Editor, The News:
Re: Councillor votes on project, then sells it (The News, July 13).
I found the fact that Coun. Al Hogarth is now selling the project known as Urban Green in Maple Ridge, to be a classic example of why realtors should not be allowed to act as politicians in their local community.
Mr. Hogarth also stated that Maple Ridge gains far more from his expertise than the annual salary he gets paid. I found that to be a very pompous statement considering the fact that not only does he receive a very nice salary from the district, but gets to market a project on which he had previously voted to accept.
He may not have known at that time who the developer was, but once he found out who it was, did that give him a wonderful marketing strategy?
Pretty easy to inform the owners that he did, in fact, vote for them, and therefore he would be an excellent realtor to market the property.
Nice in to have, wouldn’t you say.
He continues on about how he follows all the rules, but following the rules is like speeding. We can bend them without breaking them. It is all in the interpretation and the actions of the individual.
He further states that being a councillor is sometimes a hindrance on his abilities as a realtor. I would think other realtors would welcome the hindrance of selling the Urban Green units and any other developments they may have in Maple Ridge coming up.
How can anyone not call this a conflict of interest?
As Mr. Speirs says, and I agree with him, just because something’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right.
L.A. Graves
Maple Ridge
