Conflict of interest with Fire Dept?

[36Drew]

Walters leading all of the polls. People are tired of all of Sharons debacles, and recent lie. More Crime, more homeless people and too many businesses vacant downtown. Just for starters. Oh dont even get me started on the LOGO! Yikes. :ohmygod:
Sharon does have 50% of the support from people that are ANGRY with the recent article of the money scheme she was involved with the fire dept. Funds came from a retired fireman the fireman was reimbursed from the fire union. If he was a real supporter he would not need to be reimbursed. I was totally shocked!

Sorry - what exactly did Sharon do that was illegal or unethical? Somebody, or a group of somebodys provided $500 worth of funding to her?

I wonder what Walter's financial disclosure statement is going to look like in 90 days. I do plan on grabbing myself a copy...

[Nebula]

There was nothing illegal or unethical. Some people like to make a big deal out of bumpkus.

[thefacts]

There was nothing illegal or unethical. Some people like to make a big deal out of bumpkus.

No it was not illegal.. it was crafty. Sure, she did nothing wrong from a legal perspective.... its the morals of it that are wrong. Its not like the money came from the fire men.. it came from the union and she knew that. This means the money came from the TAX payers. This is the issue.....

[thefacts]

There was nothing illegal or unethical. Some people like to make a big deal out of bumpkus.

No it was not illegal.. it was crafty. Sure, she did nothing wrong from a legal perspective.... its the morals of it that are wrong. Its not like the money came from the fire men.. it came from the union and she knew that. This means the money came from the TAX payers. This is the issue.....

The Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters gave the Mayor $500 which was returned with a thank you. Then a retired member of the association donated $500 of his own money towards the campaign in which we (the Union) in return refunded his efforts.

Sharon has refuse the money in the past... because she knew it was wrong.. this time she took it and that is WRONG.

[Logitack]

repeating the same point over and over again doesnt make your argument any stronger... the facts are there for everyone to read and interpret...fact is there was nothing illegal or immoral! move on!!

[Takin it easy !]

No it was not illegal.. it was crafty. Sure, she did nothing wrong from a legal perspective.... its the morals of it that are wrong. Its not like the money came from the fire men.. it came from the union and she knew that. This means the money came from the TAX payers. This is the issue.....

The Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters gave the Mayor $500 which was returned with a thank you. Then a retired member of the association donated $500 of his own money towards the campaign in which we (the Union) in return refunded his efforts.

Sharon has refuse the money in the past... because she knew it was wrong.. this time she took it and that is WRONG.

No you are the one thats WRONG here and you are overlooking "thefacts" why are you trying to keep this proven non issue alive ?
I guess its a case of any port in a storm when the ship is foundering on the rocks !

[36Drew]

No it was not illegal.. it was crafty. Sure, she did nothing wrong from a legal perspective.... its the morals of it that are wrong. Its not like the money came from the fire men.. it came from the union and she knew that. This means the money came from the TAX payers. This is the issue.....

The Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters gave the Mayor $500 which was returned with a thank you. Then a retired member of the association donated $500 of his own money towards the campaign in which we (the Union) in return refunded his efforts.

Sharon has refuse the money in the past... because she knew it was wrong.. this time she took it and that is WRONG.

Plenty of public unions and civil service organizations donate funds to mayoral and council candidates across the country. Far more than the $500 this fellow provided. She's done nothing wrong (legally or ethically). Somebody donated money. His friends agreed with his cause and reimbursed him.

Methinks your nickname and your behaviour on these forums are diametrically opposed.

[thefacts]

The Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters gave the Mayor $500 which was returned with a thank you. Then a retired member of the association donated $500 of his own money towards the campaign in which we (the Union) in return refunded his efforts.

Sharon has refuse the money in the past... because she knew it was wrong.. this time she took it and that is WRONG.

Plenty of public unions and civil service organizations donate funds to mayoral and council candidates across the country. Far more than the $500 this fellow provided. She's done nothing wrong (legally or ethically). Somebody donated money. His friends agreed with his cause and reimbursed him.

Methinks your nickname and your behaviour on these forums are diametrically opposed.

His friends did not refund the money... the union did. And Sharon was just on AM 1150 trying to answer this question.. but there is no answer.... she was wrong. NOW.. all of a sudden she even returned the $500 from the retired guy. Why... because she knows it was wrong.

[Fancy]

And she knew the union was behind it the whole time for a fact? I don't think she's that type of person. Probably returned it after finding out the union reimbursed the fellow.

[Urbane]

I'm not sure who I would vote for if I lived in Kelowna. Certainly both candidates are flawed but it's important that voters concentrate on the issues facing the city. I thought this morning's column by Ron Seymour in the Daily Courier was worth a read:

Hooterville? Hypocrisy? Hogwash.

By Ron Seymour
The Daily Courier

Friday, November 18, 2011

Will Hootervillians rise up en masse against Walter Gray? Will Sharon Shepherd‘s revealed hypocrisy on campaign contributions be her undoing?
These are the burning questions in some quarters as Kelowna‘s mayoral race comes down to the wire before tomorrow‘s vote. The debate could be about Big Issue matters, but it‘s devolved into some of the littlest squabbles imaginable.
Mud gets slung when races are tight, so it was perhaps inevitable that the Shepherd-Gray showdown would culminate in some some pretty mean-minded accusations.
Aside from being unseemly, the payoff potential at the polls that‘s associated with the engagement of base campaign tactics seems highly debatable. While coarse politicking can fire up a candidate‘s base and motivate the vote, it can equally inspire a rival‘s supporters to ensure they find their way to the ballot box on election day.
So, maybe just a lot more angry and under-informed people will vote. But if that will serve to elevate voter turnout beyond the dismal 19 per cent mark achieved three years ago, bring it on.
In the last few days, Gray‘s camp has tried to make a big fuss about a hypocritical aspect to one of Shepherd‘s fundamental campaigning principles.
She has said she won‘t accept money from developers, because she doesn‘t want to decide an issue where one of the parties has previously given her money.
But that high-minded principle took a bit of a tarnishing at a mayoral forum this week, when she acknowledged she has accepted donations from Kelowna firefighters. "I support them and they support me," she said.
Obviously, as mayor, Shepherd has had a hand in approving what to many seem to be overly-generous contracts with the firefighters‘ union. The last deal gave them a 10 per cent raise over just two years.
It does seem a bit two-faced for Shepherd to accept money from a well-organized group of unionized city employees who are paid from the public purse, but haughtily refuse donations from others to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.
But does anybody seriously think it‘s the issue that will decide the election? Walter Gray does, apparently.
At the mayoral forum where this came up, Gray said he was "shocked" by the news. He was right to point out the obvious inconsistency in Shepherd‘s position, but his indignant response seemed over-rehearsed, as if he‘d known in advance the question was coming and practised way too hard being outraged.
Meanwhile, Shepherd‘s supporters are trying to make hay of the fact that Gray has referred to Rutland as "Hooterville." In an online forum, a thread on this topic has some of the highest number of views and comments, despite being created only days ago.
In that strange and vituperative anonymous world, one of Shepherd‘s supporters took Gray to task for supposedly speaking disparagingly of Rutland women‘s breasts.
But Hooterville, of course, was the fictional town in the old, old TV shows Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. It‘s generally understood to mean a backwoods-y, unsophisticated place, not a land of buxom babes.
It was pretty silly for an aspiring mayoral candidate to describe an area of Kelowna home to one-third of the electorate as Hooterville, just a few days before the election.
But anyone who‘s been in Kelowna more than six minutes knows Rutland has been called worse, and survived just fine. Like anyone else, Hootervillians probably appreciate a politician who has a sense of humour, and isn‘t afraid to speak like one of them once in awhile.
Part of Gray‘s appeal is that he doesn‘t seem to strictly govern every word choice, and doesn‘t seem to particularly care if he ruffles a few overly-sensitive feathers once in a while. It‘s his business-focused leadership that has helped get him elected mayor three times previously.
Shepherd talks up her level-headedness, collaborative approach and respectful nature. It‘s her inclusive style of leadership that has helped get her elected two times previously.
Both have been fine mayors. And despite all the silly talk of the past few days, either one will be fine again in the future that begins tomorrow.
Ron Seymour is a Daily Courier reporter whose column appears Wednesday
and Friday. Tel. 250-470-0750 Email: [email protected].

[36Drew]

His friends did not refund the money... the union did. And Sharon was just on AM 1150 trying to answer this question.. but there is no answer.... she was wrong. NOW.. all of a sudden she even returned the $500 from the retired guy. Why... because she knows it was wrong.

Mr "thefacts" - time for you to pony up. Point out exactly what would have been unethical about her having accepted that money. Just "the facts". Something solid. At this point, you're coming off like a complete idiot and your conjecture is only serving to reinforce that.

[Carmencat]

Again, the fact that Wally's supporters are making such a big deal about something that, if it had happened as they assert, wasn't even illegal in the first place, shows that they know Wally is going to lose to Sharon.

Again.

It also shows that they are used to dealing with slick operators like Wally, and assume that everyone else has hidden agendas and underhanded motives.

It says more about Wally (and his supporters) than it does about Sharon.

[thefacts]

Again, the fact that Wally's supporters are making such a big deal about something that, if it had happened as they assert, wasn't even illegal in the first place, shows that they know Wally is going to lose to Sharon.

Again.

It also shows that they are used to dealing with slick operators like Wally, and assume that everyone else has hidden agendas and underhanded motives.

It says more about Wally (and his supporters) than it does about Sharon.

To quote castanet...

"Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters Association President, Larry Hillier, says his organization has attempted to contribute to Shepherd's campaign each of the last three elections only to have those cheques respectfully returned.

In this instance, retired fire fighter Harold Heyming, who is working on Shepherd's campaign chose to write a personal cheque in its place.

"We in turn refunded his efforts," says Hillier"

This is a interesting way of getting campaign donations..... retired fireman writes a cheque... fire department union refunds retired fireman... hmm... where did the money come from. The Fire Department Union... this is TAX PAYERS MONEY. The union also wrote cheques to Hodge and Rule for past efforts and support. Geeze.....

[Logitack]

AGAIN, repeating the same thing over and over again does not make your point any more relevant.

FACT: nothing illegal, nothing imoral

it is a sad state of affairs when citizens have to wait a full 90 days before we get to view WHO and HOW MUCH candidates received in financial support. I can only imagine the large figure that gray has accumulated from developers! but he also has done nothing wrong, fully legal to receive dollars from the developers.... if you have a problem with it, and I do, it is up to the provincial government to CHANGE the local government act and make it illegal for anyone to give financial support to candidates....of course, that will never happen....

[Carmencat]

Again, the fact that Wally's supporters are making such a big deal about something that, if it had happened as they assert, wasn't even illegal in the first place, shows that they know Wally is going to lose to Sharon.

Again.

It also shows that they are used to dealing with slick operators like Wally, and assume that everyone else has hidden agendas and underhanded motives.

It says more about Wally (and his supporters) than it does about Sharon.

To quote castanet...

"Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters Association President, Larry Hillier, says his organization has attempted to contribute to Shepherd's campaign each of the last three elections only to have those cheques respectfully returned.

In this instance, retired fire fighter Harold Heyming, who is working on Shepherd's campaign chose to write a personal cheque in its place.

"We in turn refunded his efforts," says Hillier"

This is a interesting way of getting campaign donations..... retired fireman writes a cheque... fire department union refunds retired fireman... hmm... where did the money come from. The Fire Department Union... this is TAX PAYERS MONEY. The union also wrote cheques to Hodge and Rule for past efforts and support. Geeze.....

Exactly. Your post just proved my point. Sharon had no reason to even know that the KFD gave money to the friend working on the campaign. The friend deposited a personal cheque into the campaign account. And again, whether it was the firefighters themselves (as I have understood) or their association, they contribute to MANY causes that they believe in.

Sharon has/had every right to accept the cheque if she chose - as did Hodge and Rule. She chose not to - this election and the last two. However firefighters, as well as any other citizen of Kelowna, are free to spend THEIR money however they like.

Who do you work for? Do you consider the money you earn to be the property of your employer?????? Really???? :ohmygod: