Tuesday 19 October 2010

Three More Years

AAARGH!

Three more years.

That’s how much more I have to put up with my annoying alderman, Druh Farrell.

All the way though last night’s election results tally, she was in a see-saw battle with Kevin Taylor, rarely more than 300 votes away from each other. When I finally went to bed, she was up by a scant 150 votes with 35 of 44 polls reporting. In the end she beat Mr. Taylor by 1,252 votes, or 11%.

So we get three more years of Druh. Three more years of $25 MM bridges we don’t need. Three more years of pointless projects like the reconstruction of the perfectly fine pathway along the Bow or the lighting of the Langevin Bridge justified by development of the East Village. Three more years of attempts to hold a pointless, directionless Bow River Flow “festival” on closed lanes of Memorial Drive. Three more years of the planning for the redevelopment of the Eau Claire Market that they didn’t develop right in the first place (because they’ll do it much better the second time than they did the first). Three more years of arguing to increase the number of dangerous traffic rule-ignoring cyclists on the roadways. Three more years of pushing HOV lanes that don’t work. These are just some of the projects Druh has championed.

What we won’t get is three years of good ideas as to what to do with Provincial infrastructure money instead of building unnecessary bridges. Three years of projects that actually could help improve the East Village instead of wasting electricity, paving paradise with interlocking brickweed and further contributing to light pollution. Three years of improving support for the existing slate of good city festivals. Three years of actual half-decent ideas about improving river access, instead of selling it off for high priced Condos. Three years of determining productive ways to improve transportation in the City that don't involve traffic calming or closing lanes.

It’s not that Druh hasn’t figured out the problem. It’s that Druh’s not part of the solution. Which in the end makes her part of the problem.

That, she hasn’t figured out.

3 comments:

Llisa said...

I was so mad when I woke up yesterday and saw that she won. I voted for Kevin Taylor too just to try and get her out of there.

In previous years she's won by a land slide, hopefully barely squeaking by with the win will send her a message that she needs to start LISTENING to the people she represents instead of running with whatever stupid flighty idea she's got in her head this week.

Ugh.

Mary Dylke said...

Make that "she and the people who continue to vote her back into office haven't figured that out".

Astrid said...

here here ... the Peace Bridge was the biggest waste of money I have ever seen! The money would be better spent on the airport tunnel ... oh but she didn't like that either... people forget that the majority of those who work at the airport live in the NE