IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO SUCK THE AIR OUT OF THE GRAVENHURST COUNCIL CHAMBERS THESE DAYS
GOOD GRIEF - GET A GRIP
THIS MORNING I DAMN-NEAR CHOKED ON INHALED TOAST CRUMBS, WHILE READING THE BANNER FRONT-PAGER, "COUNCILLOR HAS HARSH WORDS FOR MTO." I INHALED BECAUSE I WAS SO EXCITED THAT AT LEAST ONE GRAVENHURST COUNCILLOR, IS IN A KICK-ASS MOOD, AND ISN'T AFRAID TO DEMONSTRATE HER ANGER AND FRUSTRATION WITH GOVERNMENT CIVIL SERVANTS. I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAPER FOR YEARS WITH MY MORNING TOAST AND COFFEE, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN SO EXCITED TO READ SOME CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS, SPOKEN AT A GRAVENHURST COUNCIL MEETING, THAT I INHALED AFTER A HELL OF A BIG SIGH…..OF "AT LAST, WE'VE GOT SOMETHING BREWING OVER AT THAT COUNCIL CHAMBER, OTHER THAN BACK SLAPPING AND HUGS FOR ONE AND ALL."
I'M NOT GOING TO QUOTE THE NEWSPAPER, OTHER THAN TO REFERENCE THE WORD "NAZISM," USED BY COUNCILLOR LOLA BRATTY, WHEN DESCRIBING THE BEHAVIOR OF MTO, AS RELATES TO THE HIGHWAY ELEVEN RE-ROUTING AND EXPANSION PLANS. BRATTY IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE HUMAN AND BUSINESS DISHARMONY AND UNNECESSARY FINANCIAL WOES, BEING EXPERIENCED BY PROPERTY OWNERS ALONG THE REVISED CORRIDOR, SOUTH OF GRAVENHURST. I SUGGEST, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS WEEK'S BANNER, YOU SHOULD, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ONLY A GOOD ARTICLE, FOR A POLITICAL WATCHER LIKE ME, BUT IT WAS A MOMENT IN MODERN HISTORY FOR GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, WHEN SOMEONE ACTUALLY BLEW OUT OF THE BUBBLE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, AND MADE A PERSONAL STATEMENT BASED ON CONVICTION. YOU DON'T USE THE WORD "NAZISM" UNLESS YOU'RE PRETTY DETERMINED TO PAINT A PICTURE WITH SHARP EDGES. APPARENTLY THIS CAUSED A LOT OF INHALING AROUND THE COUNCIL TABLE, AND IT'S GOOD THEY WEREN'T EATING TOAST, LIKE ME.
MAKING A POINT - WELL, NAZISM IS DEFINITELY A HEAT SEEKING MISSILE
I know Lola Bratty. She knows me. We're both an acquired taste. Love us or hate us. It's one or the other! It's like the case, we're too similar in philosophy to ever be close friends. We have sat down over coffee, and exchanged viewpoints, and found that we are both interested in the same improvements in government. If we'd been around in the days of the Rebellion in Upper Canada, we'd probably have been in the middle of the uprising, in the never-ceasing bid for Responsible Government. We might have even been hung for what was then, perceived to be treason…..because we didn't, as they say, toe the line in our political views. We both, as civilians, a few years ago, were anxious about the way municipal government was behaving, and I must tell you, if it hadn't been for Lola Bratty, and the Greater Gravenhurst Ratepayers Association, and her coaxing of some cottager groups, we might have lost The Bog here, in our neighborhood. With other members of the executive of the GGRA, they mounted a significant challenge to the town, with intensive scrutiny at all council and committee meetings, and with our own ground work, as a group protest, we partnered on one of the most successful fights against town policy ever mounted. With the editorial space provided by Muskoka Today, it was our own version of shock and awe. It took some political savvy, don't kid yourself, and I found Lola to be particularly astute to political ways and means, and her suggestions sensible, and effective. She didn't give us bad advice. And she stepped up to help, immediately, knowing full well that it would be a difficult battle, the way some councillors had reacted to the initial protest.
If we'd been out for a hot brew, some time in the past week, and she ran it by me…..as a supporter, and public relations professional, I probably would have advised her against using the reference of "nazism," even though the way it was used refers to the governance protocol imposed by the Nazis; and it wasn't to suggest that MTO practices Nazi brutality and ethnic cleansing. It was a verbal punch to get the message across, and apparently, it caused some fuming and fussing around the council table as the latest, greatest, unprecedented disruption of the monthly love-ins. I have no reason, as an editor, or public relations specialist, to feel she used the reference based on insensitivity, to the realities of what horrors the Nazis inflicted, but in the realm of free speech in this country, expressed outrage with this particularly raw personal assessment. Lola is well versed in history and more knowledgeable in politics, than most of her contemporaries, and I know the person behind the statement. It got my attention, and it provided a clear, concise, well articulated point of view, about what it has been like, to deal with civil servants, and the political process, to try and represent the interests of the constituents in this Highway II corridor.
Here's something to think about. How many of us, reading the articles regarding the Highway II reconstruction, have thought to themselves, "thank God we don't live in that area." Well, this is a common thought, if not a common statement bandied about the coffee shops, and at social engagements, during the "local discussion of politics part" of the evening. Many of us know what these people and business owners are going through, but by golly, you don't see much in the press, such as letters to the editor, offering to switch places with those facing an expropriation nightmare. Lola Bratty is right, about the way these folks have been under-represented, and how awful it has been for them, to be caught between a town council that loves too much, and a hard ass, "we'll do it our way," bureaucracy at Queen's Park. You know, they get to stay, even though the government may change. This Gravenhurst Councillor isn't rolling over on the issue, and it's amazing to have some vigor and counter-point at town hall, when most of us have assumed nothing at all was going on……or at least being debated.
This week there was a letter to the editor, in The Banner, suggesting council might as well resign, as relates to the ongoing saga of the Albion Hotel balcony. I don't agree with that, but it's an exercise of free speech to challenge authority. I don't think council should resign. I think they should come to life.
Now, on the other hand, and quite refreshening to us council voyeurs, we've got this alleged rogue councillor, speaking her mind, about a hugely important issue facing this town, and the constituents who must feel abandoned, and doomed to their fate of relocation. Out of ten issues on the table, for discussion, Lola and I might only mutually agree with action on one of them. But debating the other nine would be an exercise in democratic privilege, because she's well positioned and particularly savvy on matters of government history, and frankly, she's someone I can, and have learned from, in our years of informal association. So when she gives a quote, I want to know about it! While others might wince, and feel it a slap across the cheek, I am inspired by her courage, to speak with conviction, and insight, about what she so profoundly demands of responsible conduct. If she's wrong, and she missed noticing the iceberg, well, she's not going to fob-off responsibility for her actions or inaction. She's a trooper.
There have been so few controversies and wrenching debates at the council table, in the past two years, that it doesn't surprise me that Lola's retorts are considered "outbursts," and assumed breaches of protocol and council behavior, and refusing to sign on to the "good times were had by all culture," at town hall. Speaking out, and vehemently, is what chips our way back to democracy. Some elected officials want to impose their concept of democracy, but it is based on following the leader, and getting the controversy worked-out in the wash……not visible on the line.
I feel the media has unfairly singled out Lola Bratty over the past months, and made it seem irrational and borderline corrupt, when she takes a turn to speak her mind. As far as another councillor's comment, about her statement, setting relations with the MTO back 20 years, I really hope that was a misprint, or misquote, because that is the kind of comment based on knee-jerk and shooting from the hip, to a reporter, versus astute observation and projection, based on reality. In short, it was a cheap shot. An opinion. Yes it was. But it was still a cheap shot.
Lola Bratty is a keen representative of constituent values. Some may misunderstand how methodically and enthusiastically she works, and how aggressive she pursues the projects that she deems important. She may play the devil's advocate. She may be a fly in the proverbial ointment. But by golly, I like having her on that complacent, obtuse council, because the sharp points are better than no points at all. No, even after a considerable debate on the subject, if she and I had discussed the issue beforehand, Lola would have felt confident that the way she going to use "Nazism" was proper, in the context of her presentation, no apology required. It would have been thusly thought out in advance, and meant to strike a chord, about the sorry state of politics and administrative governance in this province. In her use of the word, there was nothing racist in its context. It referred to political dominance, and anti-democratic conduct. It is her opinion.
Lola Bratty probably won't like me going to bat for her. She's tough on her own. She certainly doesn't need a blogger like me, rallying to her side. But she is someone I have come to respect, as a fighter for our town…..and while some may not approve of her vehemence, a few of us like to have firebrands, working on our behalf, toward a better municipal democracy.
My advice to Gravenhurst Council, as it has been for much of the past two years, is to let the "individual" shine through, as representatives of constituents……not as planks in a political philosophy.
To Lola Bratty. Hang in there. Let the force be with you!
Thank you for visiting today. I always look forward to our time together. Please visit again soon.
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