Sorry State Of The City

Was it just me or, if you saw Eddie delivering his speech in person or on Cogeco, did it seem as if he was reading what his speechwriter wrote for the first time? He seemed bored reading it, without the fire and passion of other speeches that I have heard him make and I was bored listening to it.

The numbers in the crowd seemed lower too from the TV shots. Lots of bureaucrats and high-salaried policemen in the crowd in uniform filling up the front sections but lots of empty seats too. Someone there told me it seemed half full (or half empty--take your pick)

You can read the speech for yourself by going to the City's website but let me give you some highlights (or lowlights if you are one of the people who was attacked by the Mayor as a naysayer):

1. I am sure that this will make the Chrysler workers happy today and the rest of the 9% and counting workers who are unemployed in Windsor "I just wish there was something that I could do to make it all better – right away." I guess that Eddie has been reading his parenting book. "Here my child, let me kiss your scrape to make it all better."
   
   Had Eddie acted when he knew that economic problems were developing, we would have a strategy for economic diversification, not just Gazelle Feeders with 120 days in action plans after almost 4 years of his term as Mayor. I have already suggested how infrastructure jobs would tide us over but Eddie will not allow it. It's up to Jeff Watson, Sandra and Dwight to take action in spite of Windsor's Mayor and Council if they want to be re-elected!
   


2. The poor guy can never sleep "There isn’t a morning when I wake up … or a night when I go to sleep … when these people aren’t on my mind. " I thought he had told us previously that he could not sleep worrying about other city problems and now this.
   


3. Very interesting what he said about the Capitol Theatre----nothing. The word "arts" was never used while symphony and art gallery were mentioned once, in passing. The new buzz-word was "quality" used 15 times.
   


4. And if you think any of this is Eddie's fault, since nothing ever is, why "Economies naturally go through good times and bad times – there is nothing we can do about that." After all , "I am not in the Boardroom of DCX, or Ford or GM. I am not at the Cabinet table of the federal government, able to introduce a manufacturing policy."
   


5. If you believed that hiring PR flacks for $250,000 was dead, forget it "Changing the perception of our city among outsiders" and "the communications function... Imagine bringing them all together under one communication umbrella" will be very important as will be boosting Eddie's image with outsiders at our expense. After all, he is looking for a new job in three years. "Your City Council is investing in a new branding initiative." Yes, at our expense.
   
   
6. The City unions better get worried. Eddie mentioned job cuts and then said more about "streamlining operations. Reducing overlap and duplication. And getting out of areas that may be better managed by someone else.... That you just can’t change entrenched bureaucracies." Sounds like more job cuts and outsourcing jobs to me. Hmmmm I guess it means that Global Spectrum will manage both the Arena and Capitol and that some private equity Company will run the Tunnel under long-term deals.
   
   
7. Again we heard about the problems at Enwin (but not at the Tunnel) that boosted the salaries of Councillors so dramatically because they had to attend so many extra Enwin Board meetings but again we are not told what the issues were there that were corrected. I guess we take it on faith, eh.
   
   
8. After "[doubling] the size of the Windsor police service’s Drugs, Intelligence, Guns and Surveillance Unit.... In the past three months alone, our police have tracked down and taken seven illegal hand guns off of our city streets. " Wow....
   
   
9. Long discussion about transportation hubs...expect that to cost you more too as we have to pay for the servicing costs of the airport lands to create "shovel ready" lands for developers if only those militant unions be quiet.
   


10. And a reference to the Ambassador Bridge too without using its name “we host the busiest commercial land bridge in the world” and without calling them the “enemy.”
    
    
11. An interesting conversation about the Tunnel too without telling us why the Detroit half is worth US$75M and how it can compete against the Ambassador Bridge and a DRIC Bridge if built. Also Eddie did not tell us that "Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick plans to present the Detroit City Council with a contract June 15 for its approval to turn over the city's side of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to Windsor.”
    
    
12. Did you notice the suck-up to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and not to the Province over the border. Eddie needs the Feds for the cash for the Tunnel so he is nice to them today.
    
    
13. Same stuff about the border but not a word about a tunnel to the border from Highway 401. I told you that E C Row will be the border road. It’s a done deal. What else do you think he and Donna Cansfield talked over at lunch a few months ago. As far as lawsuit threats go----Eddie would NOT dare. He needs their help against the “enemy.” “We are continuing to work with the DRIC.”
    
    
14. Long discussion about the importance of Engineering and R&D activity and its importance and not a word of thanks to Dennis DesRosiers as Eddie takes his ideas and makes them his own! “All this research and innovation…All this activity that is precisely what a regional economy needs to grow and thrive in today’s economy…”
    
    
15. And then the gutless part of the evening "Together, we are working to build the new, state-of-the-art Centre for Engineering Innovation. And, it needs to be downtown." Of course he “ad-libbed” so it would NOT be in writing when Eddie threatened saying if it was not going to be downtown, do not expect a City contribution.
    
    The City would play a role "if and only if the campus was brought downtown."
    
    Who does he think he is threatening. He huffs and puffs with no aces in his hand. He needs the University to save his neck on his failed urban village not the other way around. He is in no position to demand anything.
    
    As if the University should care. Imagine if the Engineering complex was opened at the University, would he refuse to attend, would the City refuse to play, would he “snub” them too? Obviously not. It would make a total mockery of what he said in his speech.
    
    He was playing his "bully" role and everyone knew it. Of course, good old Gordo came to his rescue with a Star column threatening Sandra and Dwight. At some point those two need to stand up or Eddie will blackmail them right until the election day in October. I am sure they saw the signal in his column that Eddie, like Oliver, wants “MORE PLEASE.” Next is the border!
    
    
16. Then the insult of the evening “We need to put narrow interests aside – and promote the greater good.” In other words, do what I say because I am the Philosopher King who knows it all.
    
    "We need to think about the long-term, and not get distracted by arguing with one another over small, petty and personal issues in the short term. We need to end the fragmentation – where narrow interests compete with one another within Windsor."
    
    Don’t read what we BLOGGERS write any more.
    
    “We need to recognize and sideline the special interests that seek to divide us. “
    
    Whammo to the Ambassador Bridge Co. and anyone who dares support them!
    
    
17. The "who me?" wide-eyed innocent line of the evening “And we need to stop distorting our Windsor in the name of advancing other agendas – political or otherwise.” I am sorry but who has been beating the drums saying we have a border mess in Windsor to accomplish his political or otherwise agenda!
    
    
18. Finally, Eddie showed that his friendship with Junior, and the unions is over. He no longer needs him or the CAW…Windsor is to become a non-union town. Heck, you gotta be a toughie if you want a big corporate position. Next time Junior will learn not to choose the CAW over Eddie on the Diane Francis session!

As I said...read the speech for yourself. Take out of it what you will.

As for me, I'll just keep doing what I am doing. I prefer to consider what I am doing as helping to save this City from those in power who think that doing things in secret, not informing Windsorites and making life complicated is the way to achieve results. If this is being a naysayer, so be it.