Trouble at Mill, Mall and Hall

Vitriol in every guise, one reads, has slipped out from the whispered mutterings and under the breath innuendo up in the District of Maple Ridge's sacred corridors of power and now spills naked on the pages of our beloved local paper, the NEWS.

Clearly not all is well up at the Hall. The larger than life Mayor of our hamlet is receiving a very public spanking from the six council members who he claims are party to the most cohesive council since the 12 apostles. When it comes to walking on water, healing the addicted and the poor and homeless, or dividing the Lougheed thus making room for a wondrous light rail system or turning farmland to....er...farmland and green space to....er....green space....then Mister Cohesive is the super hero for you.

"Foul" each council member howls choir-like or solitary around the kitchen tables or in the local SBX. A nauseatingly expensive promotional campaign set the standard for all. The message in the  ads is clear: "Spend $100,000 and you too can be Mayor" Many candidates are shocked by the amount of money being thrown at the incumbent's campaign, but not nearly as shocked as they are by the content. If I read correctly between the line then our current council are stunned to learn that the Mayor is responsible decision taken these past three years and they in their state of mindless cohesion are responsible for all the worst decisions - at least that is what the incumbent mayor seems to be saying. Confused? So you should be.

Maple Ridge has lost its way. Is that possible? It would take a genius to mess up so simple an organism as this. Cohesion and confusion are not spelled the same way, nor do they share even vaguely any semblance of meaning. Deception and sleight of hand are not well obscured by the smell of snake oil wafting around our village this November.

There is a very strong possibility that the incumbent will prevail on November 15. There is also a strong possibility that many council members will be returned to their seats up at the Hall. Were this to happen then Maple Ridge is guaranteed three years of whatever the opposite of cohesion is and a continuation of what confusion most certainly is recognized for being - not good for a growing community.

Do we really need a community that will waste three years of its time in an atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty. The incumbent promised he would not run for a second term. It is every voter's duty to see that the incumbent first wish comes true and that he does not confuse us with a second term.