Mayor sparks power play

The story on the struggle for Mayor Bronconnier's maintenance of control over the city council did not ask enough questions.

Why not ask the people on council who voted for, '...amendment to the procedural bylaw that would allow Ald. Gord Lowe to lead the finance committee for a second year,' if they would extend the same sort of brilliance in logic to the practice of holding the appointments of Calgary citizens to the various boards, agencies, and tribunals the city funds?

The excuse always given is that it is the law, and it cannot be changed.

It is obvious that by-laws, policies, and procedures can be changed if it suits the city council.

After all why, '"... let a procedural item stand in the way of good governance," or even democracy?

I would have asked the eight who voted for this piece of enlightenment, when they plan to open the appointment process to the public. It cannot be a matter of privacy, as the people who want to sit on the various boards, agencies, and tribunals and spend the city funds must know they will be doing it in public and must be in favour of letting Calgarians know who they are and why they are being appointed to the various boards, agencies, and tribunals the city funds.

As Ceci said, it's particularly unfair to show such contempt to the democractic process when doing only part of your job in public, and to think the City Hall is the fiefdom of only Council.

The difference might be, I am not a reporter that relies on the free news being sent my way from the City's giant 'Department of Spin.'