2010 grade: C+
2009 grade: N/A
Darren Fisher is becoming something of a dead fish at council. Like his suburban Dartmouth counterpart Lorelei Nicoll, Fisher kind of, er, flounders about at council. The newest councillor, having replaced Andrew Younger (who went to Province House) in a by-election last year, Fisher never really says much, never really does much, with the sole exception of joining McCluskey as the only two votes against The Oval.
Along with councillors Hum, McCluskey, Karsten and Nicoll, Fisher left the budget hearings last month, to attend a photo op for a recycling initiative. This is bad, bad, bad. The annual budget hearing is one of the most important things a councillor does, and it should taken seriously.
Fisher appears to be approaching not just the budget hearing but also his entire career as councillor as a photo op. At the beginning of each meeting, councillors stand up and give “community announcements” about fish fries and charity runs in their districts, and let me tell ya, Fisher can give an announcement like nobody’s business: He stands up, rigid spine, facing the camera, deep voice and heartfelt sincerity about a prostate cancer dinner or some such. I don’t begrudge councillors this bit of TV face time, but they’re really supposed to do something else at council.
How to improve: Express an opinion. Maybe two opinions.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
I heard him on News 95.7 and found his support of the a sports stadium based more on him being a sports fan than any understanding of the economic impacts of whether it would work or not. He certainly supported spending our tax dollars on yet another feasibility study, but seemed to know very little about the very thing he was supporting. I’d like to see where he thinks the supplemental money will come from to operate the stadium when it becomes clear that 6 CFL home games per year and a handful of amateur events may not cover the costs. Hint: More tax dollars. Maybe we can get U2 to play here 3 or 4 times a year.
Don’t clutter his mind with facts, it gets in the way of stupid decisions.
I live in his district. I’ve tried to contact him several times…
When’s that next election date again? What are my alternative options?
So let’s be clear. This councillor voted against the oval that will allow thousands of people to be physically active but will stand up at council and make a motion to pursue world cup soccer and a stadium when staff recommend that we do not waste the money or time on the endeavor.
Does anyone else see a problem with this, if you see the oval as a waste how can you see a white elephant stadium as a good idea.
F is the correct grade