Times Advocate, 1994-11-16, Page 4Page 4
Times -Advocate, November 16,1994
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EDITOR! 11,S
Time for buzzwords is over
ayor-elect Ben Hoogenboom
in Exeter, and reeve -elect Murray Keys
in Hay Township have risen up to lead
their councils at a particularly fascinat-
ing period in Huron County's history.
There is no doubt that the old ways of
government are`fading away, and new
ways of doing things will have to be
found.
Fiscal restraint was an attractive cam-
paign promise only a decade ago. As
one Exeter candidate pointed out, today
it is a "given". In other words, it is here
to stay.
Make-work projects like the Canada/
Ontario Infrastructure grant program
may seem like generous handouts from
the upper levels of government, but in
fact they pale in comparison to levels
of grant funding available up until a
few years ago. There is bound to be
less and less of where that came from -
mainly because it all came from the tax-
payer's empty pockets.
Municipalities such as Exeter and Hay
will have to find new ways to do more
with the dwindling resources they have.
Cooperative effort has been a favourite
buzzword these past few months, but it
will be up to the politicians stepping for
this term at council to make it a reality
for local municipalities.
Hay and Exeter seem destined to clash
once again over planning issues nipping
at the town's borders. Both Keys and
Hoogenboom have said they want to
find a better way to resolve them than
OMB hearings, but finding solutions
that both protect Exeter's interests and
Hay's needs for development will be
hard, very hard, for both councils.
Still, we look forward with some opti-
mism that at least there is a will to find
those solutions, wherever they are.
` A solid campaign
oy Triebner's clear win as a
councillor in Monday's Exeter polls
should serve as a yardstick for those
considering local politics in future
years:
' Tifebner, a relative newcomer to
town, had only served a year as a com-
missioner on the town's PUC. Al-
though important, few would consider
it a high-profile position.
What sets Triebner's campaign apart
from most others who throw their hats
into the ring in any municipality - from
the smallest township to the largest city
- is that he actually took the time to ac-
quaint himself with the issues in the
best way possible.
Some may find it hard to believe, but
he actually attended council meetings -
lots of them, nearly all of them - for the
past year. Unlike coffee shop politicians
who can, with 20/20 hindsight, point out
council's every error, Triebner watched
as town council grappled with economic
realities, political problems, and at-
teh pted to do the best it could. He
watched the issues unfold first-hand,
formulated his own opinions, making
himself well-equipped for the debate at
the all -candidates meeting, and could
presumably offer potential voters well-
informed opinions on the hustings.
Say what you like about image -
oriented politics at the provincial or na-
tional level, but give a voter a candidate
well -versed in the issues at the local lev-
el, and you'll see the kind of results Roy
Triebner enjoyed at the polls Monday
evening.
What's on your mind?
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and kudos. The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity.
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Progressive Conservative leader Mike Harris
has decided he is the new Ronald Reagan --
whether his friends like it or not.
Harris is a vigorous second in polls months
before an election and many feel he can win be-
cause he is a tough campaigner and support for
the front -running Liberals will soften as voters'
honeymoon with their federal government
cools. (A first tiff over ethics already is being
heard.)
But some Tories lack enthusiasm for Harris
because he is to the right of those who gov-
erned from 1943-85. William Davis, the last of
the party's successful premiers, signalled this
recently when he agreed to chair a New Demo-
crat government agency to promote exports.
But, if this was meant as a rebuke to Harris,
the Tory leader is not listening. In the space of
a few days, he said first that he supports finger-
printing welfare recipients to identify them and
deter fraud.
Some recipients have collected under false
names and the NDP has tightened checks and
talked of issuing identity cards, but to all resi-
dents to avoid singling out and stigmatizing
those on welfare.
Police take fingerprints of anyone charged
with an indictable offence and most people
would connect fingerprinting to crime and re-
sent having it done to themselves.
The public wants welfare applicants to identi-
fy themselves adequately, but Harris's remedy
seems extremist and an attack on the poor.
Harris complained also that government-
tiinded jobs, including his own as a politician,
are a 'drain' on society because they do not
create wealth like the private sector. Harris has
already promised to reduce provincial spending
except on health, police and teaching by 20 per-
cent in three years.
About 900,000 work in the public sector in
Ontario and Harris deserves credit for saying
there is a lot of waste in it. But pe3opI like con -
Life on the campaign trail
"These are the people of Exeter,
and l enjoyed meeting every one
of you."
Dear Sir:
It's Sunday evening, and the polls open tomor-
row. Tom and I are tired after weeks of campaign-
ing, and I could do with a long, hot soak in the tub.
There's nothing we can do now and we shall sec
what tomorrow brings!
As I look back over the past several weeks of
campaigning, the many, many people I have met
come to mind: the man who grows magnificent ge-
raniums on his doorstep; the lady who. insisted I
take away with me cuttings from her Swedish ivy (it
would have died anyway, she said); the man I spoke
to about winter care of roses; another gentleman
who told me why the farmers wait so long to take
the corn off the fields; the wonderful couple who in-
vited me into their home filled with the fragrance of
Christmas cookies baking, and with whom I found
I had more than a little in common; the woman who
was anxiously wondering if her husband would pass
his driving test the following week, as she could not
drive; the lady with whom I had a long conversation
during which I could not keep my eyes off the unu-
sual bureau in her hall: no drawer was quite the
same size as any of the others; the several people I
met who had known the couple who lived in the
house we bought and could tell me more about the
lady who had planted my garden, before she passed
away; the couple who invited me in from the cold
whereupon we had a long and interesting conversa-
tion as if we had known each other for years; the
elderly lady who was almost blind from diabetes but
who managed to put her makeup on by feel, and still
looked great.
And the dogs: Ben, the huge Newfoundland;
Shadow, the equally huge Bouvier; Jack, the Jack
Russell terrier, another Jack Russell terrier whose
bloodcurdling growls would make your hair stand
on end, until you were properly introduced; the toy
poodle with the little blue bow tied into his curls
who would defend his owner and home to the death,
it seemed; the several cocker spaniels, and the un-
seen dogs behind closed doors who fiercely guarded
their homes for their absent owners.
And the houses - every shape and size. Huge,
stately mansions with fabulous original wood trim;
tiny, trim cottages with vestiges of a prolific sum-
mer garden fading in the flowerbeds; homes filled
with children and life; homes cozy and warm chock
full of memorabilia from a lifetime of memories;
homes big and small, rich and poor.
These are the people of Exeter, and I enjoyed
meeting everyone one of you.
Elizabeth Tattersall -Hughes
Harris styling himself after Reagan?
sumer protection officers, street cleaners, job
safety inspectors and many others will be dis-
mayed that the Tory leader sees them as frills
and non -contributors.
Hams told tourist operators he is concerned
about Indians who 'spend all their time' pursu-
ing land claims and `do nothing' to help them-
selves economically.
Some Indians probably have become profes-
sional land claimants and some do not try hard
enough to improve their lot, but by not naming
them Harris cast a slur over Indians generally
and the demands for an apology have started.
Hams showed up at a gathering to back a mu-
nicipal police chief who said he would not re-
tire when his contract expired. The Tory leader
was demonstrating his support for the philoso-
phy that cops are tops no matter what, another
view held strongly by the right.
Davis used to boast of being a supporter of
law and order, but would never have sided with
a police chief against the civilians who appoint-
ed him.
Harris also has invited the new guru of the
radical right, David Frum, who would almost
dismantle government and hand it over to Gen-
eral Motors, as guest speaker at the Mike Har-
ris dinner at the Tories' annual conventiosi this
month (from November 18-20).
Frum has already written that Harris under-
stands that big government is the protlem hurt-
ing the economy, unlike the 'woolly' Davis and
his 'mushy' advisers who let it grow out of
control, and rejoicing that Davis and his clique
no longer run the party.
This ought to be quite a spectacle if those in-
volved could be persuaded to speak their
minds.
The Tories have bashed familiar targets of the
right, welfare recipients, civil servants, Indians
and those who dare quarrel with police -- now
they could wind up bashing each other.
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