You gave us one brief shining moment that evening at the Cleary. You made us feel good and gave us hope until reality set back in much too quickly.