To Be Pitied
He has become a tragic and pathetic figure who has failed at just about everything that he has tried as Mayor of the City, except of course in his own mind.
He would be the flawed character in a stage play. He would be the one that did not understand that he is the one who has failed because of his fear of performing. It is almost as if he is paralyzed, incapable of executing a transaction for fear that it might go wrong.
After all, isn’t the local joke that the only way that we will get a new border crossing is if Mayor McNamara of Tecumseh threatens to put one in. Isn’t that how Windsor got its new arena when Project Ice Track moved to that town!
The story in the Star “Francis says files confirm Moroun wanted tunnel” did make me angry when I first read it online late Thursday night. However, on Friday morning, when I reread it in the published Star I felt sad for a person whom I supported because I believed that he showed so much promise. I was very wrong.
What is so pitiful is that Eddie does not yet understand that he does not have to be perfect in order to succeed. A superstar in baseball only has to hit .350 to receive a salary in the mega-millions. How many times have the best hitters struck out compared with the number of home runs that they hit?
To me what was obvious in reading the story was that Eddie is totally focused on defeating Matty Moroun. Whether it is due to the City ownership of the Tunnel I do not know. Blocking the Bridge Company with bylaws or Heritage plans or Community Improvement Plans or interfering in a Tunnel deal… it does not matter. Whatever it is that Moroun wants to do, Francis must stop it.
There seems to be an air of vindictiveness in the relationship between our Mayor and the Owner of the Bridge Company. Consider this comment, one of the most disgusting comments that a Mayor could make about a business person:
- “Fearing that billionaire Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun was poised to gain a stranglehold on Windsor's two border crossings, the City of Windsor has entered into a US$75-million agreement with Detroit to take full control of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel…
"If someone acquired the other half they could fill it up with cement and our investment would be lost," Francis said. "It's in the best interests of our citizens to protect this asset and ensure control of the tunnel remains in the hands of the public."
What an insult. What a childish, immature and stupid statement. What businessperson would waste millions to do that? Only in Eddie's fertile mind! Moroun has done more for the region and the border crossing than Francis will ever be able to achieve.
The Star story is typical of Francis. And we have seen it time and time again. Find a scapegoat for his failures. Find someone to blame. Point the finger at someone else, not at our Mayor especially when over $1.2M has been wasted on legal and consulting fees with no result.
Just watch at Council… the Points of Clarification, the trigger-happy finger on the Councillor microphone kill switch and the attack on delegations such as the pesky environmentalist. It is just so pitiful.
Eddie Francis knows it all. He must have seen the entries personally in the Detroit Mayor’s schedule. How else would he know what is in there. Interestingly, here is what the Detroit News said happened in 2006 and 2007, not what Eddie claimed:
- “They met 11 times in 2006 and 2007, while the Grosse Pointe Shores industrialist's company was negotiating with the city to buy land for an expanded Cobo Center and for the base of the bridge.”
I did not see anything about the Tunnel there. I am certain that the News would have mentioned it because it is such a high profile issue. They did make specific mention of what meetings were about with respect to other people.
In fact, Moroun’s attempt to operate the Tunnel ended effectively in late 2005:
- “A $30-million US takeover of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel by Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel Moroun has been pulled off the table by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, according to an official in the mayor's office.
"Our mayor being a team player has listened to what Mayor (Eddie) Francis and others have said," said Anthony Adams, deputy mayor of Detroit, Friday.
"(Francis) had some valid points about public control and so we will revisit our approach and see what's best to maintain the interests of both sides."
This was after:
- “Transport Canada raised objections in December, while former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan wrote a letter expressing her concerns. Other federal officials also met with City of Detroit officials.”
In fact, in the summer of 2006, after Detroit Council finally killed the deal, Eddie was so certain about his position that he could say:
- “Mayor Eddie Francis said he is confident the "lines of communication" with Kilpatrick and Detroit's council are strong enough that Windsor will be notified of any developments that would be detrimental to it.
"I'm not worried at this point," Francis said. "We have developed a good working relationship on this issue with Detroit and hope to continue to have those discussions."
Does Eddie believe that he is the centre of the universe and that the planets revolve around him? It seems that he cannot comprehend that the two of them might have talked about something other than what interested Eddie. What about this, could this be what some of their discussions were about as Dan Stamper claimed:
- "Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick thanked Moroun for several recent projects, including the Port of Detroit deal and the creation of an industrial park near I-94 and Mt. Elliott. The combined projects will create several hundred jobs in the city.
"I want to thank Matty for what he's been able to do in the city," Kilpatrick said. "That is an absolutely incredible undertaking, and he deserves applause."
It is such a shame that the News did not support what Eddie is saying. Then again let’s blame them for that omission.
I cannot believe this comment made by Francis to justify what he is saying:
- “Francis said he is not as concerned with the possibility that the two were talking about the bridge's twin-span proposal, since Detroit doesn't have much influence over whether the proposal ever becomes reality. A presidential permit is required in the U.S., while federal cabinet approval is needed in Canada before Moroun can proceed.”
How pathetic! What world is Francis living in? It is the new bridge that is important to Mr. Moroun, not Eddie’s Tunnel. It is Eddie that is fixated on doing a deal for US $75 million of taxpayer money to get an interest in the Tunnel not the Owner of the Bridge Company who only offered a fraction of that price.
Eddie clearly does not understand the politics of elections of Democrats thanks to Detroit voters. He certainly did not understand Detroit Mayoral politics. A presidential permit is not needed by the Bridge Company as stated by the Department of State in the United States and it is not clear at all whether Moroun needs any permissions from the Canadian Government to move forward according to what Dan Stamper said recently.
If Eddie is wrong on such simple things and such factual things, then it is very troubling that he is in charge of a major file with so much money at stake.
It seems to me that Eddie was talking about himself when he described Detroit’s influence. One only needs to read the Senate Transcript to see how Eddie was dismissed out of hand by the Senators when he attended in Ottawa. Just about everything important that he wanted via Brian Masse in the International Bridges and Tunnels Act was not achieved.
Eddie is in serious trouble. During his watch, Windsor is collapsing around us. Obviously, he is not responsible for the economic meltdown nor the failure of the Big Three. But what has he done since he became Mayor with respect to economic development in particular that we should be hopeful about? Where are those 15,000 high-paying infrastructure and spinoff jobs that would have helped this community at the time of its greatest need?
His legacy will turn out to be the East End Arena that is turning into a $65 million and counting White Elephant before it is officially opened yet. It is his Cleary! He will be known as the Mayor who has held the record for in camera meetings and has ignored openness and transparency in Government.
What is also a shame is what Cliff Sutts had to say:
- “he is concerned after learning how often Kilpatrick and Moroun got together while he was negotiating with Kilpatrick's office or his appointed negotiators to secure a tunnel deal.”
Why? Even if they talked, so what? Was there not an agreement in place that prevented Detroit from doing a deal with any other party while the negotiations were under way? It was the Mayor and Mr. Sutts who were unable to negotiate a deal that was acceptable to both the Detroit Mayor and Detroit City Council. Are they going to blame the Bridge Company for that now too?
I would think that Mr. Sutts might want to be worried about the City of Windsor’s legal position if he could say this:
- “But if it gave (Moroun) an opportunity to affect the negotiations between Detroit and Windsor, we would be very concerned," Sutts said.”
He may want to consider whether Eddie’s interventions “affected negotiations” too to the Bridge Company’s detriment since I am concerned about the legal consequences of that action as a Windsor taxpayer!
Of course, since our Mayor feels so free to comment about the schedule and calendar of the former Detroit Mayor, the question needs to be asked who visits our Mayor, and why? I expect that our Mayor will make his schedule available for the public to see immediately so that we can understand with whom he is speaking so that we can make the kind of assessment that he has made in the Star.
It is a pity for Eddie and for Windsor. Eddie could have achieved so much if he had only learned how to deal with others. Instead, all he can do is rail and take out his frustrations. The best life lesson for Eddie would be to lose and to lose badly. It is pathetic that it would have to be this way.
posted by JoeBlog at 11:45 a.m.
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