Another Integrity-Deficient Mayor
Ottawans deplored the result of the municipal election that brought Larry O'Brien, a businessman, not a politician, to the Mayoralty. There was some valid questioning that took place about the legitimacy of his behaviour during the election, and a police investigation did turn up questionable activity, although he was later acquitted due to lack of evidence.
That having been put behind him, he proved to be a divisive fumbler as mayor of this capital city. Not many were too saddened to see him lose the following election to Jim Watson, who had been mayor of Ottawa years back, before retiring to private life as CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission, then running again for public office as an MPP, ending up in the Ontario legislature.
Then, eyeing Ottawa again, deciding to run once again for mayor, against Larry O'Brien. In so doing, being critical of the performance of Mayor O'Brien and for good reason. He meant to restore public trust for the City of Ottawa among the electorate. And when he was elected, by a hefty margin of votes by people thankful to be rid of Larry O'Brien, he promised a new era of accountability.
He had an excellent rapport with City Hall staff, and with his councillors, and matters were running fairly smoothly. And then a year ago, whiffs of impropriety in the hiring of a man who had been a staunch volunteer for a succession of mayors, a Liberal who has proven the old adage that it's who you know that gets you there: Brian Guest.
Who, while working on a full-time basis for the Plasco waste diversion company seeking a lucrative contract with the City, also worked here and there for various city contracts. With no one, from the city manager, to the mayor to any of the councillors remarking that it looked suspiciously like a situation of conflicting interests.
And now, the same Liberal insider, still working for Plasco, but with his own consultancy firm, Boxfish Group, has been revealed to have been rewarded with a series of contracts, most of which have no paperwork attached to them, let alone the formality of a written contract, in total coming out to in excess of $300,000.
City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick has lamely explained that it was a simple matter of administrative oversight that there were no contracts, no outlines of expectations, let alone the work to be fulfilled; just casual suggestions about consultations and speech writing, that kind of thing.
The city has its own very well remunerated professionals fully capable of producing whatever it is that Brian Guest has done. Whatever happened to the virtuous declaration by Mayor Watson that "a capital city like ours should be a shining light of openness and transparency"?
That having been put behind him, he proved to be a divisive fumbler as mayor of this capital city. Not many were too saddened to see him lose the following election to Jim Watson, who had been mayor of Ottawa years back, before retiring to private life as CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission, then running again for public office as an MPP, ending up in the Ontario legislature.
Then, eyeing Ottawa again, deciding to run once again for mayor, against Larry O'Brien. In so doing, being critical of the performance of Mayor O'Brien and for good reason. He meant to restore public trust for the City of Ottawa among the electorate. And when he was elected, by a hefty margin of votes by people thankful to be rid of Larry O'Brien, he promised a new era of accountability.
He had an excellent rapport with City Hall staff, and with his councillors, and matters were running fairly smoothly. And then a year ago, whiffs of impropriety in the hiring of a man who had been a staunch volunteer for a succession of mayors, a Liberal who has proven the old adage that it's who you know that gets you there: Brian Guest.
Who, while working on a full-time basis for the Plasco waste diversion company seeking a lucrative contract with the City, also worked here and there for various city contracts. With no one, from the city manager, to the mayor to any of the councillors remarking that it looked suspiciously like a situation of conflicting interests.
And now, the same Liberal insider, still working for Plasco, but with his own consultancy firm, Boxfish Group, has been revealed to have been rewarded with a series of contracts, most of which have no paperwork attached to them, let alone the formality of a written contract, in total coming out to in excess of $300,000.
City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick has lamely explained that it was a simple matter of administrative oversight that there were no contracts, no outlines of expectations, let alone the work to be fulfilled; just casual suggestions about consultations and speech writing, that kind of thing.
The city has its own very well remunerated professionals fully capable of producing whatever it is that Brian Guest has done. Whatever happened to the virtuous declaration by Mayor Watson that "a capital city like ours should be a shining light of openness and transparency"?
Labels: Ontario, Politics of Convenience
posted by Pieface | 7:32 PM
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