Tuesday, March 21, 2006

The Failure Plan: The City Meeting In Tecumseh


Good thing you read my BLOG or you would not know what happened last night about the City meeting in Tecumseh. I assume that the Star was embarrassed for Eddie and Council and did not have room to provide any information about the fiasco (I assume you saw the page 4 story the other day too, page 4 mind you, not the usual City Hall pages).

I went to Council last night rather than watch it on cable. I just wanted to get the "feel" of what was going on. Yes you see it better on TV but it's not the same as being there. Like a hockey game.

Did you like Councillor Lewenza's praise of the Mayor over the urban village by the way? Even Eddie was embarrassed by it and had to cut off Kennie's microphone (but not too soon though). When Kennie started and said he wanted to praise someone about the urban village, I foolishly thought he was going to mention Bill Marra. Wow, am I ever dumb!

I just thought I better let you know too that Thursday's meeting will probably NOT be broadcast on Cogeco. They have a responsibility to cover playoff hockey I was told. So make sure you go to Tecumseh if you want to hear what the City wants to do (As Councillor Wilson said: The "Made in Windsor" border solution in Tecumseh!)

Of course the Procedure By-law was waived so now Council is in breach of the Municipal Act as I read it. But who cares anyway...The Mayor MUST get a formal City resolution passed at that session or his PLAN will not work.

That's right, the Mayor has a Plan, a Plan designed with failure in mind, and it is based on ex-Mayor Mike Hurst's strategy too when the JMC first made its report known three years ago. How can that be you say... well just read on and I defy you to tell me that I am wrong.

You do not have to go to the meeting now. A Resolution will be introduced after everyone has spoken and asked their questions. Now Council's in camera position will be legitimized in an improper Council meeting I guess. I told you back on March 7 "Another Secret Council Border Resolution" what it will say:
1) tunnelling under Talbot Road
2) road west of Huron Church
3) plaza in Brighton Beach
4) a bridge as far away from Sandwich as is possible.

Just between us, everyone knows that the City's position is absurd and is not going to happen, especially Eddie, so why is the Resolution going to be put forward? Easy, it is precisely because Eddie knows it cannot happen that it is being put forward.

Remember Mike's famous line: "I am a Mayor of a small town. I have no authority; I have no clout." Well Eddie did not believe him at first (after all, he had been reading his Windsor Star press clippings for too long) but then he learned the facts of life when Schwartz was shot down by the Senior Levels in July-August of 2004. Why else do you think Eddie said on Detroit TV two days after the Schwartz Plan was revealed that it was the Bi-national that was the decision-maker. He knew he could not win way back then.

But why be so upfront as Mike had been. Nope the E-machine is much more calculating than that. Their strategy was smarter: take an impossible position, fight it like crazy even though you have no possible chance of being successful and will fail and then when the Feds and Province have had enough, they will impose it on Windsor. Nevertheless, Eddie can then claim that he had fought the good fight for Windsor and for our quality of life. How could he be denied re-election after that?

Brilliant move isn't it! We saw that start tonight with the "tough Eddie" speech at the end of Council and we will hear that "toughness" over the next few days with its climax being the magnificent speech at the Tecumseh meeting dutily reported by the Star.

That E-machine, it's supposed to be real smart. I have a good idea who the leader is. That is why I am so suprised they would pull a jug-head manoeuvre like an improper Council meeting that means any Resolution passed is suspect. Oh well, maybe the leader was away on March break.

When is a failure not a failure.....when it re-elects the Mayor.

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