Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Sign of Things to Come

Call me wacky, call me zany but doesn't this qualify as some sort of election signage? This is a flagrant slap in the face and a total disregard for the rules of engagement during an election campaign in Caledon. The town bylaw clearly states there is to be no electoral signage prior to September 13th. Well can someone please tell me what the hell is this? I saw this truck (care to guess who owns it) in Edelweiss Park during the opening weekend of the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club. So not only is the Groves campaign breaking the rules they are doing it right in the playgrounds we bring our children to! Who does this sort of thing?

Welcome to the Trailer Park Boys version of an election. That is what this campaign is going to get turned in to. If Annette Groves is willing to break the basic rules during an election so early in the game it makes me wonder about what sort of ethics she'll bring to office of the Mayor. All we need now is Ricky, Julian and Bubbles as her door knocking team and they'll be good to go.

We are only getting warmed up. This is scary business and sad times for Caledon.

What on earth is the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club thinking? Have they been hit in the head with a soccer ball one too many times? How could they allow this silliness and illegal activity to happen at both Edelweiss & Valleywood fields. Is it possible they didn't even realize they were breaking municipal bylaws? The playing fields are public property and electoral campaigning is restricted on public lands. Councillor Groves is well aware of those rules yet she chose to compromise the soccer club for her own gain.

The club's mandate is about promoting sports & recreation in a community, not pandering or providing a platform for politicians. It begs me to ask the question why they allowed this activity to take place during their opening weekend, not only in Bolton but also over in Valleywood. Yes, we all know what a long time supporter Annette has been of the organization but it doesn't justify breaking the rules in this manner. Would it be because of the promise by a mayoral wannabe that if you help get her elected then she'll make sure that she'll get your indoor soccer facility built?

Just a small FYI. The town has already purchased 120 acres of land on the corner of King & Centreville Creek Road with the intent of expanding soccer facilities in Caledon. I would suspect that down the road there is already a plan in the view finder for an indoor facility. In the end though I'd be really interested in hearing the Mayor's response to Aldo's comment with respect to her not being supportive to the club. I'll keep you posted.

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Post Note Comment: I encourage readers to have a look at the comments. Aldo Simone, past president of the BWSC has posted a note and I followed with a response. I'd like to thank Aldo for his comments, they are helpful and insightful.

4 comments:

  1. Christine,

    you do not like Annette. We get that. But why would you attack the Wanderers orginization who obviously were unaware of the rules regarding election signage. Perhaps we were preoccupied with trying to provide a great day for the kids and missed that.
    Annette has always been a huge supporter of the club unlike the current mayor. So when she asked to use the event to announce her candidacy the club obliged. I am a bit surprised at your slag of the club since you are one of the nicest people I know.
    Taking a shot at the volunteers who organized the day was not very nice.

    Aldo Simone
    Past President
    BWSC

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  2. Aldo;
    Thank you for your comments. I welcome them. We have known each other for many years and I have nothing but respect for the commitment and contribution that you have given to our community in your capacity at the soccer club. I have always been a huge supporter of the BWSC, both when I was a parent/volunteer and also when I was on council. The club is a great organization that provides reasonably priced recreation for so many families in our community.

    With that being said we both know that a few of the club executive have always been very politically slanted and a few have made their disdain for the Mayor well known. My shot isn't at the volunteers who worked so hard to make that opening weekend fun for the kids, my shot is at the small handful of executive who allowed the club to be used and manipulated by a candidate who darn well knew she was breaking the rules. The BWSC should remain neutral throughout the election process because regardless of who is elected the BWSC will have to work with who ever is in office.

    This isn't the first time Councillor Groves has broken election campaign rules. Thank you for verifying in fact this political presentation was at her request because now I have an even clearer insight in to who is using who and how far a candidate is willing to go to break the rules in order to win at all costs. She and her campaign cabinet owe the BWSC an apology for putting them in to a position that they shouldn't have been put in.

    The opening day should have been about the children, not about the politics.

    Finally, I'd just like to say that I have known Annette Groves for quite a few years now. At one time we were good friends and confidants. Heck, when she went in to labour with Tyler and couldn't reach her husband it was me she called to come to the hospital with her. I actually met Tyler before Terry did. In the last election I took off work during the last few weeks to personally campaign for her, door knocking, spending days with her to boost her confidence and to help her get across the finish line. We financially contributed to her campaign. I brought her flowers to the campaign office on the night of the election. I believed in her leadership and her integrity. Not any more. She knows why that is.

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  3. Annette contacted us and apologized for the position she put us in. I personally did not see a problem with any of this since Marolyn also had a car sign when we were working to get her elected and we would have done the same for her had she wanted to join us for the event.
    As you may know the Bolton Wanderers has been trying to bring indoor soccer to Caledon for a long, long time. Numerous proposals were presented to councils over the years without success. Most other Towns have better facilites than we do. Considering the number of soccer players, resources and available land we could and should be doing much better.
    Please note that the 120 acres is not planned as a soccer only facility. It has taken years to get to this point and at this rate I may not live long enough to ever see a soccer game played there.

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  4. Again, thank you for your ongoing input. You remain always a voice of reason and the club is just all that much more better off for having you there. I must say though I laughed aloud when I read your comment about not living long enough to see anything come to fruition. It makes me remember when a woman came to my door for her first election campaign and she talked about getting a recreation centre for Bolton. That woman was Carol Seglins and it took her almost a dozen years to make it happen but it happened.

    Just an FYI, Mayor Morrison asked me if I had your email address and I told her that I didn't. I think she would very much like to speak with you and I think that would be a good thing. I would encourage you to reach out and connect directly with her.

    Politics bring out the worst in people. Please take what I write with a grain of salt or perhaps take to reading my food blog instead, it is actually so much more fun! :)

    Finally, on a more personal note, I'd just like to extend my congratulations to the Simone family the latest successful graduate, Amanda! Wonderful news. You and Cathy must be so incredibly proud. Bravo! We have been blessed with wonderful children.

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