Mayor and Council Inaugural Meeting
Nanaimo's new Mayor and Council were sworn into office at the inaugural meeting of the 2014 - 2018 Nanaimo City Council.
The ceremony consisted of the new council being piped in and lead by two RCMP in the traditional Red Serge, address by our MLA, blessings by SFN, Rev. Brian Evans and the official swearing in by His Honor Judge Doug Cowling.
There were gifts given to the outgoing members of Council by Mayor Bill McKay and while Councillor Johnstone, Pattje and Mayor Ruttan kept their goodbyes short and sweet, outgoing Councillor Anderson took ten minutes or more in what sounded more like a preamble to announcing he is running for some new office. He seemed oblivious to the reactions his protracted 'goodbye' brought from much of the audience.
There was the official appointing of our 7 new directors to the RDN followed by adjourning the meeting. This was followed by a reception where I am glad to report your tax dollars were well spent on a pretty tasty spread.
Onward and upward with the newly sworn-in Nanaimo council!
ReplyDeleteBut what about that 10 minute outgoing monologue by councilor George Anderson? It kept on going and going like a slow moving energizer bunny which had run out of speed but just would not quit.
Several times Mayor Bill McKay tried to jokingly break in. Even a bewildered public tried clapping at several pause points hoping to speed up the ending. But the almost spiritual-like farewell did not come to a close until a quote was read from the late Robert Kennedy.
The youngest member of the last council obviously believes he accomplished much during his “presidential-like” tenure; expounding the handful of e-town hall meetings, a youth council, a transportation “master” plan which has no money – and let’s not forget the infamous and constant “points-of-order” interruptions.
I’d be careful about Anderson strongly hinting we have not seen the last of him in public life. Before his dreams of sitting in the House of Commons can even be contemplated he needs a lot of life experiences. He’ll then have to get the nod from a political party - but more-so from Nanaimo’s voters.
Kevan Shaw