Opinion: Another sad chapter

By Mike Williscraft
NewsNow

When the wheels come off at Grimsby council, the vehicle does not just pull to a stop and dysfunction reigns.

No, this crew takes that vehicle, makes a hard right and drives on rims right off the edge of the escarpment Thelma & Louise style.

If you are a fan of asinine behaviour, shocking displays of disdain and hate, unparalleled insincerity and boorish conduct – all supported by the Grimsby 5 by the way – please check in at grimsby.ca
to see Monday’s Committee of the Whole extravaganza.

As soon as I saw Coun. Randy Vaine was busted by the Integrity Commissioner and found in breach of the Town’s Code of Conduct for harassment of Coun. Dorothy Bothwell it was a virtual guarantee Vaine would lose his mind. You watch and be the judge.

Vaine’s conduct as outlined in the complaint or as was on display on Monday was nothing new. And on that, he repeatedly said “I don’t care” about the IC’s findings or if he had to redo a sensitivity training program or if he even shows his actual face during a Zoom meeting. Throughout the proceedings, Vaine avoided his camera in favour of a blue screen background. Only problem was, when Coun. Lianne Vardy asked him to show his face while the IC complaint was discussed

Dorothy (2:06:33) “When another councillor says to me that ‘the Heritage Grimsby Advisory Committee is just made up of a bunch of soccer moms’ or that I would be better as just a member of the Heritage Committee and not the chair because I could debate much better as just a member, those types of comments, those types of behaviours make it….”

At which point Vaine jumps in, totally out to lunch because he simply is incapable of actually listening to what people are saying (at 2:06:57) with “The councillor here is lying because I never said those things.”

If he had been listening, he would have saved himself another ton of embarrassment – if he is even capable of feeling embarrassment – because as you can see by the quote taken from Bothwell clearly shows she notes “another councillor says to me…”

So, you know what you’re getting with Vaine.

This has been evident since the public meeting at town hall when he charged the microphone and verbally accosted Planning Committee Chair (at the time) Nick DiFlavio.

Once again though, another person who had a chance to do the right and stuffed both feet in his face was Coun. Dave Kadwell.

Kadwell, who clearly was not listening either, noted that council as a whole assumed Bothwell was speaking about Vaine’s actions when addressing the complaint she filed against him, which she was for the most part. But as Bothwell correctly noted, “another councillor says to me” unequivocally delineated she was not speaking about Vaine.

So when Vaine jumps off the deep end, Kadwell and the rest of the G5 posse jumped with him. This did not include Coun. John Dunstall who bailed on another night of council action only sitting in for the council meeting so he could ensure the COVID vaccine policy the town has been trying to implement for employees gets deferred again. He didn’t bother to come back for the Committee of the Whole show.

In Kadwell, we have the #1 question I get from residents of town. Many thought they knew the man, and I am talking people he knows and/or played hockey with for upwards of 30 years, but that come in to say, “what’s with that guy?” As

I have stated before, ask him, I have no idea.

For me, I am just sickened that he puts his lot in with a man of Vaine’s character.

Vaine goes off, tells Coun. Reg Freake to “shut up” and follows that with “You’re an idiot”, the mayor tosses him, but good ol’ Coun, Kevin Ritchie is there to challenge the mayor’s ruling so he can get his buddy back in the game. This was one of the procedural bylaws the G5 changed to the expelled councillor gets to vote on whether they get tossed or not.

Now, you can debate the validity of the complaints, You can debate all the truly stupid things you see at the council table, but without doubt a chimp – even a cymbal clanging chimp, should have seen Vaine was rightfully tossed.

Kadwell, Vaine, Coun. Dave Sharpe and Ritchie are all 100 per accountable for approving of that kind of conduct.

I would say they should all be embarrassed, but I don’t think they are emotionally capable of feeling it.

It’s psychopathy – a lack of empathy and inability to understand the feelings of others – by definition. It’s all tragically sad for the town. Watch the video at grimsby.ca and judge for yourself.