Dear Editor,
This week our small isle has been lost in the fog. Not only the fog drifting up the Sound, but an ethical fog of misplaced blame in the face of blatant bullying. I was offended to watch Mayor Adelaar's behaviour at the Council meeting of Oct 15th, but was even more appalled to watch everyone else on Council sit by and do nothing. Perhaps 'you had to be there' to understand. Perhaps those present were just frozen with shock. Or perhaps they dreaded an even worse explosion had they attempted to intervene.
Two days later, one councillor reported to CBC in an eloquent, well rehearsed statement that he was "gobsmacked". A second councillor issued an equally well planned damage control release that was published in the last issue of this paper.
Too little - too late. A true leader, a real man. would have stepped forward and stopped the bullying. That's not expecting too much from our councillors - we expect that much from our young children.
What remains very clear is that civility is one of the keystones of healthy democracy. It is not acceptable for an elected official to treat any constituent with disrespect and contempt. I call on Council to speak out, and to counter the Mayor's rude and dismissive behaviour, with a clear apology for their own actions and by publicly affirming the value of all constituents' contributions to the work of Council.
Sincerely,
Ted Evans
