Is Hume the man to watch?

Following is the text from a letter to the editor I wrote to the Ottawa Citizen last weekend. As they chose not to publish, I decided it was worth posting here.

In his article in the Ottawa Citizen on Saturday January 23, 2010 (Hume is the man to watch) Randall Denley suggests that Councillor Peter Hume would make an excellent mayoral candidate in the coming municipal election. Some of the observations Denley makes about Hume are questionable and ignore problematic aspects of his performance.

Like most politicians one of Hume’s attributes includes a more than adequate share of arrogance and he tends to punish those who disagree with him; including members of the local community. This is not a quality seen in visionaries but it is a quality that makes bad managers. We have already seen arrogance in abundance from the present occupant of the mayor’s chair and it is not something we need to see repeated any time soon.

In action, Hume sits on the fence over many issues, and eventually often votes against the wishes of people in his ward and he often reneges on agreements previously made with fellow Councillors. Issues that come to mind include the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor (AVTC), the negotiated agreement with the Lansdowne Live group and currently, his response to Riverview Park residents in Ward 18 over their concerns about plans to expand the new OC Transpo Bus Garage on Industrial Avenue.

Hume’s performance on the rejuvenation of Lansdowne Park is far from the good example of how he operates that Denley suggests. The design competition he is currently endorsing is a far cry from the international design competition he originally supported in cooperation with Councillor Clive Doucet and others. His reversal on this issue during the final stages of city council’s debate has all but eliminated the possibility of alternative viable proponents coming forward.

At a recent open house in Riverview Park that offered a long overdue opportunity for the community to comment on the OC Transpo bus garage expansion it appeared that Councillor Hume was more interested in mediation - providing other facilities/services in the neighborhood - than in mitigating possible damage to residents’ quality of life and home values from noise and pollution. Residents are so concerned about this expansion that they are holding an extraordinary meeting of the community association tonight. They have invited members of city staff and OC Transpo. Councillor Hume has indicated he will not be able to attend.

Many people in the communitywould be quite pleased if Hume was to put his name forward for mayor, not because they hope he will be successful, but rather to improve the odds for new viable candidates to run in Ward 18. Hume has represented this Ward for far too long.