Mayor receives dead rats

[fluffy]

Well then you missed the entire point of my post, that too many people these days feel that the end they desire justifies any means, even those that cross boundaries of ethics and honesty.

[RandyDandy]

Not to veer away from the topic at hand, or to suggest that what one party does makes it ok for the other party to
indulge in Similar behaviour, ..the boundaries of ethics and honesty regarding both Banks Crescent and the RDOS sewage/compost idea have been blurred repetively by Mayor and Council. "Stop the Swap" transparency has been transformed into a morass of double dealing and murky if not suspiciously unclear communications between developers, district staff, council and the electorate. Being elected Mayor should mean leadership, not the dissemination of half truths and sketchy dealings resulting in the MESS we have now at city hall. The rat in the driveway is a metaphor.

[my5cents]

Not to veer away from the topic at hand, or to suggest that what one party does makes it ok for the other party to
indulge in Similar behaviour, ..the boundaries of ethics and honesty regarding both Banks Crescent and the RDOS sewage/compost idea have been blurred repetively by Mayor and Council. "Stop the Swap" transparency has been transformed into a morass of double dealing and murky if not suspiciously unclear communications between developers, district staff, council and the electorate. Being elected Mayor should mean leadership, not the dissemination of half truths and sketchy dealings resulting in the MESS we have now at city hall. The rat in the driveway is a metaphor.

"double dealing"

noun
noun: double-dealing
1.the practice of working to people's disadvantage behind their backs.
synonyms: duplicity, treachery, betrayal, double-crossing, unfaithfulness, untrustworthiness, infidelity, bad faith, disloyalty, breach of trust, fraud, underhandedness, cheating, dishonesty, deceit, deceitfulness, deception, falseness; informalcrookedness
"your double-dealing will eventually be your undoing"
antonyms: honesty

adjective
adjective: double-dealing
1.working deceitfully to injure others.
"she is a backstabbing, double-dealing twister"

"Being elected Mayor should mean leadership, not the dissemination of half truths and sketchy dealings resulting in the MESS we have now at city hall. The rat in the driveway is a metaphor."

These allegations are quite strong. I'm not saying they are accurate or inaccurate, but I think it is reasonable to ask you to provide the evidence you have indicating same.

You have phrased your statement such that there is no grey area, indicating a "suspicion". If these are unsubstantiated "feelings" you have, you should say that.

If not let's see some facts.

...and yes, thanks for pointing out the obvious that the rat was a metaphor, that is the fabric of the topic, that the rat was a metaphor.

[twobits]

...and yes, thanks for pointing out the obvious that the rat was a metaphor, that is the fabric of the topic, that the rat was a metaphor.

Sorry, but there were two rats and they were only metaphors to the current hot topics cuz the article and Mayor slanted it that way.
And really, what is the metaphor of leaving a rat on one's doorstep? It is to warn a "tattle" is it not? Certainly not a message or metaphor for opposition to a land development.
So sorry, I don't buy in to that spin despite even Waterman trying to leverage it as a metaphor to the current debate. That in itself is rather pathetic sympathy seeking.

[my5cents]

Sorry, but there were two rats and they were only metaphors to the current hot topics cuz the article and Mayor slanted it that way.
And really, what is the metaphor of leaving a rat on one's doorstep? It is to warn a "tattle" is it not? Certainly not a message or metaphor for opposition to a land development.
So sorry, I don't buy in to that spin despite even Waterman trying to leverage it as a metaphor to the current debate. That in itself is rather pathetic sympathy seeking.

If you read my comments,,,,,,, real,,,, carefully, you'll see I agreed that the rat was a metaphor.

I've re-read my comments and I don't see where I said the rat, or rats were a metaphor for any particular point.

The fact that the rat was in a box, obviously points out that the rat was put there. Why it was, we can only speculate.

I had a dead rat on my driveway last summer. It wasn't contained in a box, it was just there, and quite dead. "My rat", I don't believe was a metaphor, it was just a dead rat, likely dropped by a live cat, but I'd just be speculating.

I don't recall "ratting" on anyone.

[Jflem1983]

Still think this is only about rats. The mayor likely wants to believe otherwise . Some people just dont like rats. I cant figure out why hed call RCMP. What crime would they be investigating.

[twobits]

If you read my comments,,,,,,, real,,,, carefully, you'll see I agreed that the rat was a metaphor.

Metaphor-a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

Not sure what your definition of metaphor is but imo, the rats were not symbolic of anything other than a rat problem by a fed up resident. To tie them to people opposed to the Banks development, as Waterman did, is trying to make the message a metaphor when the rats were actually a very pointed message about the lack of effort on the rat issue.

[totoramona]

I agree that the rats were intended to call attention to the rat problem in Summerland. Waterman speculated it had to do with the compost issue, however, the second vote on Tuesday went again in favour of the majority of Councillors and vocal opponents. Why leave rats on Wednesday? A rat metaphor would be more useful before the vote, on Sunday or Monday, would it not? Not *after* it's defeated again. A "told ya so" rat?? A little late to the party.

Not to mention, is it not a problem in itself, that rats could so easily be caught to use as a metaphor for something?
Like, just go out and get a rat or two? Gross!

Clearly the dead rats were meant to say there is a rat problem!

[rubato]

This letter was submitted to the Castanet letters section. The writer makes some interesting points.


Council Changed, Not Us

Contributed - Dec 8, 2017 / 5:00 am | Story: 213358
There were a couple of articles last week about the woes of the mayor. It was written about the experience covering council meetings and how the behaviour of the folks in the gallery has deteriorated in the last couple of years. There was blame for people showing a lack of respect for the council, the office, and the political process. I think that rather than disrespect, what you're seeing is complete disappointment and frustration with the way recent issues have been handled by some council and staff.

People haven't changed over the years. We have been quietly contributing to the health and wealth of the community. We are the same people that live in, love and support the community. Our sense of pride and respect have not changed, we have not changed. What has changed is council, and the priorities of district staff and some council members, particularly the mayor's. We have been provoked with political and administrative initiatives that threaten our quality of life and we feel betrayed. We placed a lot of stock in our community and cultural plans, indeed it's why we choose to live here.

High density condos, processing other communities’ waste, threatening our environment, and putting money above all is not what we're about. We are about developing affordable family and senior's housing, supporting and growing local businesses within our community plans and encouraging our youth.

Although I do not, under any circumstances, condone bullying, perhaps if the mayor himself respected the Official Community Plan, and realigned his actions with his election platform, he wouldn't find his feet to the fire. Perhaps then too our editor would enjoy attending council meetings again and we could all relax and enjoy one of many Summerland's delights.

Rita Connacher

[fluffy]

I have to agree with your thoughts on what appears to be a general erosion of democratic principles, and perhaps more importantly the basic principles of courtesy and respect.

To go out on a limb here, I think the Mayor himself has brought a lot of this into the council chambers with his election. I doubt that Mr. Waterman knows any more about the true meaning of the rats than any of us, but he was quick to spin the issue into one which offered him some political advantage. This says to me that the Mayor places more importance in the game of politics than in the duties of running the town. In fact, most of the current councilors were elected on platforms that focused less on what they could do for Summerland and more on dissatisfaction with what their predecessors were doing. They were successful at playing on voter emotions, emotion that they themselves injected into an issue that really should have been just a common sense decision based on an objective presentation of the options available and the benefits and liabilities of each. In the end Summerland got a largely inexperienced council with no clear direction other than "not like them".

The "rat" metaphor at its roots is one of personal betrayal, and from that viewpoint could have come from just about anyone and refer to any one of a number of issues. Or, like twobits suggests, it might just be a rat.

[abraham]

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[fluffy]

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[Bsuds]

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[Fancy]

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At any rate, I think the rat drop was a message of the severity of the rodent problem but Summerland isn't the only area having that issue. More advice to the residents might be appropriate from the City on how to deal with the problem and get rid of the bird feeders or keep them clean.

[Anonymous123]

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