I read with interest a recent letter from Mae Smithers which indicated that I have string dangling from me that emanate from Councillor Anderson.
It was unfortunate that Ms. Smithers felt no obligation to actually acknowledge that my comments about Ms. Sharkey and Ms. Cunningham were critiques of what they did in their public roles and not attacks upon them as people.
She certainly wrote nothing that countered the points I had brought forward.
As a former Union Vice President who endured personal attacks which were both libellous and slanderous to my reputation, I understand the pain those kinds of attacks can cause, and avoid using the same low tactics.
If I have a legitimate criticism of what a public figure is doing, I explain what that is, and I think I did it very well in the letter I wrote.
In terms of Ms. Smithers and her assertion that I do nothing of a constructive or helpful nature for those needing assistance, I believe that if she were to go through the archives of your newspapers, she would find how proactive I have been with signage for handicapped people, improved access for handicapped people, and being a catalyst for both signage and line painting in this city.
I have, on a number of occasions, been very vocal and high-profile in those areas, and am not just somebody who seeks to undermine what others are doing, as Mr. Sawatsky suggested in his letter last week.
Thanks for allowing me to correct those possibly ill-informed opinions from Ms. Smithers and Mr. Sawatsky.
I will continue to contribute what I can in support of the policies I feel are important, and against the policies of any public figure who is using my tax dollars to promote things that might be better privately-funded.
Dean Roosevelt
