Meet the Candidates in Grantham – 2022 Edition
October 6, 2022
Takeaways from last night’s Meet the Candidates night in Grantham Ward:
1. Immediately after stepping inside the door, I was accosted by regional candidates Brian “The self-appointed voice of reason” Heit and Sal Sorrento, each of whom handed me a brochure. Sal referred to himself as “Brian Heit’s best friend” and was joking around with me as if I was some long-lost family member, not a hated rabble-rouser who he had blocked on Facebook. He obviously does not lack for nerve.
1a. If I were Brian Heit, I’d have promptly asked Sal to stop calling himself my best friend. You know what they say about guilt by association.
2. Sal’s brochure was interesting. Among his bullet points were “Support long term care, health care & frontline staff,” “Manage tax dollars responsibly” and “Support business, jobs, private development.” This from a guy who ran provincially for Doug Ford, an authoritarian premier who sat back and cheered as health care workers were fired en masse for refusing genocidal poison injections, continues to spend more than the Liberal government his party replaced and who decimated the private sector with his illegal lockdowns, putting countless numbers of people out of work in the process.
3. I chatted with city council candidate “Bob can do the job” Romeo and asked him what he stood for besides a catchy slogan. He replied that he’s worked in the community, wants to keep the city moving forward and hopes his 10-year-old daughter will want to build a life here. In other words, he stands for nothing.
4. Regional council hopeful Haley Bateman was among the early attendees and made sure to visit everyone in the crowd, including me, before leaving to attend a similar event in Merritton. I declined her brochure, telling her she had already delivered one to my door and that I wasn’t voting for her anyway.
5. Another regional council hopeful, John McGill, gave me one of his cards. Having previously visited his website, I immediately struck him off my list when I read how he wants to continue to “invest in the arts.” The arts is hardly something any government should be forcing its citizens to fund, and I continue to be deeply offended at the term “investing” politicians are so fond of using. Someone who takes money out of his own pocket and buys a security or a stock is “investing.” When politicians and governments use the full power of the state to rip money from your wallet, it is theft, not an “investment.”
6. The ghost of Jim Bradley was one of the attendees, but rather than stoop to the level of the other regional hopefuls who cheerfully handed out brochures and asked for our vote, he just took a seat in front of me and watched the proceedings like any other interested observer. Much like his Liberal buddy Bill Phillips, he clearly takes our support for granted.
6a. I got a second brochure from Phillips delivered to my mailbox this week. Maybe he’s not getting the same enthusiastic response at the door that he’s grown accustomed to in years past. And maybe he’s been reading . . . nah.
7. It was a bit of a disappointing turnout, with the hall only about a third to half full. Perhaps many took advantage of the opportunity to stay home and watch the proceedings on YouTube. The low turnout might also be due to the fact that we have four candidates for two positions on council, yet little choice.
8. This is what I think of the land acknowledgment that was read before the proceedings began:
8a. It was encouraging to hear some grumbling around me as it was being read.
9. To begin, each candidate was given an opportunity to speak on what they felt were the most important issues in Grantham. Steve Wojciechowski spoke about affordability, housing, safety & security and green energy programs. Dawn Dodge used the opportunity to take credit for just about everything that ever happened in the city including the performing arts center, the Meridian Center, transit services and the hospital before getting to climate change, the favorite topic of every left-leaning politician. Reading from his phone, Bob Romeo mentioned accessibility, preserving green space and accountability. Bill Phillips mentioned three local issues, then for the city, stressed affordable low-cost housing and communication from city hall.
10. Of note is that Dodge didn’t mention pollinator gardens once during the proceedings. You don’t think she’s been reading . . . nah.
11. Even though the candidates all seemed to be fully aware that it’s not the city’s responsibility, they kept mentioning affordable low-cost housing as a priority. Always best to have more than one level of government involved with the same problem. Or not.
11a. As I said recently to a city council candidate running in another ward, if you keep driving jobs away, the housing crisis will take care of itself since no one will want to live here.
12. In response to a question asking how they would ensure information from city staff is accurate and presented without prejudice, with palpable anger, Phillips stated, “we have every bit of trust in city staff” and that he was disturbed by the question. In other words, how dare we question city staff. Evidently he forgot the fiasco involving city staff that cost the city the $1 million donation from the Burkes. In any event, it’s his job as our elected representative to question the information presented to him. To just accept it blindly is a complete abdication of his responsibility. Everyone is accountable. Including city staff. I was disturbed that he was disturbed and it gave me yet another reason not to vote for him.
13. When asked what they would do to attract businesses to St. Catharines, all four candidates were pretty much in lockstep with each other. More advertising. Improve media presence. Get out to trade shows in Toronto. Offer incentives. Dawn Dodge suggested supporting and promoting local businesses, conveniently forgetting that it was government that was responsible for so many of them going under. As I mentioned to Mike Britton, who was on hand, the solution to problems the government created is not more government.
14. A poor speaker, Steve Wojciechowski was the one candidate of the four most out of his league. And it seemed as though Dawn Dodge still hasn’t regained her train of thought from her disastrous opening remarks at this same event four years earlier. Like the ghost of Jim Bradley, she is also someone well past her best before date. She would be better served tending to her pollinator gardens instead of serving another term on council.
15. Mat Siscoe Matler Sendzcoe showed up for the post-debate meet and greet and rather than work the room like his rival, he opted to stand in the back like a foul pole and await his adoring public, few of whom bothered to make his acquaintance.
15a. Differences of political opinion aside, Siscoe Sendzcoe is not an outgoing person and seems ill-suited to be the mayor of any city larger than Dog River.
16. After regional council candidate Sabrina Hill kept circling the room and finding no takers willing to engage her, she sat down across the aisle from me and began speaking. When the subject of transit came up, I asked her position on making Presto available on regional transit. In response, I got a long monologue with a wishy-washy non-answer during which she mentioned the possibility of some other card. I don’t get it. Presto is the standard throughout the GTA, Hamilton and even as far as Ottawa and Gatineau. And it works. It’s not a running joke like Winnipeg’s Peggo card. It’s a no-brainer. Why the possibility of “some other card” is even on the table puzzles me. It should only be a matter of how to make it happen and how soon it can be done.
17. When I mentioned that I had a blog, Sabrina said, “Be kind to us regional candidates. Don’t be a word assassin.”
“I can’t promise that,” I replied.
18. Note to candidates: Please dress modestly. Cleavage is not appropriate at a function such as this.
19. There were very few DWAMs (Dipshits With A Mask) in the room. Even the radical far-left Haley Bateman wasn’t wearing a mask. Slowly, but surely, that is a breed that is thankfully becoming extinct. But two candidates, regional councilor Laura Ip and school trustee Kate Baggott, were. Note to all candidates: I don’t vote for DWAMs. Full stop.
20. On my way out, Baggott offered me a brochure. “I’ll take one,” I said. “Even though I’m not voting for you.”
21. I still don’t know who I’m supporting for school trustee. But after checking out Baggott’s Facebook page, I’m more determined than ever to fill out all four names to do my part to ensure her defeat.
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