Comment 75698

By Borrelli (registered) | Posted April 04, 2012 at 11:32:12

With no thought whatsoever to the specifics of the complaint, I still think you're justified in speaking to the media, Brian.

The A&T committee had the option to strengthen the accountability of the Integrity Complaint process while simultaneously raising the bar on complaints, but instead they only satisfied themselves.

Trey, you're right, confidentiality is reasonable, but so is a fair and prompt resolution to complaints. Unfortunately for Hamiltonians, Council wants to eat its cake and keep it, too: raising the bar for citizen complaints while doing nothing to increase its accountability to those people who pony up the $100 (and, now, keep their mouths shut). They can still hide behind an opaque process and an Integrity Commissioner who may take months to complete an investigation.

And really, I find council's approach to 'airing dirty laundry' very self-serving, disingenuous--a sweet double-standard. Councilors are happy to use the media as a loudspeaker for their thoughts and opinions, and to promote their personas, but when a citizen wants a level playing field, and uses media exposure to hold politician's feet to the fire (after they've dragged them for so long), it's suddenly inappropriate. Puh-lease.

Media exposure is a double-edged sword, and council just needs to suck it up and take their lumps in the name of democracy. To crudely paraphrase Matthew 26:52: For all they that take up publicity shall perish by publicity.

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