Mayor Meed Ward to address the business elite on Wednesday - the message may be very different this time.

SwP thumbnail graphicBy Pepper Parr

January 28th, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

On Wednesday morning the city’s business elite will gather at the Convention Centre on Burloak and listen to Mayor Meed Ward give her take on where the city is and, hopefully, a fuller picture on where she intends to take us.

In the past, Mayors have written and polished a speech that is delivered as a written document.

Mayor - official

Mayor Meed Ward

Meed Ward’s office advised us earlier today that Her Worship will be speaking extemporaneously; winging it to some degree.

In the less than two months Meed Ward has served as Mayor she shown the city a level of decisiveness the city has not seen from city hall in well over a decade.

Far too early to tell if what she wants to do is what is best for the city. Her decision to ditch the Grow Bold tag line the Planning department had attached to their growth aspirations was seen by many as a welcome decision.

Ridge 3

Former city manager James Ridge; used the exit door for the last time.

The decision to part ways with the former City Manager and take up to six months to find the kind of city manager the Mayor and her council think the city needs was also welcomed by those people who delegated at length for a change in the way the city was handling development applications.

Bob Dylan had it right when he sang:

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Let’s see if the people in the Convention Centre tap their toes to that tune – and let’s see if the business elite give the new Mayor a standing ovation when she has finished speaking.

Salt with Pepper are the thoughts, opinions and reflections of the Gazette publisher.

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