20 Things To Ask Cecil Clarke on Friday, July 29th @ 11 AM

With less than 24 hours notice, Mayor Cecil Clarke has invited his Facebook friends to attend a presentation he's hosting for his mayoral re-election platform.

Friday, July 29th @ 11 AM

Cambridge Suites, Conference Room (Sydney)

20+1 questions are below.

The mayor is entering the campaign with an evident level of accelerating unpopularity, effectively having lost huge amounts of voters on the Northside.

They raised their voices loud, but were ignored and forced to watch mayor and council take away a public green space, wharf, and recreational facilities in the heart of the North Sydney downtown.

Costing millions to build, the irreplaceable Archibald's Wharf was sold to private interests for just $200,000 (for property) on the promise of numerous local jobs that simply haven't happened to date.

Mr. Clarke is also freshly coming off an announcement that the Melford Terminal has secured SSA Marine, a major North American container operator, as an investor and operator for their rival deep water port. It's a major setback to his sole economic development plan, or as he put it: "If not the port, then what?".

The entirety of the port project is worthy of immense scrutiny. And while citizens are routinely criticized for being "negative", the mayor's own long time economic development officer (and leading port expert) for the CBRM is suing them for "constructive dismissal".

John Whalley alleges that one of the deals had a conflict of interest. When he raised the issue, he was quickly removed from the port project. And the McKeil deal, where Mayor Clarke convinced council to buy land on credit for $1.2 Million and then lease it to a corporate interest, is apparently the one Mr. Whalley's lawsuit pertains to.

The stalling and dismantling of the Destination Louisbourg project will cause another major loss of voters. When residents fight for their survival and push for projects like the Louisbourg Hub School, or the Louisbourg Gabarus highway re-opening, they will have difficulty trusting a mayor whose hyper focus has been on downtown Sydney, at the expense of other areas. And they certainly won't take well to being called "the cheap seats" if they raise these concerns.

If that wasn't enough, he'll have to answer for giving out questionable awards from our Sustainability budget to fund Business Cape Breton initiatives, or spending $105,000 this year alone on perishable flowers, while 43.6% of our children under 6 live in poverty, and our food banks are low on critical food supplies.

Whether you voted for the mayor in 2012 or not...

It's Time to Ask Cecil Clarke Some Tough Questions

 

  1. How many local jobs have been created at the Archibald's Wharf green space?
  2. What enhancements were made to Indian beach, and where was the allocated $50,000 spent?
  3. Why was Councillor Kevin Saccary permitted to interfere with the Destination Louisbourg project without CBRM reprimand?
  4. Why was the Synergy Louisbourg project stalled and no public consultation scheduled or conducted?
  5. Why haven't you stepped down from the Port of Sydney Development Corporation as promised, and as required by the articles of incorporation?
  6. Why did you hire Marlene Usher to be port CEO if she has no port experience? And why did you personally hire three people - with no open competition - though their salaries cost us ~$1 Million during your term?
  7. Why haven't the audited financial statements for the Port of Sydney Development Corporation been released?
  8. Why are we paying contractors like Bechtel, CCCC, and Industream and then referring to them as investors and/or partners in the media?
  9. Why haven't you responded to the questions raised about the port in the goCapeBreton Community Report?
  10. Why did you withhold the Neil McNeil report from council for 7 months as claimed by council themselves?
  11. Why did you insist that council vote on the Archibald Wharf sale agreement without having given them sufficient time to actually read and review it?
  12. Why did you skip the "Cities Reducing Poverty: When Mayors Lead" event, when we have 42.6% child poverty here, and you spent tens of thousands of dollars flying around the world?
  13. What have you done to combat child poverty?
  14. What do you say to the teachers and Saputo workers who were just laid off in large numbers?
  15. What political capital do you have left to offer us with the Harper government so soundly ousted?
  16. What have you done to address our healthcare crisis and doctor shortage? Did you attend the community meeting?
  17. Why do you think it's appropriate to call citizens with valid criticism as those in the "cheap seats"?
  18. What tangible progress have you achieved in the CBRM over 4 years?
  19. Which of any of the low ranking categories of the MoneySense report that ranks us the 3rd worst place to live in Canada can you make progress in?
  20. Given the unlikeliness of the port project being successful, I would like to ask: "If not the port, then what... do YOU have planned?".
  21. Bonus Question: As the head of our council, would you take the 15-point pledge?

If you attend the mayor's presentation and have an opportunity to ask questions, ask him some of these. Email him, tweet him, ask him on Facebook, give him a call. If you want the answers to any of these questions, now is the time to ask. If you're not satisfied with those answers, or don't get any, then it's time to forget the Trump Bump and get ready for the Warren Warning.

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https://capebreton.lokol.me/things-to-ask-cecil-clarke-on-friday-july-29th--11-am
Mayor Cecil Clarke announced that he's hosting a presentation for his campaign as mayor. It's Friday, July 29th at 11 AM at the Cambridge Suites in Sydney.
Gov Political Commentary

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madeline yakimchuk Follow Me
I think that the private Cecil Clarke has the right to have a private FB profile, but why would you invite people to connect with you there on your campaign announcement when you have other individuals you are supposed to represent blocked? This mayor clearly does not want to communicate with me, or have me communicate with him.
Michael MacNeil Follow Me
Excellent questions Joe. If I may piggyback my post on here, I would like to know if the mayor has a plan "B" to save the railway right of way? Also would like to know if the CBRM ever took advantage of the surplus sections of railway that ACOA had posted for tender. I believe that they would have got first choice for Recreational use. ://capebreton.lokol.me/will-the-railway-right-of-way-be-chopped-up-and-sold

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