Comment 108582

By LeeEdwardMcIlmoyle (registered) - website | Posted January 30, 2015 at 12:03:55

clamorous applause

Frances, as usual, you raise a very valid point that needs to be addressed to everyone working/serving in City Hall today, and that is: Where are we going as a city, and who will lead us there?

If we insist on going forward by moving backwards, or simply stepping back when the call goes out to lead the charge, it dooms future generations to suffer more of the short-sighted planning that this city has endured for almost a century, simply because it was easier to let things happen as they were. We weren't really in control of our collective destiny back then, but we are now, if we can just learn to see past the end of our own noses to recognize real, tangible opportunities to climb out of the hole we find ourselves in.

The amalgamated City of Hamilton needs to start thinking as one city. That requires leadership and courage in the face of uncertainty. The courage to give your constituents what they need, rather than just giving them what they think they want. Councillor Aidan Johnson said it at the GIC meeting where we lost our Bus Lane: Needs as needs, and Wants as wants. We need to learn to tell the difference, and to encourage everyone to manage their expectations and push for a common goal that will benefit everyone in time. We built bridges and mountain accesses and our entire waterfront... our entire city, really, by coming together and forging ahead. This divisiveness we see in Council today is only going to leave our grandchildren looking back on us with shame, because of the lost opportunities we continually squandered in the name of playing it safe.

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