Do I ever miss Patrick Nicol. Without him, our mayor’s brusqueness verges upon rudeness towards those of us with the temerity to show up at a public hearing and query council’s actions.
Patrick always had a nice look on his face, was respectful of those whose thoughts on an issue were different than his own and treated public input with respect. That no longer seems to be the case at council.
For the first time, I thought it was a waste of time to show up and speak to council. Mayor Harvey could be difficult but at least he could smile and be gracious and he never gave the sense that you were stupid just because you did not agree with him.
He might call you a wingnut but everyone knows that wingnuts have their uses.
Our current mayor seems to make up his mind prior to public input and that’s that.
I guess my first glimmering of that was when he rode roughshod over the Landing volunteer firefighters’ request for a meeting with council.
Without the basic decorum and tempering fairness to everyone, regardless of their opinion, that Patrick brought to council, I worry about having a mayor that seems to have forgotten the worth of a friendly smile and the importance of being gracious when dealing with ordinary citizens with legitimate concerns in the public forum of city hall.
I now rue the fact that I voted for him. It will not happen again.
Jim Bodkin
Vernon
