Mittag Barking Up The Wrong Tree

By Robert Tuomi

(WINDSOR, ON) – If nothing else it was good to see the inwards on Windsor city council circling the wagons and protecting themselves from regular folk like former Occupy Windsor occupier Robert Mittag who represents the 98% of the non-rich and famous.

Most likely this won’t be the last attempt by the inwards to to censure a rose city denizen as it did Mittag.

Those who are prescient fully expect that the next group in the inwards’ crosshairs will be the pro-Windsor movement, the new name that some think the Eddie Bad Forever Squad is using in its efforts to take back Windsor for regular folk.

Its work, most likely, will be particularly sickening to the inwards as the pro group starts working its plan to hold a municipal primary in the fall of 2013. Of course the pro-Windsor group has to work under cover of darkness and in secret given it fears that the inwards will bring in the provincial police and lock up its members.

Apparently the price of democracy in the province includes not allowing political parties at the municipal level which gives the inwards about all the ammunition they need to try and squash what to them could be a rebellion of considerable proportions. It could be the primary election in October 2013 of a totally new pro-Windsor mayor and council could force the inwards into lame duck status.

Many at the Windsor Square and other publications in town, the non-sycophantic ones, can hardly wait to have a council in place that is actually working for the people so they can start praising the new council for doing the heavy lifting that is ahead to retool the city back to one in which its elected officials are there to work hard for everyone. As one city hall watcher put it, ”it will be as refreshing as a sip of water from a city park drinking fountain on a hot day.”

Of course the inwards have allowed the drinking fountains in city parks to dry up something it is believed the pro-Windsor group will not allow.

No doubt one of the first to cheer the pro-Windsor faction will be Mittag reputed by the Windsor Star, on July 24, 2012, to be one of the leaders of the Occupy Windsor organization. Readers are cautioned that at this time there has been no link discovered between the occupiers and the Pro-Windsor faction. It is believed the faction is comprised of grandmothers who dearly want change in the city for their children and grandchildren, many who have had to leave the city to find work, and to put the city back on course to make it a better place for all not just a few elites and special people like disgraced councilor Al Maghnieh who has so far avoided a police investigation.

Oddly enough, Mittag, who spent months occupying Senator David Croll Park is now persona non-gratia at city hall, and rightly so. The reason is that Mittag is a rabid supporter of democracy and thinks, as do many others in the city, that disgraced councilor Al Maghnieh should resign.

Maghnieh’s antics, and alleged material gain, from using a library issued credit card are yet to be subjected to police review causing many to wonder why this is happening at a time when it is getting almost nauseating to hear current acting police chief Al Frederick in the media almost every second day bragging about the results of various projects put in place by his predecessors.

Apparently Frederick has done a 180 and now wants to be a media darling.

This is odd given the draconian action he took when CTV news asked for comment on the alleged beating by one of his officers of a man who was down. As unbelievable as it sounds Frederick had no time for the media back then and “denied” the request. Hopefully saner heads will prevail and the police chief search committee will deny his application, if he made one, to be police chief.

One thing is certain. Frederick has yet to call a press conference to say that Mittag has a right to attend city council meetings despite a letter written by some minion at city hall who thinks differently. Democracy is a hard system to understand for some people particularly those with taxpayer paid secretaries who can write nasty letters to people like Mittag. Mittag’s only “crime” is that he is somewhat a master of the obvious and states what most people in the city are thinking, integrity light Maghnieh must resign.

Some also wonder why the new media friendly Frederick has not called the media in to announce how he plans to launch the police investigation of Maghnieh. If he did it would show that possibly he has the leadership that is absent in the city. If nothing else it would give him the opportunity to redeem himself in many a citizen’s eye by taking the decisive action that is needed and expected.

Mittag is right to protest but possibly he is doing it at the wrong door.

Instead of protesting at city hall where the inwards hang out in a windowless chamber he should be protesting in front of Frederick’s office and calling on the acting chief to do what is right and end this special treatment of Maghnieh.

It benefits no one.

Sure the inwards can circle the wagons to protect themselves and their peer Maghnieh but to what gain? Does not the city need people like Mittag who can remind them that Al Maghnieh should be dealt with?

Possibly even one of the inwards could take some action and join the growing bandwagon to have the police start an investigation although it is doubtless that would ever happen because it would take gumption.

So it all rests on Mittag’s shoulders. Hopefully he can regroup and concentrate on embarrassing the inwards enough to get that investigation underway. Imagine a city with an out of control big deal councilor with an alleged material gain from using a library credit card that plans to host an international children’s pedagogical event. If the inwards do nothing about integrity absent Maghnieh, what message will they be sending to the kids about Windsor?

For more of the Rest of the News listen to CJAM 99.1 Monday evenings at 8:30.

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