Raise the Hammer

Dear Premier McGuinty,

Hamilton is in the throes of shooting itself in the foot. How many times have we seen our local politicians squander golden opportunities to turn our city around? Too many to count. I know you have tried to assist. Some of us have doubted your sincerity and have attributed political motives to your insistence that Hamilton be helped. I, for one, apologize for the ingratitude. And I, for one, regret our local polticians' ineptitude.

Mr. Premier, we are at a crossroads again. We are in danger of making a very bad situation even worse. Two years ago Council, led by a deluded muncipal leader, sowed the seeds of failure in not selecting the best place to build a new stadium for the city. This seminal error was followed by mistake after mistake, leading to a municipal election that saw the electorate punish the former leader with a resounding defeat.

Who would have thought that the new Mayor would make matters even worse? In a show of defiance and pique, this new leader has contributed nothing to the debate for a final site selection, other than erratic decision-making. He cited several areas to explore, settling on the worst possible solution for a refurbished half stadium costing twice the expected amount of money. In a final bout of ingratitude, this new municipal leader did not want to spend even 'two minutes' discussing the merits of refurbishing Ivor Wynne Stadium. He wanted his council to approve the half-baked, half-funded plan and defied the provincial authorities to turn down his wish, surmising that it won't happen for fear of political backlash against the province.

Mr. Premier, don't be intimidated by the bravado. Hamiltonians will not punish the province for local ineffectiveness. We will bide our time and we will turn on the local councillors for having led us down an expensive garden path.

Premier, as one single solitary voter, I ask you to do the due diligence we have not done. If your office deems that a stadium at the IWS location will do the city proud, then help build it with the money available thus far. If you think we are beyond salvage, just turn away. Find a more grateful community to assist and leave us to wallow in our own misery.

A sad citizen.

c.c. all local MPP's