Do we expect our politicians to be working or playing on their time off?
Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster got quite a bit of negative publicity when he cc:'d the police on a request for information on a resident who obtained information on a trip he'd taken to explore a business opportunity for the town - on his own time.
We expect our mayor to be on the job pretty much all the time. I expect that and I'm sure Foster knew that going in - unless he's clearly on personal time.
But business done as mayor is a public matter and public concern. If I'm being represented I have a right to know what's going on.
There are two reasons why this story is resonates so much - history and expectations. The two mayors before Foster were - rightly or wrongly - perceived as having "bullied" some residents. Our new mayor ran on a platform of accountability and nobody who has met Adrian Foster would call him a bully.
So expectations were high that he would avoid the pitfalls of a curious public and even work with residents who are concerned about a single issue much more than may be healthy.
We need to give Foster some room - deals are often made behind closed doors for a reason - and realpolitic dictates that not everything has to be in the open all the time. I can wait until a deal is done or near done before knowing any details particularly if too much publicity might endanger the deal or lessen its impact.
So is Foster getting a free pass? Hardly. Clearly this should have been handled better and he really needs to communicate his intentions better. Many residents want to know what is going on and he should be more understanding.
He may be a new mayor but he's not new to politics like others on council and he needs to understand that residents expect him in particular to be open and accountable.
Happy New Year! Next blog I'll look at some New Year's resolutions Clarington council can make.
