The Garden City Refugee

Dear Dawn Dodge

September 16, 2026

Dear Dawn Dodge:

It’s me again. You know, that troublemaker who just can’t keep his big mouth shut. The one who keeps calling you out, and whose recent email you blew off.

Thank you for the pamphlet you put in my mailbox. Sorry I missed you when you rang the bell. Oh right, you didn’t. Like your brother-in-arms, Bill Phillips, when he came by to deliver his pamphlet, you didn’t knock or ring the bell. You just ran away. That’s because you really don’t want to talk to me. You just want my vote. That’s all that matters to you and your partner in crime. I have to say that I’m genuinely surprised that the two of you aren’t running together on a ticket. You could pool resources. Have one side of the pamphlet for you and the other for him. You could deliver them on one side of the street and have him take the other. It would save so much work in the long run. Because having to go through the charade of facing voters every four years must be so taxing. My heart bleeds for both of you.

I took careful note that, unlike last time, you didn’t mention anything about pollinator gardens in your pamphlet. Though I suspect it remains an issue near and dear to your heart, as many residents in your ward are still knee-deep in sewage, even you had the good sense to realize that it might not have been in particularly good taste.

Just like you had the good sense not to put in that shot of yourself in that idiotic “Elbows Up” T-shirt you were wearing and pictured in at the Labor Day parade in Merritton. I’ll assume that you put that on just to get votes from some really, really stupid people and that you’re really not that stupid yourself.

You’ll have to forgive me, but I nearly laughed out loud when I read that line about being accessible and responsive. Not to me you’re not. You’re only responsive to City staff, as evidenced at the last budget meeting I attended when you invited your bosses to sit up front along either side of you. Or at least the people you treat as your bosses. See, the way it’s supposed to work is that staff are accountable to you on council, who, in turn, answer to us as taxpayers. We’re supposed to be at the top of the food chain. But instead, us lowly taxpayers are at the bottom of the food chain, being governed from on high by the staff while you on council are just along for the ride, ready to rubber-stamp any decree issued by the staff, when and if needed. Of course, these days, they aren’t even bothering with council. They just do as they please and run the operation like their own personal fiefdom. And you see nothing wrong with this.

Naturally, you couldn’t resist crowing about supporting low-cost housing. Even though it’s not the City’s responsibility. Surely, as a long-tenured councilor, you already know that. But you need to put it in there to cater to the uninformed voter. Just like you did when putting that “Elbows Up” T-shirt on. Seeing stuff like that only makes me want to visit the USA even more often than I already do. And support American businesses and products. USA! USA! USA!

I also had a good laugh out of your line about protecting taxpayers, scrutinizing spending and making sure City dollars are focused on the services residents actually need. Funny, but I don’t recall you ever championing the cause of getting rid of DEI and so many unnecessary staff positions, along with getting the salaries of those we do need more in line with reality. And the removal of the cultural “investment” program and neighborhood micro grants. Political slush funds which should never have been included in any budget. I think your nose started growing when you dropped the line, “Every day is budget day at City Hall” at that last budget meeting.

I also noticed that you made no mention of your role on the board of Niagara Transit. A wise move, I must say, since the recent changes made by the service have been nothing short of disastrous. Go try taking a bus to Niagara Falls and see what I mean. And if you do, thank me for the fact that you don’t need earplugs. That’s because it’s only because of my repeated complaints that the drivers have finally stopped blasting their music. You see, much like you and the rest of council with City staff, the board is providing no meaningful oversight of Niagara Transit management either.

So, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I won’t be among those supporting the Phillips-Dodge ticket on election day.

The two of you will have to troll for votes elsewhere.