Editor: I read your editorial (The Times, Oct. 20) on the anonymous letter and Mayor Rick Green with great concern. With the release of the Lidstone Report, I think the public is getting the full flavour for the nature and extent of the challenges that have faced council. As written in the report, Mayor Green misled council, three lawyers, the public, and now we learn he misled MLA Rich Coleman.

In your downplaying editorial, you stated the basic facts were known for months, that Green鈥檚 actions, although puzzling, were a mere clumsy political leverage attempt by Green, now to be manipulated by council. You also state that council has fought him tooth and nail from the beginning. None of this is true.

Council has always been willing to listen to legitimate ways to improve the position of our residents. We would have been pleased to have reduced taxes as Mayor Green suggested, however, he could not tell us how. Even his finance committee鈥檚 suggestion of using other people鈥檚 money to reduce the budget was like going into debt to buy groceries and that would never work in the long run.

We would have been pleased to work with him to attempt to improve our relationship with TransLink, however, he has repeatedly indicated that he would prefer to go it alone and not include council, as was recorded in the Habkirk/Berry Report. Mayor Green鈥檚 style is that when he can鈥檛 agree with people, he simply ignores them, replaces them, or goes around them.

It is true my concern with Mayor Green began with the last election. I repeatedly heard him make comments and statements that were not true and, as an old RCMP officer, that was an immediate red flag.

Having said that, as we moved past the Lidstone Report, I can further say if Mayor Green had simply admitted his misconduct and adequately explained what is taking place, perhaps we could have moved on. How does one work with an individual when he continuously misleads you, excludes you, fails to provide information, and instead blames others for everything and then tells people that he would do it all over again?

It is against this backdrop that council has worked diligently attempting to make sure that the recreation centres operate, the water and sewer utilities function properly, and the RCMP and fire services are there to help people.

This has not been an easy time for the Township and as the facts are becoming known, more and more people can draw their own conclusions as to how difficult and challenging the environment has been.

As you correctly point out, on Nov. 19 people can make their decision, but now they can make it fully informed.

Councillor Grant Ward