Obliging Blogosphere 1, Edgar 0

Want proof of the power of the Blogosphere, look no further than what was posted on the Star online. Two conflicting stories with the major one being that Edgar (aka Eddie) was forced to back-off.

Chris Schnurr's BLOG "Downtown Festival: Possibilities?' with photos of the midway on Riverside was devastating and made a mockery of what was being claimed as to lack of location.

I hope that my BLOG contribution "Is A Boycott Summer Fest Facebook Page Next" which made it clear that Summer Fest was never going to come back to the Downtown if it moved eastward helped.

Both Chris and I and some other writers making comments on other BLOGs were suspicious of what was going on and speculated about what the real reason for the move was.

Clearly though, the clincher was the 2977 people who signed up to the Facebook group "Keep Windsor's Summerfest at the Riverfront!" within a few days who scared the hell out of Edgar!

And if you really believe that the Summer Fest move was a last minute thing, then explain this poster away on another Facebook page:

So we went from our Mayor saying this:

• "Mayor Eddie Francis said a number of options were explored: Dieppe Park, not enough space; the area around the Art Gallery of Windsor, no service; and Riverside Drive, too inconvenient.
  
  “You would have to close Riverside down for 18 days, which is problematic,” Francis said. “But the move is not permanent. It’s just a result of all the construction going on.”

To our Mayor saying this:

• "But Francis said he arranged a hasty meeting Tuesday night with the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association and the Windsor Parade Corporation, which runs Summer Fest, to see if the carnival could somehow stay downtown."

The funniest line was this:

• "It’s very disappointing,” Francis said about the largely anonymous and harsh criticism about what was a business decision by private companies."

Sure, no input by the City in this whatsoever.

• "The east-end centre has the necessary hydro , parking and space needed to host the festival, said Walt Metulynsky, Windsor's manager of leisure outreach services.
  
  "Thinking of other places we could put it downtown, that footprint just didn't match," he said."

And when does Edgar give in to criticism anonymous or not.

It is typical Edgar...It is more important to promote the Lauzon area for "shrewd investors" rather than continue a tradition for citizens downtown.

I found this quoote interesting:

• "The last two weeks have clearly demonstrated that people have come to value the midway and the entertainment it provides," Mayor Eddie Francis said Wednesday at a news conference.

What it also says is that our Mayor is completely out of touch with citizens.

Why did he back off? One simple reason---an election year. But just you watch, it will be pay-back time later for Edgar. It always is.