Careful what you wish for when it comes to playing this political game

By Jeff Korenko
News Publisher

Come one, come all (eligible North Glengarry voters)! Step right up, all you would-be contestants! The township recently offered up an opportunity for y’all to partake in the latest quizzical sideshow in the municipality! All you had to do was throw your hat into the ring (of dissension) to be considered for one of the most confounding positions this circus has had available since late 2010 – a seat on council, with the bonus of it being the contentious choosing of the Alexandria ward representative designation!
Apparently, nine voting-eligible North Glengarry residents put forth their names before last Friday’s (Feb. 17) deadline to be considered by council to replace former Alexandria ward rep (now deputy-mayor) Jamie MacDonald in his post.
That nine people stepped forward to admit they wanted to take on the task of serving their community as a public official is definitely admirable – we have previously espoused the positive ideals of local political involvement in this space ad nauseum.
Good luck to all the candidates, er... (oops) applicants.
That’s right... they are all applicants, and that is okay, for council is well within its Municipal Act guidelines-laden right to appoint a successor to fill Mr. MacDonald’s vacant seat.
But, beware... the chair in this game (gong) show may not be all that cushy.
Ever since Mayor Grant Crack departed by winning a political promotion to Queen’s Park as the new Liberal MPP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell in October, this has been a council diametrically divided.
While the expression “beating a dead horse” may nowadays be politically incorrect, so too has this council’s handling of its succession plan. With the mayor’s seat left vacant after Mr. Crack’s ascension to provincial politics, those remaining in charge bickered at the first available opportunity and procedurally botched an attempted hasty appointment of then Deputy-Mayor Chris McDonell to mayor and Mr. MacDonald to the deputy role. This ultimately forced a by-election for the position, which resulted in the two council colleagues going up against each other without having to first relinquish their respective spots on council.
The majority of those who chose to vote in the Jan. 16 by-election chose Mr. McDonell to lead the pack. This left the deputy-mayor’s slot available and council was once again divided on how to fill it.
Some precursory and individual sideways hallway gatherings led to another rather acrimonious vote that anointed Mr. MacDonald as the deputy-mayor.
After another arduous back and forth across the council table, the newly-configured group then thought it was best to allow all interested voters within the entire municipality to be eligible for their selection process.
A good decision?
Perhaps. Time will, of course, tell.
Again, good luck to all who have tried to get in the game.
But this segment almost seems destined to fall under the category of “Careful What you Wish For.”
Have a great week.
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