Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Yesterday I called on Tom Vegh to meet me on a public platform to debate the election issues.
This is what I said:
Good morning Tom
I hope you are well.
I am writing to ask if you would be prepared to debate the election issues with me at a public meeting to be held at Newmarket Public Library in October.
I have provisionally booked the multi-purpose room from 7pm - 8pm on Tuesday 4 October; Thursday 6 October and Tuesday 11 October 2022.
Can you please let me know which date suits you best and I shall firm up the booking with the Library.
I am only taking this step because no-one else seems to be organising a debate - neither the Chamber of Commerce nor the local media. And I have never before run for significant public office without there being a public debate between the candidates. This would be a first.
It is not in the public interest to have content-free elections where the winner spends more than his or her opponents, carpet-bombing the Town with expensive election signs while refusing to engage face-to-face with their opponents.
The clash of ideas and opinions is healthy. It enlivens and energises our democracy. I want to focus on how you raise money for your election campaigns. I am also keen to get a progress report on your plans for a new Library and Seniors’ Centre. Both signature promises from your successful 2018 campaign.
Apart from your record in office, I also have my own views on a range of local issues.
I would be happy for you to choose the name of an independent moderator. Ted McFadden of Metroland immediately springs to mind but obviously there are others.
I am copying this to Joseph Quigley, Lisa Queen and Ted McFadden.
I hope to hear from you within the next week.
Best wishes
Gordon
- Details
- Written by: Gordon Prentice
The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks the passing of an era.
Like the overwhelming majority of people I have never known anyone else on the Throne.
In a rapidly changing world the Queen was a constant, always there.
Even those who are ambivalent about the monarchy will pay tribute to her decades of public service, always studiously neutral on the great issues of the day.
Of course, I regularly saw her from a distance at the great State occasions such as the opening of Parliament.
And, over the years, when I have seen the Queen at close quarters, she was always engaging and unfailingly courteous. I recall our conversation at Buckingham Palace when she and Prince Phillip had open house for Members of Parliament.
She knew 12 Canadian and 15 UK Prime Ministers, from Louis St. Laurent to Justin Trudeau and from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss.
Her long life was remarkable in so many ways. The longest serving British monarch ever.
In times of crisis and controversy and political flux she was a fixed point of reference. But always above the fray.
When Covid struck - and no-one knew where it was going - she offered calm reassurance.
All across the world, here in Canada and in the wider Commonwealth, people are mourning the passing of an exceptional woman who was more than just a figurehead.
She dedicated herself to public service.
History will remember her with warm affection.
- Details
- Written by: Gordon Prentice
The debate on who should be Newmarket's next Regional Councillor is on hold until Tom "on-the-take" Vegh tells me who is funding his campaign.
I am not prepared to go through the motions, setting out my platform, pretending this is a conventional run-of-the-mill election campaign until Vegh comes clean with the voters.
Tom on-the-take Vegh pulled the wool over our eyes in 2018 and it is not going to happen again.
Does Vegh seriously believe his 2022 campaign is going to be a mirror image of 2018 when he carpet bombed the Town with election signs paid for by developers?
Is he going to go into overdraft to fund his election campaign and then turn to developers again to bail him out?
Is he going to be honest with the voters?
We need to know.
I sent this to Tom Vegh yesterday:
Good morning Tom
I hope you are well and are looking forward to the campaign ahead.
It is now over a month since I wrote asking you to join me in refusing donations from people intimately connected with the development industry.
You told me you would not answer my question because I was a candidate and we were in the campaign period.
Quite frankly, that’s not good enough.
Over the next six weeks you will not be able to avoid the question of who is funding your campaign and I would urge you to come clean now. We can then move on to other matters.
But, until you answer, I am not moving from this issue of who funds you. It is absolutely fundamental.
Are you soliciting money from development industry people as you did in 2018? And if you receive money unsolicited from development industry people will you accept it?
These are not difficult questions to answer.
If you remain silent, I predict you will have a very long line-up at your table at the Chamber’s Meet and Greet on 27 September 2022.
People will want to know who is funding your campaign. And, at the same event, I shall be making your 2018 Financial Statement available to those who want it.
I am copying this to Joseph Quigley at Newmarket Today and Lisa Queen at the ERA.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes
Gordon