Raise the Hammer

This is disappointing. In a City with a 20% poverty rate, a gigantic infrastructure deficit, a looming provincial downloading crisis, a still-polluted Randle Reef and widespread toxic contamination, our Mayor and his small staff are more concerned with arguing semantics with local journalists and bloggers, going even further to describe Raise the Hammer as "journalism of dubious legitimacy". That insult is particularly absurd, considering that Peggy Chapman, Bob's Chief of Staff, is a former producer for right-wing talk radio extremists Roy Green and Charles Adler, and former editor and reporter for the Bay Observer, which seemed to transform into the Ti-Cats PR department during the height of the Stadium debate.

I'd like to remind Bob and Peggy that people like Joey and sites like Raise the Hammer are run by volunteers who try as best they can to inform and engage the public on a number of civic issues, and they do it often without seeing a dime of profit. Joey has been providing a service to the public for months now by broadcasting meetings live to the public- taking hours and hours out of his schedule to do so, and paying for the costs out of his own pocket. Ryan and RTH's contributors often provide more insight and in-depth coverage of the issues than any other news outlet in the City, including just about all of Peggy and Bob's former employers.

Even if you disagree with the perceived slant from either Joey or Raise the Hammer, these are engaged citizens trying to advance Hamilton, to promote engagement and facilitate meaningful discussions- as unpaid volunteers. This is something any Mayor worth our votes should celebrate, rather than belittle. Instead, Bob and Peggy seem to be threatened by the level of engagement that both Joey and RTH seek to promote. Maybe they'd both rather live in a talk radio echo chamber, where objectionable views can be silenced by hanging up the phone and moving on to the next caller? I hope they both remember who they work for- and I don't mean the Ti-Cats or Vrancor.