A few weeks ago, I told you about Rod Gale, a man from South Bar who paints his own lines. Mr. Gale is a vocal community advocate and volunteer who takes matters into his own hands.

That means getting involved in local groups like those attempting to save the "Stone Church" and Cape Breton Yacht Club; speaking out on social media; calling for both the assistance and the accountability of elected officials; and actually getting out there and volunteering to do community work himself.

If you haven't yet heard about Rod, check out my intro here.

CBC Journalist Interviews Local Councillor Jim MacLeod

When CBC journalist Molly Woodgate heard of Rod's latest project, she interviewed him and his local councillor, Jim MacLeod.

Rod had been documenting his activities at a neglected local site called Polar Bear beach, and unmaintained local tennis courts. He installed new posts, ran safety lines, cleaned up garbage, donated a new public trash bin, mowed the lawn, and even cleaned up and painted new lines on the tennis court.

But Mr. Gale is persistent. He knows what is expected of local politicians and he has no qualms about letting them know when he's not impressed with something happening in the community. In this case, it was the neglect of public spaces in an area that gets very little attention from the CBRM.

For his summer activities, he didn't get much help. However, Rod acknowledged that after complaining on social media, the CBRM did send a crew to complete the lawn mowing that he had begun. Though it wasn't much, he managed to compel at least a little accountability.

But the CBC wanted to interview his local District 12 councillor, Jim MacLeod too.

MacLeod Says "Shut Up"

As a keen observer of human nature, there isn't much that surprises me anymore. However, Councillor MacLeod's response wasn't something I anticipated.

Though he stated that he "does appreciate everything Gale has done for the community", he had a harsher message for Mr. Gale and presumably others who might speak out on social media:

"Now I'm tired of listening to this here stuff on Facebook. I mean if you haven't got something good to say about somebody, then maybe you should shut up." - Councillor Jim MacLeod, District 12

Rod Gale's persistence is a measure of his love of his community and an unwillingness to allow it to be neglected. Unfortunately for Mr. MacLeod, communication and dealing with complaints from residents is a part of the job. And social media is only going to become a more important and active communication tool between citizens and their elected officials.

Mr. MacLeod is in his 70s now and has earned his pension in his career. If he's not up to the task, or is bothered by citizen engagement, it may be time for him to relinquish his role as councillor. He can choose to move aside for the next generation to seize the opportunity to play a role in their community.

He was recently featured as one of the five in my article "Five Fellows to Fire" about the mayor and four councillors who sit on the Port of Sydney Development Corporation board. They do so despite the corporate articles forbidding elected officials in that role. In the article, Jim acknowledges that things don't get done when you don't have "professional opinions". Yet he continues to sit on that board. And so it is that his judgement and behavior is now in question.

I personally believe it's time for Councillor MacLeod to step down and enjoy his retirement.  We need someone with the full focus and energy to lead in District 12. They must not have grown weary of serving the public, nor become dismissive or disrespectful to those using new communication tools to demand better for their community.

The fire pit Rod Gale created at Polar Beach for locals to enjoy, despite criticism from Councillor MacLeod for speaking out on social media.

"It's our community. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Get out there and do it yourself." 

The good news is: Rod Gale didn't pack up his tools and go home. He shook it off and got back to work. He's since created a fire pit area on the beach area and announced that a tennis club in Truro heard about his story and donated lots of equipment for the court he single handedly restored.

Shown above some of the gear the Truro Tennis club donated to Rod after seeing his efforts to restore neglected local tennis court. They also sent rackets.