Will WEDC Fail Again

Not again with a Undevelopment Commission executive who still has not figured out what his real job is. If the new and improved WEDC and its officials think their job is not getting down and dirty and getting us investments and jobs then wind the whole thing up forever! We cannot afford them any longer.

And I do NOT just mean the millions that the City and County taxpayers give to them to fritter away.

Perhaps the new VP of WEDC, Patrick Persichilli, does not remember that the old Board resigned a week before he wrote this letter to Mayor Francis and Councillor Marra. He does not need to provide justification for their existence any longer.

There is no other explanation for almost 2 pages of gibberish talking about what was done in the past by former Board members as set out in the letter above. Compare what was written here with the document prepared by the WEDC about the work done by the Sector committees as shown on the Star website. You decide what the Sectors actually did by reading the WEDC document and then reading what the newly appointed VP said they did. For your convenience the WEDC document is posted here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13175843/WEDCDocument

I see on page 3 of his letter that the VP would rather undertake vision building. That seems to be another Windsor City Hall disease that infects people. Mind you, it is better than working and achieving results. How does one measure performance creating 2025 Visions?

This vision building exercise would tell us what Windsor would look like in 25-30 years. I can tell him now. With an attitude like his---complete devastation.

Please tell me what this means in plain English. I cannot figure it out the econdev gobbledegook:

My strong suggestion for him is to try and figure out quickly and in a practical way how to bring jobs and investment here. We have had enough of do-nothing-but-stall-while-pretending-to-do-something Visions.

It is obvious that Warden Santos and Mayor Francis better hire a CEO who knows what he/she is doing immediately and make sure that he/she knows what his/her job is and that he/she has the proper support staff who understand their roles.

If Mr. Persichilli and the new CEO need help trying to figure out what to do, perhaps they could take a look at what the Ontario Federation of Labour just announced. Isn't this similar to what Councillor Marra wants to do for this region:

Ontario Federation of Labour

TOGETHER IT WORKS: AN ECONOMIC PLAN THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE
$5.5-billion plan to help today and build for tomorrow

• The Ontario government has the power and the opportunity to implement a four-point plan to help people and industries snared in the jobs and economic crisis, says the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).
  
  In Hamilton today, flanked by local labour leaders and workers who have lost their jobs, OFL president Wayne Samuelson laid out a $5.5-billion plan to maintain Ontario's industrial base, support public services, provide relief to people who really need it, and invest in infrastructure to create jobs and put Ontario on a sustainable path.
  
  TOGETHER IT WORKS: AN ECONOMIC PLAN THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE includes a call for government to bring together the business community, trade unions, and community representatives to ensure creative, efficient, and timely solutions.
  
  "The recession is deepening and affecting more and more people each day. We are calling on our provincial government and everyone in Ontario to help us get this plan working. Time is of the essence," says Samuelson.
  
  Ontario lost 138,000 jobs between October 2008 and January 2009. Of those, more than 3,900 were in the Hamilton area. More losses are ahead, according to forecasts for housing, commodities, and the auto industry.
  
  As the effects of the global meltdown take deeper hold on the province of Ontario, pressure on public services will mount, says Samuelson. "We need to make sure those services are there when people need them the most."
  
  The federal government has failed to provide the necessary stimulus and much-needed protection for the vulnerable, he said. He took aim at the government's refusal to make EI available to more people and to extend the benefit period for those who have lost their jobs.
  "This economic crisis has underscored the critical role of government in society. Our province has to take bold action, and it has to take it now," says Samuelson."

Contact them Mr. VP and apply the concept here. Now that is not so hard is it!