All hail King Edward

Eddie Francis is going to seek a third term as mayor er, King of Windsor, which shouldn't come as a surprise. He has unfinished business according to his press conference. One can only guess that his unfinished business is privatizing the rest of the city workforce because other than that he hasn't really offered much to the people of Windsor. This is his shtick, his ticket to a third term. Had he not decided to outsource he wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Red bull races only go so far and an arena plopped in the east side of town with crappy parking isn't something to brag about.

Follow up:

I had the feeling for a while now that he wasn't done and he would be back, despite his campaign promise from his second term where he stated it would be his last. Had the stars aligned for Eddie? Nope, it's just he's pretty much guaranteed re-election because lets face it, there are no serious contenders as of yet who could possibly dismantle his throne (Sheila Wisdom, please put your hat in the race). Heck I have even considered putting my own name in but me being a member of CUPE and all would surely lead to a dismal percentage of the vote. Naw, I have my eye on provincial politics and perhaps one day I will throw down in that venue.

Reading the live chat on the Star was nauseating. With both Anne Jarvis and Chris Vandereddie taking questions along with the King himself, it was pretty evident that the people of Windsor have been hoodwinked into believing that they will see a reduction in taxes and overall cheaper living expenses. The unscientific poll(as Eddie and Vandereddie always liked to point out the polls arranged by CUPE were not scientific)showed astounding support behind the mayors decision to run again. What more, the mayor was defending his salary saying he works hard and it is fair pay. People were actually saying that he deserved an even higher salary. Yes, the same people cheer-leading the cutting of city jobs because they believe it is costing too much are now calling for Eddie to be paid more. It is unbelievable how idiotic and uninformed people really are but then again one should never, ever, underestimate the stupidity of the average voter.

City council votes to outsource parking enfordement

Last night, as I predicted last week, the city has voted to privatize parking enforcement. The contract was awarded to the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, which by all accounts is a well respected security company, long established in Canada. I didn't even bother to watch most of the "debate" on television because it's drawn out with preconceived conclusions, attempting to look democratic.

Some parts were rather amusing though, especially when Bill Marra chastised a heckler in the audience. Marra seemed riled up last night for some strange reason, perhaps he wanted to portray himself as someone who is strong. Perhaps he truly believed Eddie wasn't going to seek a third term and this was his chance to shine and show his strength. Lol, little did he know that his nightmare and nemesis by the name of Eddie Francis is seeking a third term, so his little show of force was for naught. Actually the reality is that Bill Marra is an idiot and has trouble dealing with people who call him on his BS. He's rude like that, as my father has told me after his dealing with Bill on other matters. Another point of laughter was Caroline Postma, I sat there wondering during the time I watched if she had fallen asleep or something. Not a peep from her until near the end where she spoke for basically a few minutes and then nothing. The most entertainment gained though was a quick pan of the camera to Dave Brister who had this gormless look on his face whilst he twiddled with his water bottle. It was priceless and made me LOL for sure.

All in all, the Commissionaires will be paying their employees about $15 per hour, much lower than what the city paid and I truly feel sorry for anyone who becomes a parking enforcement officer. The stuff that they deal with daily surely isn't worth $15 an hour.

So thirteen more people within the city workforce are now displaced and more bumping shall occur, ensuring that the process will be drawn out even longer, as was pointed out by a 311 worker during last night's "debate". What was also pointed out and heavily discussed by Fulvio Valentinis was the issue of summer students and their employment at the city of Windsor. The contract clearly states that as long as one regular worker is laid off, no students shall be hired. This gravely concerned Valentinis for some reason which is striking because just last week the city was espousing how there would be no layoffs and everyone would be bumping into new positions. But as I also stated last week, bumping means someone down the line will lose out either because they are not qualified to fill the positions or someone with higher seniority already took it. In the end someone will be laid off and I loved how Valentinis suddenly clued in.

To add insult to injury, we had Drew Dilkens saying how he knows how the workers feel because he himself was bumped while he was an employee. That is little comfort to the people who are about to be bumped, to hear that from a person who voted to outsource your job, who also happens to make a decent salary compared to your own. If anyone thinks this is over, think again. My speculation has been answered by Dave Brister who in all his cockiness declared that all departments are being looked at. It looks to me that all the ducks are lined up in a row and now that Eddie declared he has unfinished business, those departments are next.

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