[All] Kitchener voters, please consider this letter before voting

[Daphne Nichollls]

Councillor John Gazzola hoped to get this letter published as a Second Opinion piece in the Record, this week, but it was turned down. 
>   An Open Letter to the Voters of Kitchener
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> There is a phrase that we all know that is "all that glitters is not gold! " An equally important phase to remember in an election is that "all you read is not necessarily so". 
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> I am amazed that over the last few days there has been an editorial by the Record, a second opinion by Mayor Zehr and an opinion column by Luisa D'Amato united in tone and content by the very thing they claim to be against - the "negative tone" of the election and "mudslinging" . In my 33 years as a public servant and my 12 years as a member of Kitchener Council I have never witnessed such a concentrated effort by the editor of the Record, a current mayor, and a veteran reporter to team together to influence a municipal election. Historically the Record usually does not endorse candidates at the Municipal Level. This is more a practice in big cities where there are several major divergent newspapers. Mayors have publically remained silent, and reporters have attempted to exhibit some fairness and objectivity. In the name of fair play and integrity, I believe these writers should make some effort to recognize the legitimate concerns of the candidates and the electorate over (a) the mounting  Regional and Local debt and the onerous burden it places on tax payers, (b) that robocalls are a modern election tool that can be used by any candidate to get their message to the voters, (c) and volunteer workers do make mistakes and it takes a candidate of depth and integrity to apologize.
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> What is significant about the editorial of the Record and the articles by Mayor Zehr and Ms. D'Amato is that they never propose how the taxpayers should retire the debt of our Regional government nor do they take into account the rising Local debt burdens such as that of the City of Kitchener which has risen from a base of $20 Million in 2000  to $110 Million in 2013.  Mayor Zehr presents us with Moody's claim that the Region has a "lower-than-average debt burden when compared to other national peers" and he write "it does not get better than that" and D'Amato wants to deflect a crippling debt by questioning the accuracy of the figures.
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> The point is no individual, no parent, no home-owner, no business and no government should want to live under the burden of debt. We need to be as debt free as possible. We need to live within our means. Why don’t Mayor Zehr and Ms D’Amato acknowledge that our debt burden is a critical issue to address?
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> Why does D'Amato not congratulate Dan Glen-Graham not only for his public apology but for accepting the responsibility for his volunteer's actions. I see this as a rare and courageous stance by any public figure let alone a political candidate in the heat of an election. Why does D'Amato not discuss that robocalls, as offensive as they may be to some voters, are one modern method of informing the voter of a candidate's concerns, policies and solution? Where is D'Amato's objectivity, her fairness or her balanced approach in her opinion articles?  It appears to me that she does not want to be fair but seeks to be as mudslinging as the people she delights in criticizing.
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> Yes there is a negative aspect to this municipal election as there is to all democratic elections but Mayor Zehr and Ms. D'Amato have taken it to a new level by wrapping themselves in self rightness indignation and then adding their own  unique "negative tone" and "mudslinging". Elections are competitive; elections are about ideas; and elections are about more than what a veteran politician or a veteran reporter try to spin. Elections are about the social and financial realities of a community. I urge you to vote on October 27th but beware of the messages of those who claim to write from "pure" motives but merely seek to confuse the realities of the electoral process and the financial realities of our communities .  
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> Sincerely.
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> John A. Gazzola,
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> 121 Uplands Dr.,
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> Kitchener, ON  N2M 4X3
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> 519-744-0807       jgazzola at rogers.com         
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> John A. Gazzola  BA / CPA-CA,
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> Councillor, Ward #3,
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> 519-741-2790 ( City Hall )  519-744-0807  ( Home Office ) 519-498-2389 (Cell) 
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>  john.gazzola at kitchener.ca       jgazzola at rogers.com
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