BY VICKI GILHULA
It is only fitting Greater Sudbury got a major snowfall in the
days leading up to Monday's municipal election.
One could argue the 2006 election was as much about snow as
it was about vision and leadership.
Citizens in the communities outside of the former city of
Sudbury started to speak out about their frustrations about a
lack of "Greater" services last winter after a snowstorm. It
took several days for their streets to be ploughed.
Then one complaint led to another, and soon several city
councillors were taking about going back to the way things used
to be before amalgamation.
The whole thing "snowballed." The mess got blamed on city
council, not the provincial government, which created Greater
Sudbury in the first place.
Finally Mayor David Courtemanche appointed Floyd Laughren to
listen to the complaints of citizens about in the outlying
communities, and to file a report in January 2007. Perhaps it
would have been more useful to Courtemanche to have had the
report before he started to campaign for re-election.
Snow became an issue again when Rodriguez said something
about "lifting the blade" at a debate in October. I was there,
and I remember he said something like it was an idea worth
looking into. Next thing we know we are reading about how
Rodriguez promised to have ploughs "lift the blade" if elected.
He was criticized for being silly. At another debate Lynne
Reynolds presented Rodriguez with a snow shovel.
Then, there was the "dress rehearsal" last week of the
city's snow removal equipment. Voters were left to wonder if it
was necessary or an expensive last minute PR move on behalf of
David Courtemanche?
While many voters say they want change at city hall, many
others simply want better snow removal.
Northern Life congratulates John Rodriguez on his victory. We
wish him the best in his new job as mayor, and hope he can make
his promises come to fruition.
When he was an MP he always gave "good headline" as
journalists like to say, and we look forward to covering him at
Tom Davies Square. We don't expect the next four years to be
boring.
It is an unfortunate, however, that he is unlikely to call on the talent and experience of his opponents, David Courtemanche and Lynne Reynolds. Both have served this community well and will be missed at the council table.
 We hope they will find a way to continue to contribute to Greater Sudbury.
