GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader John Parkyn, in response to an article regarding comments made by mayoral candidate Cam Guthrie.
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I have just read the GuelphToday Oct. 3 article in which Richard Vivian reports that Mayor Guthrie said:
“I’ve been saying this for years … I need a council that supports actually moving forward with developments. That’s what it comes down to,” Guthrie said during a Monday morning mayoral candidates forum, claiming there are councillors who voted against 700 to 896 housing units recommended for approval by city staff during the past four years. "We cannot go into the next term with a council that is split on trying to house people,” he added. “It takes an all-of-team approach. We have to find a way to say ‘yes’ to housing.”
I am aghast at the mayor's comment ... Since when have councils been expected to think and vote in line with a mayor?
Council is surely a forum that hears, even encourages, a diversity of opinion. The mayor of Guelph is but one of 13 politicians around the horseshoe. Each of the 13 has the right to his / her opinions ... No councillor should be expected to be in lock-step with the mayor; no councillor should be a puppet.
Surely a mayor is a facilitator, a referee, somebody versed in the protocol of debate. A mayor should (must) respect the opinion of his colleagues around the horseshoe.
The mayor's comment suggests that some councillors oppose housing. I doubt that Guelph has ever had a councillor who was anti-housing. Yes, certain councillors will oppose certain developments on the grounds of location, aesthetics, size, density, danger, environmental threat, and so forth. Housing proposals that are thoughtfully assembled surely have a high chance of approval.
I shuddered when I read the words, "I need a council." The council is not owned by the mayor. It is not his council. The council does not meet to do the mayor's bidding. It meets to consider what is good for the citizens of Guelph.
Beware of numeric alarm ... Regarding the mayor's claim that, "some councillors voted against 700 to 896 housing units"... How many buildings were involved? A ten-storey building with 10 apartments per floor constitutes 100 units. Consider also that rebuffed proposals often re-appear before council, some many times.
Talking of numbers, I understand that about half the dollars donated to Mayor Guthrie's campaign in 2018 were from individuals connected to the development industry – many of whom didn't even live in Guelph. Little wonder that the mayor is so keen on development!
John Parkyn
Guelph
