Halifax Regional Municipality Wayne Antsy and Mayor Peter Kelly

March 16, 2011
Well the Right Honorable Mayor Kelly is trying to sidestep the big fiasco that caused Wayne Antsy to have to resign his position with the Halifax Regional Municipality. The city apparently loaned $400,000 to a concert promotor for the Black Eyed Peas, a concert that brought less than enough money to cover costs and the promotor has now gone bankrupt leaving the citizens of Halifax Regional Municipality losing money.

Mayor Kelly blames the "lawyers" who he says
told him it was OK to sign off on the advance of the money, although it was apparently without City Council's approval. The Mayor says that it's OK, Antsy has taken responsibility and has resigned. But actually Antsy has only taken early retirement. He wasn't fired, he just resigned.

On another note, I don't know about you, but I think Mayor Peter Kelly has to drop the habit of saying, "Again" before he answers a question, it sounds like he is telling us something we already know, like he has already answered it and he is just saying it over again.

 He says he is accountable to the taxpayers, and they can fire him at the next election....uh-huh....If he is reluctant to take on the responsibility perhaps Mayor Kelly should call for an election now and let the taxpayers of HRM decide his fate for him.

I come from a mindset where I feel that our elected officials need to take some responsibility for their actions. Clearly Mayor Kelly has screwed up, although in his words, if the lawyers say it's OK then who is he to question? Well, he is the Mayor, and should have some idea of what is right from wrong, especially when this was obviously questionable to say the least. But if he is correct in his idea that he can only go by the legal advice he is given, then it seems to me that in a case like this the legal advice was wrong and perhaps the lawyers should be fired if they are really to blame.

In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter, accountability for our actions is apparently not cleared spelled out in the election process. However, it seems to me that the chances are pretty good that the Honorable Mayor Peter Kelly of the Halifax Regional Municipality should dust off his resume because he just might be out of work.....that is if the people of the Halifax Regional Municipality wake up and smell the coffee....it's getting pretty stale.....