Ah, election time! Doesn’t matter if it’s federal, provincial, municipal, or school council president, it brings out the best and the worst in us. On the bigger stage, the story in Canada to watch right now is the Alberta Referendum on separation speculation. Families and friends have split, A province stands divided. A country awaits the results.

Here, in rurban Caledon, the current municipal elections have brought on similar divisions between the country mouse and the city mouse visions for the future of their Town. One faction, carrying on the previous Strong Mayor’s policies, favours a developer influenced agenda. The other faction favours a constituent influenced agenda. Voters are on the sword’s edge.

Enter Kathleen Wilson and her Third Party Propaganda “Report Cards” on past Council voting habits. It is a classic example of a propaganda technique called “cherry picking” where information can be truthful but irrelevant. In the last municipal election it was used very effectively against  the Jennifer Innis mayoralty campaign, by the same team who got Annette Groves elected Strong Mayor. The primary delivery man in that campaign was Terry Groves, the current campaign manager for three Municipal candidates.

Now, third party Kathleen and her delivery  team are dropping off high gloss, full colour very expensive “report cards” attempting to smear the voting records of past Council members, especially mayoralty candidate Christina Early. Terry Groves personally came to my door to drop off the latest “report cards” and asked my wife if he could speak to me. Fortunately for Terry, I wasn’t home. Terry is not allowed on my property.

And misleading, misinformation by a third party advertiser is not allowed on my porch. In contrast, the very informative fact sheet on Municipal voting records published by Democracy Caledon appeared in my mailbox a few days later like an antidote to the infection spread by the Groves-Russo-Wilson team’s propaganda “report card” on the record of our  previous Town Council.

There is a lot of money behind the Groves’s Team push to elect the remnants of the “Gang of Five” and their new acolytes to complete their Strong Mayor’s agenda. I’m looking forward to the campaign financial audits. Especially to the audit of the private non-profit charity that houses the $1.5 million of the privately fund raised monies under the guise of a Two Mayor’s Galas that were not  sanctioned by the Town.

I have renewed hope that democracy in Caledon is protected, that I am mistaken in my wild speculations, and that third party advertisers who push propaganda will see the error of their ways. Peace in our time. The way I see it.

Skid Crease, Caledon