Well if the percolating rumours around town ever prove true that Mayor Pond has his eye on a bid for provincial office, we can think of one person that might be interested in the plentiful PR and spin jobs that go with any electoral campaign.
The Daily News editorial on Wednesday evening came down strongly in support of Mayor Herb Pond and his bid to have the province of British Columbia become more financially involved with the repairs to the Alaska Ferry dock.
Earle Gale effusively praised Pond for doing all he can do to make sure that the province helps to pay for the much needed repairs, explaining that he’s “in the right place at the right time.”
Gale also answered the Mayors critics who suggest he travels too much, said Gale “the fact of the matter is that one can only get the ear of the political elite by traveling to the places where they do business. To stay at home would mean losing out”
He went on to suggest that all that relationship building that the Mayor has done on his many journeys out of town resulted in the likes of Transportation Minister Falcon clearing his day planner to make plans to see him.
It would seem that Mr. Bell’s ancient invention of the telephone, or that wonderful web of data that CityWest fires out of town every day isn’t enough for local politicians to keep in touch, instead if we’re to follow this thinking, the locals must make frequent pilgrimages to Victoria to be heard.
Apparently that is the sign of political gravitas these days, when the folks from the boonies can actually get a Minister to pay attention to their concerns.
As for the issue of the dock, we have yet to hear of any actual financial benefit from that visit, so we suspect that many will suggest the jury is still out on the "one on one" lobbying approach.
While Prince Rupert residents are no doubt hopeful that this latest surprise million dollar bill can be shared with the Province, they also might like to know how things got to this stage of disrepair and how the bill quadrupled in less than year.
That was a missing bit of helpful information that didn’t seem to find its way into the Editorial page salute to out of town travel.
It will be interesting to see the reaction from the Daily News letter to editor crowd over the glowing Mayoralty review. From past reviews if memory serves correct, the view hasn’t always been a tolerant one when it came to the tricky question of travel arrangements and any politician that calls Prince Rupert home.
The full editorial appeared in Wednesday’s paper on page four.
Pond in the right place at right time
Daily News editorial
Earle Gale
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Page four
It was reassuring to read in yesterday’s front page Daily News story that Mayor Herb Pond is doing all he can to make sure the province helps us pay for much-needed repairs to the Alaska ferry dock.
Pond mentioned the sorry state of the dock to Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon during a recent trip to Victoria.
It sounds like Falcon was listening and we must all hold our breath and hope he and his cabinet colleagues come through with some urgently needed dollars.
Pond pointed out to Falcon how bizarre it is that our little municipality has been left holding the baby – and a very expensive baby it is – and must now pay for repairs to facility that benefits the entire province.
The Alaska ferry dock in Prince Rupert, which needs at least $1 million spending on it to make it safe, is British Columbia’s only connection to the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Tourists and locals alike use the connection enthusiastically and it is responsible for injecting huge amounts of spending into our province - not just in Prince Rupert but all along Highway 16; where there is a direct benefit felt from all the traffic headed to and from Alaska.
Despite the fact that better days wait around the corner, there is still no mistaking the truth; our municipality is woefully short of spending money – you only have to look at the sad state of our roads to know that.
It is far too much to ask the municipality of Prince Rupert to meet the massive bill for the ferry dock repairs alone.
Falcon seems to have heard Pond’s pleas.
Hats off to our mayor for being in the right place at the right time.
While some have questioned his frequent trips to Vancouver and Victoria and other major centres around our province, the fact of the matter is that one can only get the ear of the political elite by traveling to the places where they do business. To stay at home would mean losing out.
This latest trip didn’t cost the local taxpayer a cent. Mayor Pond traveled down south on the province’s dime to take part in meetings in his capacity as a Union of B. C. Municipalities director. He made the most of his time in Victoria to set up the meeting with Falcon.
He is to be commended for making this happen and for having the sort of relationship with provincial politicians that meant Falcon cleared his day-planner to make time to see him.
With any luck, our city will be spared a massive bill thanks to Pond’s proactive lobbying.
The Daily News editorial on Wednesday evening came down strongly in support of Mayor Herb Pond and his bid to have the province of British Columbia become more financially involved with the repairs to the Alaska Ferry dock.
Earle Gale effusively praised Pond for doing all he can do to make sure that the province helps to pay for the much needed repairs, explaining that he’s “in the right place at the right time.”
Gale also answered the Mayors critics who suggest he travels too much, said Gale “the fact of the matter is that one can only get the ear of the political elite by traveling to the places where they do business. To stay at home would mean losing out”
He went on to suggest that all that relationship building that the Mayor has done on his many journeys out of town resulted in the likes of Transportation Minister Falcon clearing his day planner to make plans to see him.
It would seem that Mr. Bell’s ancient invention of the telephone, or that wonderful web of data that CityWest fires out of town every day isn’t enough for local politicians to keep in touch, instead if we’re to follow this thinking, the locals must make frequent pilgrimages to Victoria to be heard.
Apparently that is the sign of political gravitas these days, when the folks from the boonies can actually get a Minister to pay attention to their concerns.
As for the issue of the dock, we have yet to hear of any actual financial benefit from that visit, so we suspect that many will suggest the jury is still out on the "one on one" lobbying approach.
While Prince Rupert residents are no doubt hopeful that this latest surprise million dollar bill can be shared with the Province, they also might like to know how things got to this stage of disrepair and how the bill quadrupled in less than year.
That was a missing bit of helpful information that didn’t seem to find its way into the Editorial page salute to out of town travel.
It will be interesting to see the reaction from the Daily News letter to editor crowd over the glowing Mayoralty review. From past reviews if memory serves correct, the view hasn’t always been a tolerant one when it came to the tricky question of travel arrangements and any politician that calls Prince Rupert home.
The full editorial appeared in Wednesday’s paper on page four.
Pond in the right place at right time
Daily News editorial
Earle Gale
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Page four
It was reassuring to read in yesterday’s front page Daily News story that Mayor Herb Pond is doing all he can to make sure the province helps us pay for much-needed repairs to the Alaska ferry dock.
Pond mentioned the sorry state of the dock to Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon during a recent trip to Victoria.
It sounds like Falcon was listening and we must all hold our breath and hope he and his cabinet colleagues come through with some urgently needed dollars.
Pond pointed out to Falcon how bizarre it is that our little municipality has been left holding the baby – and a very expensive baby it is – and must now pay for repairs to facility that benefits the entire province.
The Alaska ferry dock in Prince Rupert, which needs at least $1 million spending on it to make it safe, is British Columbia’s only connection to the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Tourists and locals alike use the connection enthusiastically and it is responsible for injecting huge amounts of spending into our province - not just in Prince Rupert but all along Highway 16; where there is a direct benefit felt from all the traffic headed to and from Alaska.
Despite the fact that better days wait around the corner, there is still no mistaking the truth; our municipality is woefully short of spending money – you only have to look at the sad state of our roads to know that.
It is far too much to ask the municipality of Prince Rupert to meet the massive bill for the ferry dock repairs alone.
Falcon seems to have heard Pond’s pleas.
Hats off to our mayor for being in the right place at the right time.
While some have questioned his frequent trips to Vancouver and Victoria and other major centres around our province, the fact of the matter is that one can only get the ear of the political elite by traveling to the places where they do business. To stay at home would mean losing out.
This latest trip didn’t cost the local taxpayer a cent. Mayor Pond traveled down south on the province’s dime to take part in meetings in his capacity as a Union of B. C. Municipalities director. He made the most of his time in Victoria to set up the meeting with Falcon.
He is to be commended for making this happen and for having the sort of relationship with provincial politicians that meant Falcon cleared his day-planner to make time to see him.
With any luck, our city will be spared a massive bill thanks to Pond’s proactive lobbying.
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