Bravo. The City of Greater Sudbury has done
itself proud. From one end of the city to the other, we have
vigorous contests for council positions and the contest to be mayor
has been extraordinary.
We have good people, concerned about their
community, standing up to draw their line in the sand. We are proud
of these people, and whoever wins, we feel we will be well served
for the next three years.
The time is
now
We believe Monday’s election is an important one
because for the first time in a long time there is a blank
page.
The greater city’s amalgamation has not gone
well, but it is behind us. Our citizens are paying the price of a
rushed and flawed process, and they are letting our mayoralty
candidates know that in no uncertain terms. On paper we have
evolved from a collection of municipalities to a united city. The
rest is up to us.
A couple of weeks ago, we sat down to talk with
the top contenders in the race to be mayor.
We are glad we did. We were humbled by the spirit
of public service and love of community we encountered. Our hats go
off to all candidates. We thank them for their leadership and
courage in standing up and offering their time and talent to
us.
As messy as politics can be these days, it
remains a noble calling and we are proud to live in a community
where 14 candidates have put up their hands to lead the
community.
The top of the
batting order
We’ll be honest. This group has surprised. They
are terrific and each one has grown through the experience. They
are talking differently and more effectively than they were at the
beginning of the campaign. They are learning on the job and we have
all had the opportunity to see this in front of our eyes.
If we could somehow combine the strengths of our
leading contenders, we would have the very best in the world.
Our ideal candidate would have Brian Gatien’s
superb grasp of government process and procedure, his passion for
Sudbury and his impressive logical problem-solving mind. He would
be a good mayor and he would grow into the job.
Our ideal candidate would have the hard-driving
successful business experience of Tommy Boyuk, who lives with this
community on his sleeve, and it would include the passion and
experience of Louise Portelance, who has served this community
well.
We like John Caruso. His experience as chair of
the economic development corporation is valued. His mature
leadership would be a tonic for a bureaucracy which is in need of
renewal.
Colin Firth has come from nowhere and taught us a
lesson or two about being a political entrepreneur as well as a
business entrepreneur. He has lots to learn, but he is a quick
study. We could do worse than calling Firth our mayor.
Each one of these candidates carries a part of
the plan to get going on Sudbury’s new millennium. They are good
people and we wish they were on council given only one is going to
win this contest.
We feel the same gratitude to Paul Marleau for
his contributions to our community over the years. We do, however,
part company with Marleau’s scorched earth policy of naming names
of senior executives at city hall who might have to be fired at
great expense to the city.
We think it is an unhelpful approach and
reminiscent of the debilitating warfare between Jim Gordon and the
former CAO Jim Rule that culminated in an expensive settlement. The
real cost was born by the employees of the city who had to live
through it and still try to remain focused on public service.
The point is that a candidate can campaign on
creating an excellent management team, but he cannot and ought not
attack persons who are civil
servants.
We also find his edict “don’t vote for
incumbents” troubling. This kind of generalization is simplistic
and dangerous. We do not like the tone.
The
Situation
And so where does all this leave us?
Some weeks ago we talked about what we thought
was important in this election. Our belief is that Sudbury is at a
point where our very existence as a vibrant city is at stake. The
decline of our mineral reserves is undeniable. The loss of
population, which funds our quality of life, is self evident.
We can fight about what arenas to close or ski
hills to keep open. We can battle about sidewalks, bus service,
flags and potholes and, of course, all of this is important to
us.
The reality, however, is what will we do about
our economic decline? What will we do about becoming a city-state
capable of parlaying our current competencies into economic
growth?
This is not the only issue, but it is the most
important issue to us.
Our
choice
For that reason we throw our support to David
Courtmanche. We believe, of those in a position to be elected in
this campaign, he represents our best economic hope for
growth.
He has the experience to hit the ground running.
He had the courage to say it was time for a change long before it
became fashionable. His challenges are not easy:
• To sort through the civil service and get them
on the same bus.
• Bring council together in a transparent and
open forum to get things done.
• Have the courage to take risks to create
economic development.
• Bring citizens together to work on economic
challenges.
• Build important relationships with senior
levels of government who are part of the solution to our financial
mess.
• Listen to the people from across this city and
act on infrastructure program that gets us moving.
We think Courtemanche, with the help of a
proactive council mixed with fresh blood and experienced hands, can
get the job done. The first meeting we’d call if we were in
Courtemanche’s position would be with his competitors in the race.
They all have something to contribute and they are now experts on
what is on the minds of citizens of this community.
Your
Choice
We have wonderful candidates who reflect the
diversity and power of community. We urge you to get out to vote
for the candidates of your choice on Nov. 10.
To do less is to diminish the importance of their
leadership and willingness to serve us all.
