Where's Joe Krall

I am outraged. I am disgusted. I demand a correction. I demand an immediate apology.

I am sure, dear reader, that if you read Gord Henderson's column yesterday then you will know to whom Gord was referring:

"If Marra -- a graceful loser in 2006 -- is getting his career advice from the right people, he won't spend the next four years pandering to the peanut gallery, which appears to consist of one or two bitter and obsessive old men."

I resent what was said! How dare he claim I am "old!" How rude. The Blogmeister's hair is brown after all, what little of it is left, with distinguished gray at the temples. Hrrrrrrmpf! "Old" is merely a state of mind.

Who is the other man? I thought I had this function all to myself. Funny though, if our ranks are so small, then why did he have to mention us at all.

It was a very strange column too. It seemed as if Gord was not sure how to praise Marra while at the same time burying him. The funniest lines in the column were: "Listen carefully and you can almost hear the sigh of disappointment over in France where Mayor Eddie Francis is involved in activities... But it must be galling for someone as competitive as Francis to be denied a replay of the 2003 showdown that saw him sweep all five wards, including the home base of his older and more experienced rival."

Oh please. The only sigh one heard amongst the champagne bottles being uncorked in France when the Marra news was relayed over and at E-machine HQ was one of relief. In my opinion, there is only one back-room boy in town who could have master-minded the E-machine campaign so well that Marra and his closest advisors would decide not to run for Mayor. It was a high-stakes gamble for Eddie and he won out. The back-roomer knew full well that Eddie was at risk and could be beaten with a strong campaign.

Am I disappointed that Bill is not running for Mayor. Yes. I thought it was essential to have a full debate over the path that the Mayor is following. More importantly, if there is to be a change in Councillors, there needed to be a voice who was articulating the problems so that the incumbents could be challenged. Now it will be much more difficult for anyone to beat a sitting Councillor.

Did Bill make the right decision? We'll find out on November 13. However, it would be presumptuous of me to tell Bill or anyone else what they should or should not do. It is after all, his life and that of his family that are involved. Only they can decide what makes the most sense and I respect his decision.

It will be a tough fight in Ward 4. Marra and Lewenza will be the main contenders who will get most of the publicity for the second Council seat (everyone assumes that the Senator is a shoo-in) but watch out for Ed Sleiman. If he runs the campaign that he did last time, and adopts a new approach as well, he could surprise everyone.

We have seen a glimpse of how Bill will be attacked during the campaign in the last part of Henderson's column. And if you think that the E-machine wants him to be on Council as a possible Leader of the Opposition.....well election to Council will not be easy for him.

If he is so lucky as to be elected, then Bill is being warned how he must act, or else "He'll have to appear statesmanlike and demonstrate he's a team player whose critical comments are in the city's best interests, not his own." In other words, do not rock Eddie's boat.

It will be a horrific time in Windsor for the next 4 years if there are not major changes in the way this City is run. We have already had 3 years of plans but no action on anything of significance. Gord's Councillor buddy is right "The next mayoral race will begin on the evening of Nov. 13." And he or she may be one of the contenders. Of the current councillors, at least 5 or 6 of them may want to run and I can think of several outsiders as well. The Governor's hubby will be very, very busy with Council next term.

Those of us in the peanut gallery, and there are more than you think, are not "bitter" but are disappointed. We are disappointed that what we worked so hard to achieve by getting Eddie and a new Council elected, a Council of change, never happened. What we got was the most secretive bunch of elected officials imaginable who failed to take their electorate into account, who failed to trust the people who elected them and who accomplished little for their constituents.

We were promised so much and received so little. Unfortunately for the Mayor, as head of Council and the only full-time politician, he must take the blame for the mess, no matter how hard he tries to shove it off to his Council. My real disappointment is that this Council did not have the guts of the last one to stand up to the Mayor and take over the running of the City.

We peanut galleryers are obsessed...obsessed to make this City great and to prosper with or in spite of our Municipal politicians. And we will do it. We are not afraid to point out the failings of those who have misused our trust. We don't wear blinkers nor are we cheerleaders.

Be honest...don't you just feel this City drifting without any sense of purpose or direction. Are we better off in Windsor now than we were three years ago? That slogan alone would win the mayoral election, even for a nobody.

Gord asked "Why didn't he tackle Francis?" and gave his version of an answer. The real answer has only two words in it. You can guess it easily I am sure.

I wonder if there is another Joe Krall around. In case you do not remember who he is, read this from my buddy Gord. Just replace "Hurst" with "Francis." It applies even more today:

• "Did Windsor Mayor Mike Hurst kick butt? Or was he on the receiving end of a slap upside of the head from tens of thousands of unhappy city residents?
  
  The simplistic interpretation is that Hurst grabbed more than 60 per cent of the vote and strutted away with the grand prize and that makes him the undisputed champion. People wanted him back for another three years. End of story.
  
  If that's the only message Hurst takes from this exercise, it will be a long grind to November of 2003. You think we've witnessed contempt for lesser mortals? We ain't seen nothing yet. If Hurst chooses to interpret Monday night's numbers as "a ringing endorsement" and confirmation he's the king of the hill, God help Windsor.
  
  I happen to think Hurst is smarter than that. I think one reason people at the Caboto Club found him a little testy is that he knows a chump challenger, a guy who by rights shouldn't have drawn loose change, attracted almost 20,000 votes. An insider with 13 years of council experience beat an outsider with three months of public exposure. Hardly a monumental accomplishment.
  
  Joe who?
  
  Joe Krall? When Krall announced his candidacy at the Caboto Club on Aug. 10, reporters were scratching their heads. Who was he? Where was he coming from? And where on earth did this far from charismatic nobody get the idea he could run for the top job without paying his dues on the school board or council?
  
  We didn't take him seriously. But after the snickering died down, Krall proceeded to run a professional, high-voltage campaign that surprised just about everyone.
  
  Droves of Windsor residents were clearly looking for an alternative. But when election day arrived, they didn't feel safe handing over the leadership of this city to a mystery man with no political track record. Better the devil they know."