A newly-formed group calling itself “Arms Around Collingwood” sent a questionnaire to candidates for this municipal election. And while I have never heard of them, they claim to have “a minimum 2,500 voting contacts in Collingwood.” Below you will read the questions they asked along with my answers. They requested
Continue readingAuthor: Ian Chadwick
Scripturient: Another Abuse of Power and Position
As this term of council winds down, with only a few weeks before the election, it seems some members at the table can’t help themselves abusing their position and their power. Their sense of entitlement is an embarrassing display. At tomorrow’s council meeting (Sept. 20), Councillor Jeffrey will make the
Continue readingScripturient: What About the Code of Conduct?
I attended a two-hour seminar hosted by the town about Collingwood’s Code of Conduct last week. It was intended as an introduction to the policy for new candidates and a refresher for incumbents, and was presented by the town’s Integrity Commissioner, whose slides ranged from conflicts of interest to accountability,
Continue readingScripturient: Just Gonna Leave This Here…
This headline appeared in CollingwoodToday: “Town councillor, deputy-mayor candidate charged with assault.” In Simcoe.com (Collingwood Connection), the headline was “Collingwood councillor, deputy mayor candidate Bob Madigan facing assault charges.” Bob Madigan is running for deputy mayor of Collingwood. Is this the sort of behaviour you want in your elected representatives?
Continue readingScripturient: Hobbesian vs Benthamite Politics
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was not an optimist about human behaviour. Writing more than a century after Niccolo Machiavelli, the English political philosopher argued in his masterwork, Leviathan (1651), that the quest for power was the main motivation for humans. And that our quest to acquire more would never cease until
Continue readingScripturient: Ancient Election Wisdom
I recently came across this piece by Marcus Tullius Cicero (one of my favourite classical authors) on the Sententiae Antiquae website (a good source of classical Latin and Greek translations), taken from Cicero’s oration Pro Murena (35-36). Lucius Licinius Murena was elected as his election as consul in 62 BCE
Continue readingScripturient: What Just Happened?
I was startled to see that one of our candidates for municipal election — the third person in the deputy mayor’s race — dropped out shortly after submitting her papers. According to the town’s web page, Jordan Fleming filed her papers at 11:34 a.m. on August 19; two-and-a-half hours before
Continue readingScripturient: Please Take an Election Sign
C ollingwood residents: I would very much appreciate it if you would allow me to place one of my election signs on your lawn. Please fill in your name, phone and address in the comments section below. This information will NOT be published and will be deleted after the election and
Continue readingScripturient: Hypocritical Candidate Wants to Return to Council
Two more of our local “basket-of-deplorables” incumbent councillors (aka quidnuncs) have filed their papers for re-election: Steve Berman and Kathy “Me! Me! Me!” Jeffrey. So has former councillor Cam “Sleepy” Ecclestone, who announced he was running in the provincial election for the fringe “Consensus Party” then never appeared on the
Continue readingScripturient: Don’t Forget Who Blocked the Hospital Redevelopment
Among those incumbents running for re-election, are (so far), three who were part of the cabal on the 2014-18 council that actively and aggressively tried to block the Collingwood General & Marine Hospital’s redevelopment. Their efforts did cost the hospital money and time, and set the redevelopment back at least
Continue readingScripturient: Yesterday’s Laughs
It may be a small conceit to say I was brought up watching the Marx Brothers movies on TV, but there’s some truth in that claim. I remember seeing them on our small, B&W TV set on weekends when my brother and I were allowed to watch the programs of
Continue readingScripturient: Council’s Inappropriate Pay-Raise Decision
Late last month — less than three months before the next municipal election — council made significant decisions about their own pay and the role of the mayor. Given that four of them have filed to run again (and a fifth is pending), and two of those are vying for
Continue readingScripturient: Our Troubled Urban Forest
On August 8, Collingwood council will “consider” a proposal to spend “up to $100,000 to retain a consultant to inform the next council on how Collingwood can better protect [our] tree canopy,” according to a story in CollingwoodToday. The article says, “With Collingwood’s population rapidly increasing, the town is behind
Continue readingScripturient: Just a reminder…
During this 2022 municipal election campaign, I will also be posting on my campaign website blog with short pieces about local issues, events, policies, elections, and my vision for Collingwood. During the campaign, I remind my readers who care about local issues and politics to check my campaign site at
Continue readingScripturient: I have filed my papers
As of today, I am running for a seat on Collingwood Council, in 2022. I will use my new campaign website at www.chadwickforcouncil.ca to publish updates, comments on current issues, policy and position statements, pictures, upcoming events, and other relevant material. As many of you are aware, I served on
Continue readingScripturient: The Misogynist Bully Files for Deputy Mayor
Councillor Bob “Lapdog” Madigan — council’s most notable bully and misogynist — filed his papers for deputy mayor, a position for which he is supremely unqualified. Well, to be fair, he’s not really qualified for any council position, is he? In almost eight years in office, Madigan’s accomplishments have been…
Continue readingScripturient: Biblical Commandments the Pseudo-Christians Avoid
The Talibangelists (aka the Christofascists) like those on the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) or in the anti-abortion movement like to pretend they base their decisions, their politics, their morality, their education, their lives on their bible. But as we’ve seen so many times; they don’t like to follow
Continue readingScripturient: Berman Flails Over Jurisdictions
Sure, most Canadians are appalled at the recent decisions by the Talibangelists on the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), and the loss of rights and freedoms their overturning Roe v. Wade represents to women. But aside from never voting for Conservatives to avoid the same thing happening here, what can Canadians
Continue readingScripturient: The Talibangelists Are Winning
I imagine what I’m feeling now about the rise of the extremist, pseudo-Christian right (aka the Talibangelists, aka Christofascists) in the USA, Canada, and in other democracies is what my English father must have felt watching the events in Germany from 1934 on. He would have seen photographs and newsreels
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 31
It’s been about eight months since I last penned a post about my ongoing experience with prostate cancer, my subsequent surgery, treatment, my recovery from treatment and what’s happened since. That last post was written at the height of last year’s pandemic and lockdowns. Since then, I have only had
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