Westside Mayoral - General Discussion

[elendil]

wouldnt it be funny (and karmic) if the council was again split 5-2 with 2 being the old guard and the five being the new guard....

but you know, I bet the 5 of the new guard would not treat the 2 of the old guard in the same manner as happened this year. I think they would be much more honourable.

Some of you keep trying to divide people up and I don't understand how that helps the community. I'm voting for incumbents and for those not currently on council. I'm voting for at least one candidate (Bryden Winsby) who has said that he favours West Kelowna because I think he will make an excellent councillor. I hate to see the divisiveness continue - we need to get beyond all of that. Like you, hereiamagain, I voted for joining Kelowna but it's time to get over that and work together for our new community.

Urbane, isn't the significant point about hereiamagain's post that it was in fact five of the incumbent councillors who kept the divisiveness alive, as evidenced by the ever present 5-2 split referred to ?
What spoke volumes to me about the 'five' was that they defeated the mayor's every effort to involve the public in the affairs of the new municipality. A municipality without committees formed of ordinary members of the voting public ? Unheard of anywhere else I would have thought. No, the 'five' proved conclusively to me that they thought themselves exclusive in both meanings of the word. I don't think they've earned anyone's vote in this election, quite the contrary in fact.

Slightly different subject - I noticed that one of Doug Findlater's campaign signs (near the Royal Bank) has illumination at night. Is that illumination fed from the street lighting and if so is he paying for the power ?

[inquisitive]

Speaking to the subject of publicity..............do those contenders who obviously have deep pockets (and their backers, of course) honestly think that the more and bigger signs they exhibit, and the more times their ads. appear in the local newspapers is an indicator of the higher number of votes these objects will generate? What is saturation point?
Shades of Mr. Dinwoodie a year ago, (and his backers) and his exorbitant bill for such publicity - where did it get him? On the other hand, it is good for the local economy, for those whose businesses benefit from their production.

[hereiamagain]

I'd like to know the answer to the electricity question as well. Who's paying the electricity bill? It's expensive these days. How many signs are involved? Does he have his own generator? Why is he feeding off of Westside utilities?

It isnt his town, even though he seems to think it is.

[hereiamagain]

and elendil has it exactly right.

[inquisitive]

One of Mayor Neis's supporters alluded to Mr. Findlater this afternoon as a leader.
IMHO..........Mr. Findlater has allowed himself to be used as the patsy by those behind the scenes. He was not the leader; he just doesn't have it in him to lead the supposed fab 4 nor the municipality.
Look at the balance of the council and take a guess at who you think might become entrenched enough to become the NEXT mayor(in their scheme of things) - the 2011 mayor.
Mr. Findlater is expendable - he was vain enough to be pursuaded to gamble his ambitions on a one-horse race when a long-shot was waiting in the wings unbeknownst to him. He was actually vain enough to be pursuaded that he would be crowned this time and then pave the way for his successor to carry on the line.
Mr. Findlater's ambitions are sacrificed by his own group because Mr. Haslock's supporters will out-vote him.
Projecting this into the first three year term, the new blood in council takes its no-nonsense approach to council chambers and steers council as a whole back to its mandatory role - that of listenening to and working on behalf of the constituents of this municipality.

[hereiamagain]

Look at the balance of the council and take a guess at who you think might become entrenched enough to become the NEXT mayor(in their scheme of things) - the 2011 mayor.

inquisitive you cant be talking about the big O. please tell me you arent talking about the big O.

[Bestside]

wouldnt it be funny (and karmic) if the council was again split 5-2 with 2 being the old guard and the five being the new guard....

but you know, I bet the 5 of the new guard would not treat the 2 of the old guard in the same manner as happened this year. I think they would be much more honourable.

Some of you keep trying to divide people up and I don't understand how that helps the community. I'm voting for incumbents and for those not currently on council. I'm voting for at least one candidate (Bryden Winsby) who has said that he favours West Kelowna because I think he will make an excellent councillor. I hate to see the divisiveness continue - we need to get beyond all of that. Like you, hereiamagain, I voted for joining Kelowna but it's time to get over that and work together for our new community.

Urbane, isn't the significant point about hereiamagain's post that it was in fact five of the incumbent councillors who kept the divisiveness alive, as evidenced by the ever present 5-2 split referred to ?
What spoke volumes to me about the 'five' was that they defeated the mayor's every effort to involve the public in the affairs of the new municipality. A municipality without committees formed of ordinary members of the voting public ? Unheard of anywhere else I would have thought. No, the 'five' proved conclusively to me that they thought themselves exclusive in both meanings of the word. I don't think they've earned anyone's vote in this election, quite the contrary in fact.

Good for you elendil... Nice to see you you catch that demeaning spin...

[sellpro 46]

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I released the following Press Release to the media.
Please discuss it.

Email a copy to anyone you think may have some interest.

Thank you,
Peter Haslock
Press Release - Peter Haslock
_________________________________________________
Peter Haslock, Westside Mayoral Candidate, would like to bring the various Westside communities together in their new municipality. Peter stated "We need a united council to move our municipality forward, and it is equally important to have a united electorate who are proud of where they come from. "It is very distressing to see people abandoning their first choice for a permanent name for our municipality based on information being circulated that is confusing to a great many people" Haslock added. "Some people are proposing a rerun of the amalgamation versus incorporation runoff and that can be very destructive to our future. "We need to move forward together."

On his plans to bring the communities together Peter stated "I live in the southern part of the municipality and my first choice for a name was Westbank, however after good discussions with people from other Westside communities I appreciate their points of view. People need to listen and understand that people have very valid reasons for making their choice, and people should try to understand why others don't agree with their choice".

"People from Westbank say acquaintances from Lakeview Heights who have always considered Westbank as their home are voting for Westbank for the municipal name. "Others point out they never felt they were from Westbank, that the sign on this side of the bridge says Westbank 11 kilometers, the welcome sign to Westbank is placed at the couplet, and they have always respected those stated boundaries. "Both these points of view are valid" Haslock added.

"Many people would like West Kelowna as our municipal name because Kelowna is a great place. "Others point out that the names on the ballot have not been approved for municipal name use, and West Kelowna could be rejected. "There could be any number of reasons why West Kelowna may be rejected as our name and people would lose their votes. "Others point out the confusion that results when similar names are used. Invest Kelowna has been using Westside's Kelowna addressed population statistics as being part of Kelowna's Demographic Profile to attract investment. "Westside buildings and schools with a Kelowna address are shown in "The Community Resource Directories for Families" as being located in Kelowna. "People from out of province would not have a ready way of knowing that "West Kelowna" was a municipality separate and apart from the City of Kelowna. "These are good points and we need to appreciate the sincerity of the people who are concerned".

Peter went on to say "It is distressing that people are concerned that they feel they have to abandon their first choice of a new name and choose either Westbank or West Kelowna for the name. "It is true that the Naming Committee ballot was overly complicated and needed more work, however the replacement ballot was voted in without much comprehensive thought and discussion. "Council reaps what it sows". Haslock added.

"In discussions with people who like a completely new name, and from reading very good articles in our local media, it is evident these folks have compelling reasons for a new name. "These people need to be respected when they say a new name will put past divisions in the municipality behind us. "That would be a wonderful result if that could be achieved". Peter said.

Peter went on to give an example "a recent article by Dorothy Brotherton in the Westside Weekly supported Okanagan Hills for the name. "The article formed a very good discussion for that particular name. "It is a name that local wineries would be proud to put on their wine bottle labels to market their wine around the world".

"The ballot is what it is, however I would encourage everyone to vote for any of the four names they like best, and not engage in what you see as a destructive exercise of resurrecting hurt feelings of the past".

Haslock added, "we need to build on our sense of community, not break it down. "Some of us were distressed when our great neighbour across the lake was on the verge of extending its boundaries. "We don't want an internal re-play of that. "We need to celebrate our place and have a name that inspires unity and celebration. "As an example 2008 is the centennial of Westbank when the first store was built and the Westbank post office was moved from Shannon Lake. "We need a name that will inspire on-time celebration of all of our community anniversaries and events, no matter where they are located in our municipality, and our elected council should provide the leadership to encourage that all our residents join together as we go forward".

Peter's election platform is available at http://www.haslock4mayor.blogspot.com. Peter's vision is to see our municipality become the best in the Okanagan valley.

Peter Haslock encourages all voters to go to the polls on Election Day as Westsiders move forward united in the development of our new municipality.

[T. Rawlin]

I released the following Press Release to the media.
Please discuss it.

Discuss? How about I start with the quote that brevity is the soul of wit.

[sellpro 46]

I released the following Press Release to the media.
Please discuss it.

Discuss? How about I start with the quote that brevity is the soul of wit.

Thanks for reading it ( I think) but I confess, you lost me. And yes, I understand what brevity means.

[T. Rawlin]

I released the following Press Release to the media.
Please discuss it.

Discuss? How about I start with the quote that brevity is the soul of wit.

Thanks for reading it ( I think) but I confess, you lost me. And yes, I understand what brevity means.

This might help you.

It does not require over 800 words to say "wouldn't it be nice if everyone could just get along". You produced a huge amount of text to basically say nothing of substance. I read it three times, and was unable to determine whether you even had a message to deliver, or a point to make. Really, it appeared that you were just trying to be all things to all people.

[canadman]

I think Peter may have been trying to illustrate his understanding of the situation and all the dynamics involved rather than appearing superficial by simply stating it the way you did.

For me personally, I found the detail confirming of Peter's broad understanding of the scope of the situation.

[T. Rawlin]

I think Peter may have been trying to illustrate his understanding of the situation and all the dynamics involved rather than appearing superficial by simply stating it the way you did.

For me personally, I found the detail confirming of Peter's broad understanding of the scope of the situation.

You do not appear to have disputed my point that he said nothing of substance. If having a candidate blather on in an attempt to make you feel warm and fuzzy is enough to get people like you to vote for them, then I can only hope that you are not typical of the Westside electorate.

[Ranger66]

That would be opposed to the great insight Doug Findlater has submitted to his thread.

[inquisitive]

Warm and fuzzy didn't cut it with me, anyway.
The candidate, perhaps not having T Rawlin's expertise in brevity (in whatever shape or form Mr.Rawlin practiced same) was quite successful in his efforts towards unification of the various factions, which, I assume, was his endeavour, although my perception is not universally shared, i.e.the T Rawlin faction.
After three reads and one word count, you obviously didn't get it, Mr. Rawlin, but what influence your comments have on other readers will, perhaps, be hard to identify, yet one wonders if, in any case, the impression you gave is the impression you intended.