What would we have to bitch about if it wasn't for their foolish antics and their self serving comments.......'Evil people on the take'
It's not that bad, but council's nasty debate over private donations didn't look good
By SUE-ANN LEVY
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti was feeling most sorry for himself yesterday during one of those petty, petulant interchanges we've come to witness far too often from the mayor's "mature and responsible" regime.
"The last three or four years in my 18 years as a councillor have probably been the worst as far as the shots I've taken," said council's notorious big spender who used up $50,499 of his $53,100 office budget to Sept. 30.
He claimed because of the noble work (my words, not his) he'd done to expose those on council who spend their own money (Rob Ford) or who've spent too little to do their job (Doug Holyday), he's taken "blows like you wouldn't believe" from the media and the two councillors involved.
"I've got thick skin ... and I'll continue taking blows after 18 years from the Sue-Ann Levys and everyone else," he said, proving yet again how much those who dare criticize his silly actions have gotten under his thin, transparent skin.
But the real irritant for the northwest Toronto ward boss was any suggestion by some of his council colleagues that it might be a potential conflict of interest for councillors to accept cash donations from private businesses or developers to help subsidize their community events.
Following a council request in September, Integrity Commissioner David Mullan yesterday agreed to lift the ban in the council Code of Conduct on accepting such donations. Mammoliti's remarks came during a debate on what "interim" amount of money councillors should be allowed to accept from private donors per community event until Mullan is able to provide clear rules sometime next March.
They settled on $5,000 per event, scaled down from the original outrageous amount of $20,000 per event!
Mammoliti, who made no bones about taking donations from businesses for everything from bocce tourneys to Christmas parties and New Year's levees in his ward, contended that even after Mullan has addressed this issue, he'll still be under fire.
"I'm sure Sue-Ann Levy will have a couple more shots for Mammoliti over the next little while ... God bless her if she continues on that track," he said.
I'll keep religion out of this, thank you very much. Nevertheless, council has no business even considering such a practice.
I have no trouble with councillors taking donations in kind of food like hamburgers and drinks or even party favours for barbecues, picnics and other community gatherings.
Mullan told me the practice is already rampant and councillors are not reporting those donations to him at the moment.
A CAN OF WORMS
But accepting cash donations from private businesses opens up a whole can of worms, not the least of which is the "danger" of putting a councillor in a compromising position with those seeking to do business or wanting to gain some advantage with the city.
Isn't it enough that a councillor has a $53,100 expense account to use -- an office budget Mammoliti spends quite voraciously.
Actually I found it a delicious irony that the socialists on the executive committee -- who consider partnerships with the private sector bordering on evil -- are so willing to take "donations" from the same private interests when it suits their purposes.
As Mullan pointed out in his report, there are also questions of whether such donations will qualify for a charitable receipt, whether the monies will go into a separate account, how surpluses are dealt with and whether more staff will be required to deal with a new regulatory protocol.
As is his typical pattern, Mayor David Miller -- transparent and accountable City Hall's feckless leader -- was missing in action during the explosive debate.
The practical considerations? Well they were lost in the petty grandstanding and plethora of insults.
RESENTS IMPLICATION
Coun. Howard Moscoe -- proving yet again he's outlived his useful shelf life and grows more out of touch by the day -- said he "really takes exception" to the implication all members of council are "evil people on the take.
"Some members of council can find cockroaches under every rock," he said.
Kevin Gaudet, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there should be no debate and at other levels of government zero donations are allowed, period.
"They act like a bunch of high school students with their hands on very large budgets," he said of the debate. "It is definitely not a mature, responsible government."
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