Tonight I attended the Open House of Mike Caisley. Caisley stood at the front and spoke for 50 min, and then held a question and answer period. I took a digital recorder and all bolded italic comments are direct quotes from that recording.
Caisley began by talking about the Chamber of Commerce All Candidates Forum and said that he was not happy with the forum. He felt he was unable to give his speech at the forum so he gave both his one minute speech (which actually lasted just under three minutes) and his 5 min speech (which in effect was actually over ten minutes long) tonight.
In his one minute speech Caisley commented about special interest groups:
“It means ensuring that special interest groups those few that make the most noise or those that apply the most pressure are not successful in their attempts to gain a more personal benefit…There are no exceptions to this commitment…”
The question was asked later on by Erin Hanna,
“Could you please define what a special interest group is and give us an example? ”
The Mayor’s reply: ” I think the TR Arts Council is a special interest group. I think the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation is a special interest group I think that, ah, the Legion is. It means that they have specific interests and specific things that they are trying to accomplish and that’s great. When it comes to council, you try to provide as much assistance as you can.
Then Erin explained the three pillars of tourism in Tumbler Ridge which are arts, paleontology and outdoor activities. “Are you personally, never mind the Council, are you personally behind tourism because you just called two of the groups that are going to bring tourism to Tumbler Ridge special interest groups and earlier you told us you wouldn’t support special interest groups.” “
Caisley “I didn’t say that”.
Erin “You seem to have trouble remembering your comments.”
Caisley “Let’s not be ridiculous here. We have special interest groups in our community here and that’s not bad.”
In the five minute speech Caisley went over the removal of covenants and the dismissal of Lonnie Miller, and the cost thereof.
This is an easy platform to stand on because much of the information the public has been given on these issues is from a Caisley perspective which meet his objective which he announced shortly after the CAO was let go… which was to do everything in his power to ensure that this Council is not re-elected.
The second point he talked about was the relationship between staff and council: “staff is mistreated by council and it is happening on an ongoing basis“.
To my knowledge, I have never mistreated staff and I am offended by this blatant accusation. If blanket accusations are being made, you should probably ensure that the blanket covers all accused. In fact, when I was elected, I was instructed not to talk to staff at all, and that all communication should go through the CAO. If staff has found me stand-offish, this is why, but that certainly does not qualify as “mistreatment.”
A little later in his speach, the mayor promised to “continue to conduct open town hall meetings.”
I must admit that this one shocked me because of his use of the word “continue.” Council has asked for a town hall meeting many times and have been turned down.
Next, there were several statements written out onto a flip chart that Caisley wanted to address.
The first being “Stolen Election Signs: Caisley and family” “Now, Excuse me, I don’t know if you saw the article on the front page of this ,ah, paper. And the fact that my competition and so forth have decided to take this on. And the fact that he got all the coverage and so on. That’s fine and that is a very important topic. Now, I didn’t get one phone call from Lorraine Funk, not one. To say “Hey Caisley, did you steal those signs?” Not one. I would have said to her, “No I didn’t.” “Did your son steal the signs?” Not that I know of, I asked him and they said no.” This line of joking went on to name the grandchildren and his wife. “That’s all she had to do was to ask me.” He then said that signs are expensive and asked why would he steal the signs.
There were a couple of issues surrounding staff members using district property for personal use. This is simply not true. Next was the issue of polls being set up at the mines. This was a decision passed by council upon the recommendation of Kim Isaak.
Last was the question, “Do you have to vote for seven people?”
My answer to this question: definitely not. Vote for those you want in. If you vote for people you are unsure of, you could be knocking out people you want in.
“New Councilors, now I want to talk about them. I have invited all of the new councilors who are running, that if they wanted to say a few words tonight I would be happy to accommodate that because I think that it’s very, very important. We have Mr. Rob Mackay and we have Mr. Darwin Wren who are in attendance here. And I wanted to give them that opportunity. And again, I’ll ask them if they want to say a few words.
Ah, I am, you’ve heard me perhaps talk about it. I believe without any hesitation that we need a change. And I gave my word to these four candidates that I will do anything I can to promote their success and their platforms to be elected as council. I make it clear that this is not a slate, this is not a club where we have all sat down and strategized, saying you vote for me and I’ll vote for you. It’s not about that, no. These are four individuals who want no part of that, nor do I. These are four individuals who I have also said to I’m going to vote for you and I’m going to promote people to vote for you whether you like it or not. Because I happen to believe that with the election of those four and myself we would be able to break the back of the club that is there now and be able to move our community forward. Of that I have no doubt whatsoever. So in terms of, of, of, promoting that, I am happy that they have put their names forward and ah, I think that they will do very, very well and certainly in discussions that have taken place, they are well known in our community as well, they will do just a superb job and that was coming back from the feedback that we will promote each other, that is not the case.”
Darwin Wren was asked to speak. He said that he had attended both Larry White’s Open House and now this one. He is attending the open houses so he can gather the most information he can before he marks his ballot. He has no allegiance to anyone.
Rob Mackay said that he has been a long time resident and he feels that council has fallen of the tracks somewhere along the line and on the sixteenth he hopes he is there to put it back on. He is willing to work with anyone, but he thinks it it very brave of Mr. Caisley to stand up and address the issues and these are qualities that he believes we do need in a Mayor.
In my opinion, this meeting was one of the most destructive and damaging things that Caisley has done to date. He has basically said that if he gets elected, it will once again be a divided Council. But where is the division? Where is the thin edge of the wedge? Are the current members of council a “club”, using their political power for their own personal gain? The mayor would have you believe so, and has stated that he is going to “break the back” of that club.
And so I ask once again, where does the divisiveness lay? Who doesn’t play well with others? Is it the council, the so-called club?
The mayor calls it a club. I call it a team. A group of individuals who have come together for the good of the town, who are trying to act on the will of the people. Who are trying to bring the town together, trying to do what’s best for the people of the community. And if he is arguing that he is not a part of that team, then the question needs to be asked: who is he playing for? Whose interest is he looking out for?
When I ran for mayor four years ago, my slogan was “what matters to you, matters to me.” That wasn’t empty rhetoric. This town has been my home for nearly 25 years, and I have invested in it. I am committed to it. I did not run for council for the money (I could probably make more picking up bottles from the side of the road). I didn’t do it for the power (sitting on council is not a position of power, but of submission, of putting yourself at the collective will of thousands of people). I didn’t do it for fame and adoration (if you think that being a town councillor earns you the respect of others, think again.) I did it because I care about Tumbler Ridge and want to see it fulfill its potential.
Tomorrow, the residents of Tumbler Ridge will be going to the poles to vote. If you are voting, don’t just do it out of a sense of civic duty. Don’t go in there with the attitude that the band changes but the tune remains the same. Elect people who will represent you. Who will listen to you and respect you. And who will work together with you to build this community, not tear it down.
Remember…be good to each other.
