Insider City Hall Gossip

Gee, I feel like a Hollywood Gossip Columnist with all of the stories I have been hearing over the past few days.

Apparently, according to the Star's Roseanne Danese in her very flattering comments on my Blog on her blogsite http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/features/blogs/danese.html :

• "The juiciest [BLOG] of all though – the one which is considered a must-read among city hall workers and political hangers-on – is the one that’s posted by Ed Arditti, a municipal politics muckraker and not a big fan of Brister and Mayor Eddie Francis.
  
  Most city councillors will never admit they read Arditti’s blog, but they do. Be certain of that. Privately, city hall employees have said they’ve been surprised from time to time at the accuracy of some of his inside information. He has moles. But no one seems to know who they are."

I must admit I thought the comment was not too nice since I was not sure exactly what a "muckraker" was until I read this explanation:

• "Although the term muckraking might appear to have negative connotations, muckrakers have most often sought, in the past, to serve the public interest by uncovering crime, corruption, waste, fraud and abuse in both the public and private sectors."

I liked that and think it is pretty accurate. So to keep my reputation intact, here are some interesting items circulating around and about Windsor recently:

1. Who owns this Website http://www.windsorcitycouncil.com/ Hint, it is NOT the City of Windsor! What a hoot!


2. Who was the Mayor sitting with at a table recently for dinner at a function at Willistead Manor?


3. Did the Willistead caterers serve egg salad hors d'œuvres with a slightly bleachy taste


4. Are some people worried at City Hall that if the PCR price goes $1 over the fixed $47,920,000 price as set out in the Administration recommendation (That is the amount Council approved by the way), then the whole mess starts over again and has to come back to Council since there is no authorization to go with a different price! [Since GST is an extra, are we in trouble already?]
   


5. Were Eddie's fundraising efforts falling flat? Is that why he is using his old election lawnsigns?
   


6. On which "today" is Our Future starting according to Eddie? The Today in 2003 when he was first elected or the Today in 2006 when he is seeking re-election? Read his lawnsigns and see what I mean.
   


7. Which Super Bowl dynamo is now part of Eddie's re-election team?
   


8. Public school board trustees' massive pay increase--145% here--are not unique to Windsor. But will Ward 5 voters take out the shocking increase on Percy Hatfield since his wife, Gale Simko-Hatfield, is Board Chairwoman even though "the funding for the pay increases is supposed to come from provincial coffers."
   


9. Which candidates for Council, if elected, are going to ask for a judicial inquiry re the arena after the election.
   


10. Who has been writing letters for Eddie this time around trying to raise money for Eddie as he did last time? Like Gord's 1,000 jobs source, were he and his associates "at times... a harsh critic of the current mayor?"
    


11. Is Administration going around to land owners with properties about 20 acres in size and talking a price of about $200,000 per acre for unserviced lands for the arena? Why would they be looking at such small sites if true and isn't that amount high for such land if true also? If putting together several small parcels will be a lot of work, then why doesn't Administration just go out and offer about $15 million for part of the Lear site?
    


12. Why couldn't the Superior Park agenda item be posted before noon on Friday? Now anyone who registers after that time needs Council approval to speak as a delegation if he/she thinks to look again at the Agenda!
    


13. How many Police officers were stationed outside (and inside in plain clothes) Council Chambers on Monday for the Superior Park item?
    
    


14. Which Community Citizens Group leader had an election sign placed at the family home without permission by a Mayoral candidate.
    


15. Will our new signature "Eddie Francis" City Hall Square be built on the site of the Barn to boost the development of that part of the City? Ridiculous you say....then you have not seen the plans for the Tunnel Improvement Plans, heard talk about replacing the Glengarry housing projects and figured out why consultants have been hired to look at the old City Hall. Just ask Councillor Halberstadt about "critical mass." The City Hall complex in Toronto was named after the "Mayor of all the people." Our project will be structured as a Public/Private Partnership too so we won't have to worry about such things as Purchasing By-laws, RFPs and tenders. And Windsor Construction Association members won't get the opportunity to bid on that job either. If they cannot stop the arena, well....


16. Not only was the Council vote a loss for the Superior Park residents, it was a huge loss for Councillor Brister when the majority of Council supported the postion of his Ward mate, Councillor Zuk who is not running again. If Councillor Budget cannot persuade his colleagues to vote his way on a Motherhood issue like a park, one wonders, and so should his constituents, how he will work with the next Council, assuming he is re-elected. How can he be an effective voice for his Ward?


17. When is applause at Council Chambers in violation of the Procedural by-law not applause at Council Chambers in violation of the Procuedural by-law...when it is given for an Eddie Francis election speech at Council after the arena debate (but not if given for speakers in favour of keeping Superior Park)


18. Have political candidates realized yet that writing a BLOG can be dangerous for his/her political health at election time