Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Will He Or Won't He





Show up that is.

It looks like the Liberal MPP's in the area have had enough of the fight between the Provincial and Municipal governments and the fight between the City of Windsor and the County Governments.

Apparently, a letter has been sent to the various Mayors inviting them for a meeting to discuss the border issue. The question that everybody has on their mind is whether the Mayor of Windsor will show up or whether he will snub the meeting as he has done before.

In my opinion, Eddie has no choice but to show up. He would not dare do otherwise. He does not have the nerve to snub it especially after the brouhaha with the Minister of Finance. Eddie has to hit back at Spanky; that is his nature. He has to prove that he is always right. However, this time, Eddie had better watch himself. I am sure that polling has been done and Dwight knows Eddie's weaknesses. He is not afraid of a lame-duck Mayor.

If he does not go, the Province and certain County Governments (along with some corporate interests who Councillor Lewenza has said have been "bought" although by whom he did not say) will ram a solution down the throat of the City of Windsor. That obviously would lead to litigation but I don't believe that Eddie has the stomach for it nor would Windsorites tolerate it.

Accordingly, what better way for Eddie to be our hero than to attend the meeting and to persuade everyone else there to follow what he wants to do. That would be a dream come true for him would it not. Of course that would never happen and the meeting will end up in a shambles. Even if it all falls apart, Eddie could claim that he is standing up for Windsor as our hero.

It is a no lose for him EXCEPT does he have the nerve to sit in a meeting in which everybody attacks him for his stalling, delay and his ridiculous Greenlink solution. He is not one to take criticism well and it would not surprise me to see him walk out of the meeting in a stage-managed fit of anger. Now that is drama and showmanship. Attending and snubbing at the same time. Brilliant

Never fear, Councillor Lewenza dropped a hint at the Windsor Council meeting that perhaps the City will waste some more money and stage a referendum to show that the citizens are behind Council and Greenlink. As if the Provincial and Federal Governments care.

The Referendum would be used as another stall tactic by the City to delay a resolution on the border road.

There is no doubt that the Mayor and Council have been negatively impacted by the vicious public outcry against their inaction. Poor Councillor Lewenza. There he was standing up for the Mayor and all the Mayor could do is pull out the rulebook, the Procedural Bylaw, and make him look like a fool. Sigh, will Junior never learn. How many times must the Mayor cut him off when making a statment before Kennie understands that Eddie uses him merely as a pit-bull to say the statements that Eddie wants to say but does not. Ken looks like the scolded kindergarten student; Eddie is the teacher as he makes him wear the Dunce cap.

Is Eddie's new Plan nothing more than to demonstrate that Eddie is the obstructionist in the region so that the public will be supportive when the Province and the Feds impose a solution on Windsor.

Eddie and Sam are playing the obstructionsit role to the hilt too already in advance of the meeting
  • "Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis signalled Monday he won't enter the room meekly.

    "If this is an attempt to get the mayor into a room, beat up on the City of Windsor and try to get us to change our position in regards to trucks on E.C. Row (expressway), our position is not going to change," Francis said...

    "I've been on this far too long to understand this is deja vu, predictable," Francis said. "My first question (Saturday) is why do you continue to advocate for a cheap solution when you can achieve a better solution?"

Yes, Mayor, we have all been on this "far too long" because of you. As for Sam, consultants should be seen and not heard:

  • "Let's make sure the elected officials are on line and let's make sure this doesn't fall to the wayside to a mega-billion-dollar project in some other part of Canada. So, it's really important to dig our heels in. To quote Abraham Lincoln, 'Right makes might,' and we're right."

As you can see, Eddie wants to be painted as a problem. How can the meeting be fruitful with this attitude?

Do you know what, that's what Eddie needs desperately... that's his way out isn't it. I guess he must be sweating because it is taking the Province too long to impose a solution and the length of the delay makes him look more foolish in the eyes of Windsorites.

Perhaps, Sam can go along with Eddie since I do not believe that all the County governments and the Minister of Finance have seen his presentation. I assume that the Rotary luncheon was nothing more than a dress rehearsal for that session and to build up momentum.

But really why bother doing one? Sam has told us what has to be done. After all, he's "writing the guidebook here in Windsor on sustainable highways." And who can argue with that.

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