OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a letter regarding comments made by Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes at a candidates forum, published Sept. 30.
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In a recent letter to the editor, Mayor Harry Hughes was highlighted for his disregard for residents and the media. I would also like to add that Mayor Hughes has shown disregard for his current councillors and those running for council seats.
Firstly, as an adjunct to his comments at the recent Oro-Medonte Chamber of Commerce meet-the-candidates event, Mayor Hughes stated that some candidates were “seen to be relying on this information.”
This comment is in reference to his complaint that local news outlets were favouring certain letter-to-the-editor writers and inferring that the news outlets were biased. This statement alone, coming from the sitting mayor of Oro-Medonte, is assumptive, dismissive, and worth asking his worship if he has met with or discussed platforms with any of the current candidates. How can such a statement be made at a public event?
Equally disappointing is Mayor Hughes’s stated reason for running for his fifth term as mayor. He cites that there has been a 71 per cent turnover in council members after the passing of a deputy mayor and a councillor during this term.
Hughes explained he is the only person on council with experience. He related that the route to mayor is to complete four years as a councillor and then another four years as deputy mayor. These eight years are invested to prepare you for the role as mayor in Oro-Medonte. Given the time required to become a licensed medical practitioner is seven years, I find it astounding that the mayor feels the development path to mayor in Oro-Medonte takes a minimum of eight years.
Not only is Hughes discounting the experience of his current council; he is also dismissing the talent of candidates who have bravely put their names forward to run for council. The talent pool of these candidates cannot and should not be discounted.
We have accountants, engineers, retired executives, MBA grads and students. These candidates only achieve these career accomplishments by being nimble, using their intellect and adapting in an efficient and effective manner. Their track records are out there for all to see, and they are impressive.
Hughes’s assumption that none of his current council members or any of the current candidates can make the leap to leadership at the township council is archaic and demeaning in its essence.
Did Hughes not pride himself on being promoted to school principal shortly after his graduation from teachers’ college? How does this align with others putting themselves forward to graduate to council and mayorship? Has Mayor Hughes shared his leadership capacities with anyone through mentorship, sponsorship, and development opportunity? It appears he has not.
A true leader is constantly looking for and working toward finding the next leader. Mayor Hughes has not invested his time in developing others. He believes he is the only man for the job. What a shame.
Paul Sanderson
Oro-Medonte
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