Myths and misses
Mayor Ferguson spent his final weeks in office with a finger hovering over the strong mayor button. Whether he pressed it mattered less than the questions behind it: Why did he think he needed it? And why did his story keep changing? Who was he serving? (In the end, the mayor chose not to push […]
The humiliation of Steve Ferguson
A sad and shame-filled way to leave the stage. Whatever legacy Steve Ferguson left after 12 years on County council, eight as mayor, he has, in one astonishingly thoughtless act, burned it to the ground and tossed the remnants onto a fetid, smoking pile. The fallout is likely to do the same to his friends […]
Still burning
Until a couple of weeks ago, the prevailing argument for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on waterworks infrastructure was that a wave of population was about to swamp Prince Edward County. That argument has now been exposed as fiction. The County’s demographic experts never thought it was true. Now they are saying so out […]
Pure arrogance
We now know that Shire Hall fudged the numbers. The growth projections used to inform the regional waterworks master plan in 2025 were believed to be derived from expert analysis— expert advice. Instead, we now know that its growth forecasts were created by the former leadership team and inserted into the experts’ analysis “at the […]
Empty calories
When you put a TV dinner in the oven, can you really expect to pull a delicious gourmet meal out when the timer rings? No. The best you can hope for is a tray of calories and regret. Similarly, earlier this year the County asked its consultant, Watson & Associates, what would happen if you […]
What’s at stake
It is the last week for good people to raise their hands if they wish to see change at Shire Hall. At 2 p.m. Friday, the window to nominate a candidate for County council will close. As of Tuesday, the incumbents in five of nine wards were set to be acclaimed— elected without facing an […]
Read the signs
Every indicator of the County housing market is flashing red. Few new homes are rising out of the ground— none at all in Picton, Bloomfield or Wellington. Shire Hall is on track for its worst year of new homebuilding since the aftermath of the global financial crisis nearly two decades ago. Meanwhile, new listings are […]
It’s time
It is very near the speak-now-or-forever-hold- your-peace moment in local politics. In just a little over two weeks, the window to step up and challenge for a seat around the council table will close. Council needs fresh new voices. It needs talented folks to decide that the cash-burning trajectory of local government can change. That […]
So, build already
The Quinte Home Builder’s Association (QHBA) is sending a procession of emissaries to County council, urging quick approval of expensive waterworks infrastructure plans. Several QHBA members, each armed with a prepared script, have come to Council in recent weeks, essentially making the same pitch: Growth is coming, the County’s engineering department prefers a regional water […]
Few imagined
It may be the most important election in Prince Edward County since 1998. Strains are pulling at the fabric of this place. The centre is fraying. It may struggle to hold together. With each passing decade, it becomes harder to see our prospects, opportunities, and community ambitions through the lens of local government. More and […]