BERNIE BOWS OUT
Long-time city councillor Bernie MacDonald announced his withdrawal from the Ward 3 race earlier this week, prompting some speculation and even complaints about why he waited until just before the cut-off date for candidates to register.

Whatever his reasons, they shouldn’t cloud his almost three decades of public service. He may not have been a leader in city hall debates, nor an innovator when it came to public policy, but Bernie was the quintessential ward politician, always ready to help a constituent negotiate his or her way through the sometimes mysterious pathways at city hall.

People in his ward liked him because they saw in him a guy much like themselves- a working stiff who never forgot the little  guy. Bon voyage, Bernie, and good luck wherever you go.

CHAPMAN BASHING, DOWN THE 401
We’ve had some feedback about our recent article on Windsor mayor Eddie Francis. He is, of course, the two-term (seeking a third) mayor who has made a lot of enemies in a union town by taking a hard line with the public sector unions, much to the delight of many taxpayers who think the job should go to the most cost-efficient workers, and not automatically to union members.

Apparently a caller to a radio program in the Rose City noted that Jim Chapman, that right-wing looney in London, had spoken favourably about Windsor’s mayor, thereby proving beyond a doubt that Francis is a right-wing looney, too.

Pretty hard to make that case, though, after several years of Francis-led budgets that held the line on public spending, kept taxes flat even while assessments lagged behind most other cities’ and still managed to build up the municipal reserve funds, build a beautiful new arena and work tirelessly to re-brand his city and carve a place in the sun for it in the post-industrial age.

Let’s hope the voters of Windsor (several of whom read the Voice) know a good thing when they see it.

And if Francis’ record is the mark of a right-wing looney, we could use a few more of the same species at London’s city hall.

AN INTERESTING MAN
Check out Herman’s interview with Greg Thompson this week. It’s an interesting look at an interesting man, one who has obviously thought carefully about what the city needs, and what his ward in particular should have.

Here’s a quote: “If we can build a City that people are proud of and want to live in, then we’re going to create jobs. Building a City that people want to live in is economic development.”

It’s a start, anyway.