local wanna be liberal mp rates: COLD

Who's hot or not on Vernon council
Scott Neufeld EDITORIAL http://www.dailycourier.ca/ (source: via Vernon Blog) 3/28/2007

"Speaking of camera shy, Coun. Buffy Baumbrough stayed a little too quiet this week for someone with lofty political aspirations, earning her a cold rating. The newly-minted Liberal representative had little to add to the council meeting other than echoing points made by her colleagues. Odds are she’ll quickly learn to more vocally express her opinions once she’s thrown in the middle of a federal election race." (<--- if she can't speak up as a local council representative, can she cut it as an MP???)

Coun. Patrick Nicol lands on the hot list again for giving kudos to the Downtown Vernon Association’s security patrol program. Whether or not people agree with the DVA’s approach to the problems plaguing the downtown, this is one of the rare examples of citizens and businesses coming together to launch a significant project. Nicol was right to support it as a “classic citizen-driven initiative.”

After escaping our thermometer last meeting, Coun. Pat Cochrane comes back with a solid lukewarm rating for sitting on the fence over the DVA security issue. As with many other councillors, Cochrane took a wait and see approach to the issue saying that if the bylaw officers can do the job then the Commissionaires are unnecessary, but adding that if the bylaw officers falter the Commissionaires should step in.

Coun. Barry Beardsell jumps from cold to hot this week for yet another spirited criticism of Okanagan-Vernon MLA Tom Christensen. The latest outburst came after Christensen sent a reply to the city’s laundry list of provincial requests. Although the MLA appears to be working hard to find answers, there are so many big local projects being ignored by the province that the city cannot afford to stay silent.

Mayor Wayne Lippert is an all-too-frequent visitor of the coldest regions of this list and he finds himself in icy climes this week. Once again the mayor was too quiet as someone elected to lead this city. This is puzzling given that he tends to be more vocal in expressing his views at meetings of Greater Vernon Services or the regional district. Maybe the TV cameras have something to do with it.

Speaking of camera shy, Coun. Buffy Baumbrough stayed a little too quiet this week for someone with lofty political aspirations, earning her a cold rating. The newly-minted Liberal representative had little to add to the council meeting other than echoing points made by her colleagues. Odds are she’ll quickly learn to more vocally express her opinions once she’s thrown in the middle of a federal election race.

Coun. Juliette Cunningham finds herself on the hot list this week for suggesting that all of the parties come together before a decision is made about downtown private security. The DVA, police and the city have so far pushed a one-sided approach to the downtown’s drug, poverty and homelessness issues. The city should now encourage a wider variety of downtown groups to co-ordinate a broader approach to these issues.

Lastly, councillor/arena guru Jack Gilroy finds himself on the hot list for raising the issue of lack of ice in the city. In a city with aspirations to being Canada’s Hockeyville, it’s ironic that so many players, particularly adults, find it hard to find ice time here.