THE GRIFFIN AFFAIR.

One of my favorite messages with a bit of humor, hopefully all my readers follows this good advice.
Today I will comment on the Griffin affair which in my opinion has gone on way to long, over 9 years if memory serves me correct. Oh to be a lawyer involved in this case & God only knows what the final costs will be. Over the years we must have paid some money out to Lawyers but just try to find how much by looking in the city's budget, it must be there under something so if you know where please contact me as I am quite curious.
The City was ordered by the courts to pay a token bit of money to D/Chief Griffin but instead decided to appeal the decision. Why is a good question I wish I had the answer to but I will kill one of the rumors making the rounds. Due to a statement by City auditors Grant Thornton in the City of S'side 2005 annual report the city is involved in several law suites of which the liability's are unknown at this time. That kills the rumor that the city insurance company insisted they appeal the decision, councillors who were ask why said they were not involved in the decision. If not why not?
If the city had lots of extra money to waste on Lawyers you wonder why they did not join the city of Ch'town in their law suite against the PEI government. Than we would get the 3'rd MLA the Supreme Court said we are entitled to. Just my opinion, I would like to hear yours.
Till next time, take care.
Lew

STRONG REPERSENTIVE.

Here is a photo of the "SNOWBIRDS" performing over S'side harbor recently for the many fans who showed up to enjoy their show.

I have visited 95% of the residents in ward 5 with just the very north of Central street, the few houses on the south side of route 2, plus 1 apartment building. The visits went even better that I had hoped & met a lot of nice people who really care about their city. This bodes well for the future of our city just as long as they take an interest in municipal politics, check each candidate who offers for council, & support the ones who best represents what you consider important to make S'side a great place to live & raise your families.

One of the things coming through loud & clear is after years of silence the residents of ward 5 want to elect a strong loud voice to be their councilor. They want a councilor who will be accessible, listen to their concerns, & present their wishes to council in a clear, strong, & forceful voice if necessary but be willing to compromise & work with other councilors to get the job done. They want their councilor to get back to them with answers on their problems, what the solution will be, & if nothing will be done why it will not be.

I have already committed to have a meeting with residents before March 31, 2007 to hear your concerns, listen to your wants & needs, & bring you news from council as to what will be happening that will effect you & your city. At this meeting we will set the date for the next meeting as I will be having these meetings on a regular schedule as offen as you decide we should have them.

For people with computers I will set up a website which I will update regularly with information from city council plus other items you might find useful like events being held in the city, rec schedules & any info you think you would like to read. There will also be a place to contact me by E-MAIL & a place to leave comments you would like the readers to be aware of such as birthdays, anniversary, etc. That is all for now.

Till next time, take care.
Lew.

GOING GOOD

This ia a picture I took today after the Torch Run for Special Olympics. The local police & special olympians ran from S'side to Kensington to raise money for special olympics.

Did more door to door the past 2 days & the reception is better than I could have wished for, now if that translates into votes is another matter. Met an old friend yesterday I have not seen in more years than I would like to admit & had a little reminisce about the good old days, which brought back a lot of pleasant memories. We are going to have coffee some day soon which I am looking forward to. If nothing else happens for me than meeting this old friend alone makes running one of the best things I have done in years.

There are a lot of concerns out there & I will address these concerns in this site starting in the next few days.

that's all for today folks.

Till next time, take care.

Lew.

NO PROMISES.

This is a picture of Friendship park located in the north east part of S'side. It is a joy to visit with good walking trails & an abundance of wild life.

The mayor has announced he will be re-offering & stated he will not be making wild promises to get elected. I am pleased to say that I have made no promises to get elected, just commitments to act on items that the residents of ward 5 tell me they would like to see the city act on. Three things often mentioned are COMMUNICATE, COOPERATE, & COMMON SENSE. Another is the high amount of city taxes, I was talking to a couple the other day & their tax bill is over $6000.oo per year. Condition of streets & sidewalks, cost of minor hockey, & vandalism.

In the days ahead I will explain ideas on how each & every problem may be solved, if you have any suggestions or answers I would like to hear from you. I can't claim to know all the answers but with your help together we can find solutions for all your concerns. Well that is all for tonight.

Till next time, take care.
Lew

ANOTHER DAY< ANOTHER ADVENTURE.

This is a picture of one of the many antique cars that are in the annual Lobster Carnival parade held here in S'side. It is a week long event held in August.

Today I did some more door to door, it is most enjoyable plus you get to meet a lot of really nice people. Being well into the aging process (sounds better than getting old) I am a little stiff & sore when I first start but after a few doors & some nice people the legs are as good as new & I am looking forward to the job at hand also my body may be aging but I like to think I am young at heart & have lots of good ideas, hope I get to use them after the election on November 6, 2006.

I am going to visit every residence in my ward (5) before election day, I print up my business cards as I need them & paper clip them to my brochure, this keeps me going about 12 hours a day or more. I am enjoying this so much that it is not work but a labor of love. Kind of scary I am enjoying this but I have always been considered a people person & have been called a windbag more than once.

You never seem to get any news out of city hall so having at least one windbag on council is just what this city needs, one that will not only tell the residents what is happening at city hall but will speak forcefully for the residents of their ward. If elected I can promise you that you will never have to say, my sole that Champion fellow is awful quiet, I wonder what he is up to.

As I say in my brochure I will meet with the residents on a regular basis, the first meeting will be held before March 31, 2007 & at this meeting we will schedule the next meeting. The purpose of the meetings will not only allow the residents of ward 5 to tell me what is needed in the ward & what they think of the job I'm don't but will allow me to bring them up to date as to what is going on at council & what councils plans are for the future. One of the problems I hear on the doorsteps is there is no communications from city hall to the residents and they want to be informed. That's All for today folks.

Till next time, take care.

Street Condition

Today I was out visiting residents of ward 5, had a good day but it was a real eye opener. Above is a picture I took of a city street in one of the most exclusive subdivisions in our city. Upon talking to one of the residents they ask me if I could do something about repaving their street. They said the street was originally paved about 20 years ago and they thought it was time it was done again. This is a disgrace & just an example of the condition of a lot of the streets in our city. It is fine to build new infrastructure but maintenance should be kept up on our streets & sidewalks.

Back to my visits as it is most encouraging for a rookie involved in his first election campaign in S'side. The people I meet are real nice & a joy to talk to. One of the joys in my life is meeting new people & conversation with them. Regardless how my campaign turns out win or lose I will have so many good memories to cherish through the years.

Well I guess that is all for tonight.

Till next time, take care.

COMMUNICATE, COOPERATE, & COMMON SENSE.

Shipyard market located at the east end of the west end beach.

The 3 C's are what I will talk about today. These are 3 things I will practice after I am elected to council as it is important for the people who pay the bills to know what we are not only doing but what our long term plans are for the future, why we are doing it, and what it will cost. We have been involved in the Griffin Affair for 9 years now and still have no idea just what the lawyers fees will be. I imagine we must have payed out a bit of money for lawyers each year but try to find an entry identifying this payment in the budget or business plan.

We need an open & cooperative council, who not only keeps the citizens advised on what is going on but uses common sense when it comes to spending the taxpayers money.