Letters To The Blogmeister

Here are more....I am waiting for the one that you want to send

1) Eddie's Legacy for Windsor

Up until a few weeks ago, you gave us your feelings on Eddie in your own subtle (sic.) way. It appears recently though that your concerns, like most of your readers, have increased significantly through your even greater "no-holds-barred" approach. Forget about the specific issues, it's Eddie's character and inexperience that are really the problem. Keep this stronger approach up as there is a growing number of Windsor (or Alberta) residents who are beginning to see through the Windsor Star's slant on things.

Eddie has four major faults:

1) He loves himself and thinks that he has the solutions to all of the
city's problems.
2) Politics is what drives Eddie. He could care less about the residents of
Windsor.
3) Listens to inept advisors, paid or otherwise, but cannot make a decision.
He is too inexperienced and lacks business savvy. The Windsor Star has
created this monster.
4) Eddie is not a leader. A leader is one that can motivate through
persuasion, not by fear. He hires his own puppets (yes men) and no one on
council is willing to take the political (Windsor Star) repercussions for
standing up to him.

There are many supporters of Eddie who look at their own wealth or prestige first and know that Eddie cannot get the job done in these extremely tough times. I am hoping that their conscience will eventually tell them that the decimation of Windsor is coming and it may be the right time to jump off Eddie's band wagon. This applies to the Windsor Star also.

So many jobs have been lost in Windsor because of Eddie's ego. So much taxpayer money has been wasted because of his inexperience. Windsor cannot afford this any longer. The time required to clean up Eddie's legacy after he hopefully leaves by the end of this term will scar this community for many, many years.

I'm not sure how Eddie can sleep at night knowing the damage that he has caused.

2) Just read the Windsor Star and the Brian Masse love-in about modernizing the border. I understand MP Masse's intent...to educate outsiders that have some sort of influence, to take a look at the border and get a feel for what goes on. But I think a bigger question needs to be raised after reading this article. And that is "Is the Windsor Star relevant anymore or should they disappear"?

- witness the headline and the substance of the article about modernizing the border. The border is more than the Bridge. It's the tunnel too and I was looking........NO...straining for any mention of that. Did the Star omit something here......or even a mere mention of the train tunnel. That counts too.

- The Michigan half of the Bridge is modernizing. They are completely re-doing their ingress/egrees to the Bridge. I have read articles in the Detroit News and Free Press about it. Come July, the party even starts and Windsor commuters will discover this pretty soon.

Question: Was nobody at the Windsor Star allowed to mention this or talk about this or do they even know (but of course they do...)

Let's switch subjects and start a new game on Windsor City Blog. It can be played every few weeks or even once a month and its called "Are you smarter than a City Councillor"? Questions will be drawn up from the previous weeks leading up to the game and all who read Windsor City Blog can join in. Even Eddie.

3) Still no mention in the media about the Sewer Surcharge implications to the 35% increase in the water rates for WUC. Based upon the 180% of water rate sewer surcharge, the 35% increase adds $12-15M annually to City coffers. Due to similar timing, this would have been anticipated in the City's budget or are they planning on reducing the 180% back to 140% as it was before Eddie became mayor. I think not.

Windsor supplies water to LaSalle and now to Tecumseh. What is the impact on their charges going forward? I would doubt that Gary McNamara would not have assumed this eventuallity when he negotiated the contract with Windsor a few years back and would have protected the Town of Tecumseh through its agreement. Is it now possible that large industrial users in Windsor will be paying a much higher rate for water than the Town of Tecumseh???

4) Even if/when Windsor takes over control of the other side of the tunnel, that does not mean it will stay open.
They could "fill it with cement" or even just use cement dividers and Windsor would be running a tunnel with one entrance for the next 75 years.
There is no guarantee. If anybody says that they are foolish.
Seems like an extraordinary risk.
I guess you can do that when it's not your money.
I think fear takes over and inexperienced futility causes an extreme hazard.
Prudent fiscal responsibility.
Accountability is no good unless you look in a mirror.
Transparency is when you don't want to be found.

5) [An interesting observation by Warren Buffett as posted in the Star that Councillors and University of Windsor Board members should remember]

"Q: How should a board of directors function with a company?

Buffett: "Overwhelming the job of the board is to have the right CEO; that takes care of 90 per cent of itself. And you have an obligation to make sure there's no over-reaching by the CEO, because the CEO can have different interests. The third thing a board should do is bring independent judgment in on major acquisitions."