Raise the Hammer

Wow, I am tentatively proud of my city and its residents. It was very humbling to be in the Council Chambers this afternoon and witness some of the excellent presentations by fellow Hamiltonians.

have been following all day on http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23Panam%20... - great fun

Between the tweeting, the Spec's webcast, (which aside from a few glitches was outstanding), and comments on here and Facebook, I have been glued to the computer all day (much to the dismay of my eyes). I have never been so impressed with our city, everyone who spoke did so with passion and vigour. A lot has been said about this debate causing our city to "grow up" and I really could not agree with that more.

the Spec feed is breaking up but it sounds like Collins just said there will be a huge announcement tomorrow regarding the West Harbour. Can anyone confirm this, or am I hearing things?

they just voted 12-3 for the West Harbour. Great job.

Huge announcement tomorrow: Troop and McGuinty call conference call Fred to tell him the good news "We wanted the new stadium at York, thanks for making it easier for us!"

Great White Elephant,

I can guarantee you that the stadium will be built and it will be built at the West Harbour.

After Troops little escapade last weekend you can be sure the Premier has told him that he will agree to whatever Hamilton decides and he might even throw in a few extras just to smooth things over with the city.

From http://thespec.com/News/Local/article/82...

"Ward 9 Councillor Brad Clark, who says he doesn't support west harbour if the site doesn't have a major tenant, left prior to the vote to attend the Michael Buble concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto."

WTF!? Is this The Onion reporting? Is this real???

"In Toronto tonight, at the ACC they are laughing at Hamilton," Clark wrote in an e-mail to The Spectator. "Everyone HERE agrees the stadium will now go to York University."

Hi. You're a Hamilton councillor. Why the hell are you, a Hamilton councillor, at a Michael Buble concert in Toronto while an extremely important vote is taking place? And why are you involved in anti-Hamilton sentiments. Shouldn't you be standing up for the city? Maybe explain both ends of the argument?

"Clark says his wife purchased the tickets to celebrate his 50th birthday."

Oh. I see. Congrats on your birthday. But I feel that when you've become an elected official, your constituents assume you might represent their important opinions regardless of personal plans or birthdays. Especially when it comes to an issue of this magnitude. Even if you don't care about stadiums and football teams, surely you care about where your constituents tax dollars are being spent? Sigh. I guess not. Tell Buble Hamilton said "Hi". Maybe he'll play at our new West Harbour stadium.

I hope the residents of Ward 9 are watching.

Comment edited by synxer on 2010-08-11 09:07:21

Thought I'd share the text of a Letter the Editor I sent t the Spec this morning. Not sure it will be printed.

Both Brad Clark and I had our birthday's yesterday. I turned 56. He turned 50.

Rather than stay to do the job he was elected and is paid to do and cast his vote in one of the most significant public debates this city has seen, Brad Clark chose to go to spend his birthday by going to a concert in Toronto. I spent my entire birthday, right until the vote was cast, sitting in Council Chambers. In fact, I took the time to make a deputation to Council, something I was neither elected nor paid to do.

Brad Clark chose to send correspondence to the Spectator last night, while I was still listening to Council debate the stadium location, saying the people he was hanging out with in Toronto were laughing at Hamilton. I chose to send this correspondence to the Spectator saying the people I was hanging out with last night were celebrating their city and the principled and prudent decision made by the vast majority of Councillors.

I had a great birthday watching democracy in action. I hope Brad had a good birthday breaking out the Buble´.

H+H that is so insightful, dude. You told him and you are such a great citizen! Vive le farcé!

Great letter H&H. Hope they print it.

H&H, an incredible letter! I so hope for all of us that it gets printed.

H&H Excellent letter. I too sat the whole day in the council chamber and because I was not a presenter I could not leave and re enter until the breaks were called, so from 9am until 2 45 I stayed in my seat and raced over to J square to grab a coffee { no coffee shop yet in the city Hall.} I was back in my seat at 3 10 and remained there until 8 30 pm. I was proud to be a Hamiltonian and respect and admire the speakers and presenters{ apart from two} they spoke from their hearts and with great passion. Brad Clark is a disgrace and I certainly hope that his constituents give him the boot in the fall. How can he call himself a Hamilton Booster? I hope the Spec prints your letter.

It's on the web site, so it will be in the paper today!