Has Youth Deserted Eddie

It's a good thing that there may be no mayoral race this year or Eddie could have been in real trouble.

There is no doubt, after watching Kwame get re-elected by capturing the youth vote in Detroit, that the E-machine decided to go after that vote in Windsor. Ergo the Youth Committee.

Another Devonshire Mall Town Hall meeting was held recently and the results were not good from the perspective of youth. But from the Mayor's perspective, they may have been perfect!

We learned that:

• "Turnout sparse at youth forum
  The mayor was listening, but not a lot of kids were talking.
  
  Only about 40 teens turned out for Eddie Francis's second youth town hall meeting at the Devonshire Mall on Thursday night...
  
  Organized by the mayor's youth advisory committee, the gathering had been billed as a sequel to the youth town hall meeting Francis held in October 2005, which drew an estimated 150 teens."
  
  

But every good politician can find an excuse why something did not turn out as expected:

• "Francis said he wasn't disappointed by the small crowd, adding he was surprised the event attracted the audience that it did, considering the day of the week and the summer season."

DUH!!!! If the Mayor expected that the crowd would be small, then why was the meeting held at this time of the year and not when it would be convenient for youth to attend? Was it really an opportunity to listen or just to get another checkmark on the Mayor's Report Card. The smaller the crowd, the less likely that too many tough questions would have to be fielded as well.

Whoever schedules meetings in the Mayor's Office ought to be fired. First postponing the Mayor's Summit because it was right before a holiday weekend, then another Mayor's meeting a few days after the Labour Day holiday and now this fiasco of holding a meeting when people will not be there.

You'd almost think that these meetings are held just for publicity purposes and for the photo-op only to pretend that something was being done when there is no desire to do so.