612 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

The staff at the municipal hall can't tell the media when he'll be available, because he doesn't keep regular hours and they don't know when he'll be in his office. They'd have to give the same response to a Saanich resident trying to contact the mayor.

 

That might be reasonable if he was out in the community meeting with people, but if he's just not showing up then that's a big question mark on his commitment to the job.

[North Shore]

Good points.
 
It really looks like Atwell's 'mentors' have been a handful of special interest activists whom he either doesn't listen to or who have been giving him woefully inept advice. Based on what I read in their forums, the encouragement is to damn the torpedoes and run over anyone that gets in their way.

can someone please either post or PM me a link to the 'Atwell supporter forums', please? All I can find is Facebook, and it's a closed group?

Thanks.

[amor de cosmos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mx3jLG67R0

[Rob Randall]

That might be reasonable if he was out in the community meeting with people, but if he's just not showing up then that's a big question mark on his commitment to the job.

 

Well, we don't know that yet. He could be showing up at 6 am and leaving at midnight and having a three hour siesta in between and dashing in and out to meetings and functions. That's fairly normal for a busy politician. Or he could be sitting at home watching Dr. Phil.

 

A day has gone by and no press release or statement. This is reeks of bad news. 

 

 

Now that the police have closed the file I don't think Atwell is under any further obligation to elaborate and I don't think speaking out benefits him anyway, unless as I mentioned earlier he was the innocent victim of mistaken identity.

[spanky123]

Maybe he thinks it only applies to his role as Mayor of Saanich. Not a fan of Atwell, but even less a fan of tabloid journalism.

This is pretty funny. We have no problem poking fun at Rob Ford for his private affairs yet our Mayor is out of bounds! The reality is that when you sign up for a public paycheque you fall under the watchful eye of the media. Don't like it then don't cash my cheque.

CHEK reporting tonight that Atwell called 911 the night of the incident.

[spanky123]

can someone please either post or PM me a link to the 'Atwell supporter forums', please? All I can find is Facebook, and it's a closed group?

Thanks.

Richard Atwell Mayor of Saanich is a closed group. Saanich Council Watchdogs is public.

[Mike K.]

Since neither the police, the woman, her fiancee, or Atwell are publicly speaking we can only piece together what we already know:

 

- Atwell goes to the home of a campaign supporter, a woman

- The woman's fiancee comes home

- Atwell calls the police

 

Does anyone know if the public has access to 9/11 call recordings?

[spanky123]

Well, we don't know that yet. He could be showing up at 6 am and leaving at midnight and having a three hour siesta in between and dashing in and out to meetings and functions. That's fairly normal for a busy politician. Or he could be sitting at home watching Dr. Phil.

You are right but that isn't the big issue. When was the last time that someone showed up at your office looking for you and your receptionist said that you rarely show up for work and they had no idea when you might be back? Even if it was true, nobody says that unless they have a serious problem with management.

I said after the Murray incident that Atwell needed to pull a Helps and show some modesty and commitment to the process. That obviously has not happened and now he has his staff and the cops in with their little digs.

[Bingo]

That might be reasonable if he was out in the community meeting with people, but if he's just not showing up then that's a big question mark on his commitment to the job.

 

And not showing up was what he campaigned on against Frank Leonard's absence at meetings.

[Bingo]

 

CHEK is running a segment on this tonight with or without the Mayor. Perhaps more info will be coming then.

 

He will have to come out and face the music sooner or later, as he is turning a lame duck mayor.

 

BTW   I wonder if the two threads covering this topic need to be merged into one?

[Jill]

Maybe Atwell will take a page from this guy's playbook and threaten legal action against the media for using his name without authorization.

 

http://www.slate.com...it_threats.html

[Arnold]

1-The Mayor of any municipality does not keep regular office hours.

2-Mayor Atwell could very well have been available to his staff and just not available to some tabloid reporters that have no reservations of walking up his front lawn chasing some kind of investigation in hopes of selling some newspapers.

3-Mayor Atwell did not run on a platform of full disclosure on his private life.

4-The police have ended their discussions and that should be the bloody end to it.

 

This story ran on a host of newspapers, televisions, and social media, and it's probably nobody's business but to those involved.

[spanky123]

^ TC reporting that the Mayor was a no show at the police board meeting yesterday.

Atwell ran on the basis that he would be a full time Mayor and criticized Leonard for missing meetings. At this point his action are not aligning with his promises.

[Rob Randall]

People claiming this is tabloid journalism don't know the meaning of the term. The media have handled this very carefully and responsibly. Expecting them to ignore the incident is silly. The issue is dead for the time being.

[tedward]

1-The Mayor of any municipality does not keep regular office hours.

 

That is an absurd assertion unless you meant "typical".

 

A full-time mayor has to be available in his office on a regular basis. "Regular" does not mean he has to be there 9-5, M-F but rather that he has a schedule that includes times for his staff to have access and attend meetings. And at all other times, 24/7, his staff must know where he is and how to contact him in an emergency.

[spanky123]

That is an absurd assertion unless you meant "typical".
 
A full-time mayor has to be available in his office on a regular basis. "Regular" does not mean he has to be there 9-5, M-F but rather that he has a schedule that includes times for his staff to have access and attend meetings. And at all other times, 24/7, his staff must know where he is and how to contact him in an emergency.

In a muni that pays the Mayor $20K a year I would hardly expect a full time commitment or think that one was even needed. At $100K a year I expect more than just attending council meetings.

[Coreyburger]

This is pretty funny. We have no problem poking fun at Rob Ford for his private affairs yet our Mayor is out of bounds! The reality is that when you sign up for a public paycheque you fall under the watchful eye of the media. Don't like it then don't cash my cheque.

CHEK reporting tonight that Atwell called 911 the night of the incident.

 

Rob Ford's personal issues became political ones when he took them to work with him and it started impacting his work life. How many politicians right now are currently using/abusing legal/illegal drugs? I suspect quite a few, but it doesn't become an issue until you can't function at work anymore.

[Mike K.]

Before the drugs, before the booze, Ford was mocked and ridiculed over every facet of his life, like his vehicle, his eating habits, his business, and so on. The media was relentless.

[VicHockeyFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsO10jyZwcw

[Urbanistco]

You guys should attend Council meetings once in a while, on Monday night, the entire crowd of 60 people were clapping and cheering for him when he entered the Council Chambers...