{"id":20001,"date":"2011-05-16T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=20001"},"modified":"2013-01-21T13:12:10","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T18:12:10","slug":"lorinc-no-time-for-scapegoats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2011\/05\/16\/lorinc-no-time-for-scapegoats\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: No time for scapegoats"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Late last week, word went ricocheting around progressive circles that Mayor Rob Ford\u2019s office had leaned heavily on city clerk Ulli Watkiss not to appeal a court ruling ordering a by-election in Ward 9 because of irregularities with the voters list.<\/p>\n

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Gus Cusimano<\/a>, who lost last fall to incumbent Maria Augimeri<\/a> by just 89 votes. Cusimano, who comes decked out in a blue-and-white Ford Nation uniform, characterized the judge\u2019s verdict as a victory for democracy or fairness or somesuch. City lawyers had said they might appeal, but Watkiss, who is ultimately responsible for elections, decided against further legal interventions.<\/p>\n

Hard on the heels of the speculation about Watkiss\u2019 alleged capitulation were dark mutterings from the left about the possibility of calling for her resignation. City officials must be impartial and impervious to political squeeze plays; this mandarin, goes the logic, appears to have caved to the brothers Ford. Ergo, off with her head.<\/p>\n

Is that the sour scent of desperation I smell?<\/p>\n

The progressive left should know better than to pick on civil servants, especially civil servants who must operate in exceptionally difficult conditions, as is currently the case. The city\u2019s senior officials are not the problem.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say that again: the city\u2019s senior officials are not the problem<\/em>. So don\u2019t make them into scapegoats.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ah, scapegoats \u2014 regrettably, a miserable but oft-sited creature around City Hall these days. The brothers Ford clearly like to keep them as pets because it serves their political purposes. The transit workers\u2019 union. CUPE. The Toronto Community Housing board. Derek Ballantyne, his head handed to him after years of exemplary service. The list is growing, and that club will only get larger in the months to come.<\/p>\n

Why, then, would the left even consider crawling into this particular cave? And yet, the temptation is clearly there.<\/p>\n

During the TCHC firing, Adam Vaughan vented intemperately at auditor general Jeff Griffiths about his report on expenses and procurements at the embattled housing agency. Indeed, during that manufactured not-a-scandal, one labour leader called me up and asked, ever so innocently, whether I\u2019d heard if it was true that Griffiths was a \u201cdrinking buddy\u201d of the mayor\u2019s. C\u2019mon.<\/p>\n

The whisper campaign directed at Watkiss \u2014 who\u2019s capably served as the city clerk for a decade and through three mayors \u2014 is just as dodgy; the progressive left should know better. Regardless of who\u2019s in office, civil servants must walk a tightrope between catering to the political goals of the party in power and their own duty to provide dispassionate, professional advice.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a thought: don’t shoot the messenger and keep your eyes on the prize instead. The mayor, in his lumbering way, has conveniently transformed the Ward 9 by-election into a cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre on the left. I\u2019m guessing Augimeri will have more help working the streets of York Centre than she\u2019s ever had before.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the minutely scrutinized run-off between Augimeri and Cusimano will inevitably become a referendum about Ford\u2019s record to date. It will be about many things \u2013 budget cuts, gravy, bully-boy tactics, campaign finances, city services, privatization and transit fantasies \u2014 but Uli Watkiss shouldn\u2019t be one of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Late last week, word went ricocheting around progressive circles that Mayor Rob Ford\u2019s office had leaned heavily on city clerk Ulli Watkiss not to appeal a court ruling ordering a by-election in Ward 9 because of irregularities with the voters list. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Gus Cusimano, who lostContinue reading “LORINC: No time for scapegoats”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[200,1050,5260,3948,8271,17236,1365,17587,983,17151,813,17586,3912,426,5807,22085,227,8713,4098],"class_list":["post-20001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-2011-ward-9-by-election","tag-adam-vaughan","tag-auditor","tag-city-clerk","tag-city-services","tag-derek-ballantyne","tag-general","tag-gus-cusimano","tag-head","tag-jeff-griffiths","tag-judge","tag-labour-leader","tag-maria-augimeri","tag-mayor","tag-messenger","tag-politics","tag-rob-ford","tag-ulli-watkiss","tag-york-centre"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLORINC: No time for scapegoats - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2011\/05\/16\/lorinc-no-time-for-scapegoats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LORINC: No time for scapegoats - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Late last week, word went ricocheting around progressive circles that Mayor Rob Ford\u2019s office had leaned heavily on city clerk Ulli Watkiss not to appeal a court ruling ordering a by-election in Ward 9 because of irregularities with the voters list. 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