Media

Mayor Fred: Insufficiently Outrageous

By Ryan McGreal
Published March 15, 2007

Poor Andrew Dreschel. His anointed candidate didn't win the election.

It must be frustrating for the city's premier muckraker to have a mayor who doesn't treat politics as a "blood sport" (to borrow a phrase from Dana Robbins).

Unlike Larry "team builder" Di Ianni, who bullied council and the public for three years with his pet projects, Eisenberger at least appears to be trying to encourage a more respectful, more conciliatory culture at City Hall (his flubbing of the Morelli fiasco notwithstanding).

That's good news for those of use who are sick of the childish, petulant antics of our elected officials - but bad news for the city affairs columnist who makes his living peddling that petulance.

Hey, with all his newfound free time, maybe Mr. Dreschel can start analyzing the actual issues instead of crawling over personal foibles and phoning in his preordained opinions.

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

5 Comments

View Comments: Nested | Flat

Read Comments

[ - ]

By Ted Mitchell (registered) | Posted March 16, 2007 at 12:57:00

I'm still waiting for Dreschel to do one of his skewering columns on Dave Mitchell. Lord knows there is plenty of dirt on that fine, principled individual.

Still waiting, Andrew.

It can't be that hard man, give it a try.

Permalink | Context

[ - ]

By Connie (registered) | Posted March 17, 2007 at 04:52:15

"And we see it continually in the offhand way he deals with unruly councillors, usually relying on quips about their indecorous behaviour rather than taking a firm line."

If DiIanni took "a firm line" it certainly hasn't improved the behaviour of council. Mr Eisenberger's approach cannot be discounted if it shows results, and Mr Dreschel has not commented on that.

"What is changing is his relationship with the media. It's in real danger of going sour. ... ... But unless he figures out how to say something meaningful when called upon, he's not only going to lose opportunities to get his messages out, he's going to needlessly antagonize local reporters accustomed to direct access to the mayor."

Aha! The real reason for Dreschel's pout!! Eisenberger is not fawning over him to get favourable reviews.

To me, this marks the difference between someone who governs in the interests of the people, and someone who constantly campaigns for re-election on the public dollar, in his/her own interests.

Clearly Hamilton, in a surprise result to some, voted for the former.

Andrew Dreschel's attempt to bully Eisenberger in this article just reinforces my opinion that the mainstream media is more interested in implementing its own under-handed political agendas, than it is in reporting valid and reliable information of use to intelligent Canadians.

Permalink | Context

[ - ]

By jason (registered) | Posted March 18, 2007 at 15:34:45

no kidding...remember what they did to Braden?? If I was Fred I'd start sending press releases to every other media group in town 2 days before he sends them to the Spec. Give Andy something real to pout about.

Permalink | Context

[ - ]

By lucy (anonymous) | Posted March 26, 2007 at 20:58:40

Bob Bratina doesn't call him Andrew Dreadful for nothing. I feel sorry for the guy.

Permalink | Context

[ - ]

By highwater (registered) | Posted April 03, 2007 at 15:05:51

Did you see his column yesterday about council's supposed double standard in dealing with the Morelli issue? Vintage Dreschel. If you didn't see it, I'll save you the time and trouble. Here's the shorter version:

"If you return my phone calls you are my bestest friend and I will call you a 'stand-up guy' even if an independant investigator has found you guilty of harassing a municipal employee. If you do not return my phone calls I will use my column to tell everyone what a big meany you are! So there!"

Permalink | Context

View Comments: Nested | Flat

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to comment.

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds