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

[Eleanor Grant]

In response to Daphne and John Gazzola:

There's a big difference between the big-money, personal smear campaign
being run by Aissa, and the mayor's & newspaper's attempt to call him on
it.    Pointing out someone's unethical actions isn't negativity.

You get the diff? I trust that most W Reg voters will.

Sincerely,
Eleanor
 On Oct 25, 2014 4:57 PM, "Daphne Nichollls" <gordanddaph at sympatico.ca>
wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
> 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".
>
>
> 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.*
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> 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?
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> 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 .
>
>
>
> Sincerely.
>
> John A. Gazzola,
>
> 121 Uplands Dr.,
>
> Kitchener, ON  N2M 4X3
>
>
>
> 519-744-0807       jgazzola at rogers.com
>
>
>
>
>
> *John A. Gazzola  BA / CPA-CA,*
>
> *Councillor, Ward #3,*
>
> *519-741-2790 <519-741-2790> ( City Hall )  **519-744-0807
> <519-744-0807>  ( Home Office** )** 519-498-2389 <519-498-2389> (Cell)  *
>
>  *john.gazzola at kitchener.ca <john.gazzola at kitchener.ca>
> jgazzola at rogers.com <jgazzola at rogers.com>*
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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