Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
To the Small Claims Court in Newmarket to see Maddie Di Muccio and John Taylor enter Room 2002 together where they will sit down at the same table with a judge presiding. These so called “settlement conferences” are informal and are designed to explore the possibilities of the parties settling their differences out of court. They are not open to the public.
Neither is represented by a lawyer.
After 45 minutes President Di Muccio and her husband John Blommesteyn emerge. I am sitting outside keeping myself occupied, reading a book. As she sweeps past, I expect the usual death stare. Instead, I get a Mona Lisa smile. Or was it just a lip curl?
Then Taylor emerges to say there is no settlement. He says he cannot tell me any more than this.
Unless Di Muccio has second thoughts and pulls the plug, the libel action will now go to trial later this year. It will be a moment to savour.
However, I suspect President Di Muccio will find some ingenious way of dropping the action without losing too much face.
I hope I am wrong. The trial will be a hugely popular event and will focus public attention like a laser on the ethics of using taxpayers’ money for partisan political purposes.
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
The Glenway Lessons Learned report has now been published by the Town of Newmarket. You can download it here.
The report by the independent facilitator Glenn Pothier makes no recommendations as such but is, according to a covering note by Newmarket staff, a “descriptive session summary” of the lessons learned meeting on 23 June 2015.
Glenn Pothier captured a thousand suggestions – some mutually contradictory – and no attempt was made to rank them in order of importance. Such focus as there is comes on pages 17, 18 and 19 of the report; the key lessons learned. There is enough here to stimulate a productive debate in public amongst councillors. Those elected officials present at the June meeting kept their views to themselves.
It is now their turn to tell us what they have learned.
It is open to any councillor to ask for the report to be put on the agenda of a forthcoming Committee of the Whole.
The Pothier report and other Glenway material can be found in the "Glenway" file of this website. Open "Documents" in the panel top left and navigate to Glenway.
- Details
- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Maddie Di Muccio's doomed libel action against John Taylor gets under way at the Small Claims Court tomorrow (Tuesday 28 July).
A Settlement Conference which aims to resolve matters between the parties will take place at 1.30pm in room 2002 at the Superior Court of Justice at 50 Eagle Street West. If there is no agreement tomorrow the matter will proceed to a full trial.
Settlement Conferences are not open to the public, unlike the trial itself.
Di Muccio, a former Newmarket councillor and currently President of the York Region Taxpayers Coalition, launched an ill-advised action for libel against Regional Councillor John Taylor. She is demanding $5,000 in damages to compensate for alleged injury to her reputation. You can get the background to the story here.
Earlier, in a bizarre series of tweets on 7 July 2015, President Di Muccio seems to suggest that a Freedom of Information request vindicates her and that there was no evidence of her placing an ad while seeking the Provincial PC nomination. She placed the ad – using public money – after she had been blocked by Tim Hudak.
Maddie Di Muccio @MaddieDiMuccio
I've submitted many FOI's over the years to the @TownofNewmarket. The one I received today was the best one yet.
1 retweet 2 favourites
6:17 PM – 7 Jul 2015
Instead of referring us to the FoI request, inexplicably she points us to a post by her husband, John Blommesteyn:
Maddie Di Muccio @MaddieDiMuccio
FOI report: "no evidence of personal legal advice; no record of ads while seeking nomination" http://pllqt.it/4pitKm
6:15 PM – 7 Jul 2015
View photo3 retweets 3 favourites
Then, to round things off, she talks about exposing liars who are trying to make her look bad.
Maddie Di Muccio @MaddieDiMuccio
Thank you Internet. Tonight's lesson of exposing liars who attempt to make others look bad was well received, and should serve as a warning.
7:13 PM – 7 Jul 2015
1 retweet 8 favourites
Make of that what you will.