Editor:
Re: Leaked mayor’s letter shows Trudeau the way, Dec. 8.
Wayne Baldwin is our mayor, not our king.
As an elected official, he has been assigned administrative duties for running certain functions of the City of White Rock. He does not have any particular authority to determine how the prime minister or any other citizen of Canada is able to visit buildings and landmarks within the city.
Yet, given his obsession with not being invited to personally meet with Justin Trudeau, one would think he were an aristocrat of sorts. This is an inappropriate, self-centered, and frankly childish reaction from our mayor. The municipal government, while serving an important role in performing specific duties, is a humble actor whose role is to improve the quality of life for residents.
Baldwin is being led by his ego if he thinks he is vastly more important than other residents and stakeholders in this region in manners unrelated to his municipal duties; as though his role as mayor makes White Rock his kingdom.
Fortunately, this is a democracy and we need not worship our civil servants.
Elise Burgert, White Rock
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Mayor Wayne Baldwin’s pathetic attempts to justify “protocol” issues over the fiasco prime ministerial visit is likely to backfire.
Should he also remind the PM of his sad record with the local First Nations issues, especially his recent “protocol” failure to notify the First Nations of the Memorial Park upgrades? Or perhaps his failure to deal with the neighbouring reserve’s water issues – and White Rock’s too, for that matter.
The actual protocol to be followed would be for Baldwin to realize he’s way in over his head. He has become a liability to his city.
A.P. Hovasse, White Rock
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Re: Councillors divided over mayor’s letter to PM, Dec. 13.
There is only one right answer: It was wrong for the mayor to write a letter to the prime minister like a spoiled, entitled child because he did not get a special invitation to meet the PM.
Wayne Baldwin wrote that letter on city letterhead in his official capacity as mayor. He wasted time of at least four city workers writing up this letter, not to mention the time wasted by federal employees who had to accept this letter and process requests for it.
Baldwin does not want to be treated like a member of the public! The mayor refused to attend the second visit by Justin Trudeau because he did not receive a special one-on-one invite from the PM. Apparently, this is not good enough for the mayor who considers the members of our community to be a “mob” that is best avoided.
Nice words by our mayor, revealing his attitude towards the voting public of White Rock.
Baldwin claims he spoke to “other mayors” who said they would have done the same thing. It’s an old political trick by the mayor to claim others agree. I doubt he will be able to name a single mayor who would have written a similar letter.
Baldwin wasted taxpayers’ money by creating this letter, he sent it without reviewing it first with council, and then he has failed to apologize for his words to Trudeau, Gordon Hogg and the White Rock voting public. He should.
Scott Kristjanson, White Rock