Raise the Hammer

Deconstructing Dissent

On July 05, 2011 - Mayor Bratina starts his reply to Nicholas Kevlahan with:

"We are completing our mandated Planning, Design and Engineering study for LRT and approaching the time of critical decision. Council will base its decision on answers to a number of questions upon which the success of the project will hinge. Simply put risks will be measured against rewards, based on analysis and evaluation of information accumulated through the process."

This above reply is published on RTH by Nicholas Kevlahan on July 05 - with his opening remark stating that:

"A Spectator article last week of June 30 suggests that Mayor Bob Bratina may no longer support LRT" ---immediately followed by a highly selective quotation from the Spec article attributed to the Mayor.---

Never mind that this Spec article referred to by Kevlahan contained only 4 lines of LRT views, of what was essentially a 48 line pro-business infomercial about the business associations circling the wagon to get a break on the proposal to hike the industrial development fees from $8.85 to $10.58 per square foot - with an obvious view to get the Mayor to comply to their views on the fees issue.

It was only fifteen days after this Spec article and ten days after the Mayor's clearly spelled out position on the LRT cost issue which has by now been widely circulated in the public domain -- that on July 15, City Manager Chris Murray sends out an email to Council and support staff stating his decision to: "suspend all current direct and indirect activities of the Light Rail Transit Initiative other than any work activities required to be completed under the agreement."

Two day later, on July 18, Murray's email is reproduced on RTH in its entirety.

By July 05, the council surely has to have been fully aware of the Mayor's view on the LRT - as well as the City Manager's directions.

In spite of clearly knowing that the concerns were primarily about "costs" from the beginning - the RTH editor & staff along with Nicholas Kevlahan in their missionary zeal to bring LRT to Hamilton, sadly chose to frame the story as that of: the Council & citizens being blindsided by the Mayor & the City Manager.

In fact it was RTH who chose to support the initial call for clamor: "We need to give Mayor Bratina and the rest of Council a clamour they can't ignore!" -- from which emerged an unfolding of the pathetic spectacle of dissent.

It is RTH & the Transit lobby group who rightfully should shoulder the blame for grossly messing up the debate on LRT in our city and take full responsibility for its fallout on the Alternative Transportation Strategy in the coming years.

They can choose to learn from it quickly and correct their misguided perceptions of "dissent" - or continue to remain in denial and perpetuate the polarization of our city with its continuing misread of economics, design, politics and political intent.

Mahesh P. Butani

Comment edited by Mahesh_P_Butani on 2011-09-16 00:15:43