I had to laugh, to avoid crying as I walked into ARC through the new addition for the first time Friday.

With an all-candidates meeting on Friday night I had to swim early, before Yale high school was out, and found myself parking beneath the new extension.

After walking up the fire escape stairs because the elevator was out-of-service due to malfunction, I turned to head down the ramp to head into the old building and the pool and found myself walking around the bucket set out to catch the water leaking into our new recreation facility through its brand new roof.

I also had to step carefully so as not to slip in the two rivulets of water that ran down the ramp.

It was very lucky for our current council that their rushed pre-election grand opening was on a dry non-rainy day. The public would probably have been considerably less impressed if it had been raining and they had to walk around or carefully to avoid the leaks in their expensive new roof.

I have had several people ask me about where my signs are and have found myself explaining why I will not raise money for signs.

I will not be raising or asking for money for signs, cards, pamphlets, campaign offices etc. Not because I could not raise funds, turns out I have a lot of friends on this matter, but because I know so many better uses for monies raised than to spend them on politicking.

The demand on our local food bank is growing while at the same time the economy has resulted in decreased donations for the food banks. Compounding this is that we are heading into the Christmas season when demand soars, followed by the bleak days for donations of January and February 2009.

People are going cold, wet and hungry – how could I raise money and spend it on politics?

People have said “think of all the good you could do if elected”. You start justifying you actions or thinking like that and it has become about you and you have decided to be a politician rather than a leader.

I have written several times over the past months to remind people to remember the food banks (thanks to the local papers for printing those letters). How could I not follow my own pleas and remember the food bank?

Being on council is also about priorities and leadership and I believe that if getting on council is your overriding priority, your priorities are wrong. A thought echoed by one homeless gentleman who felt he had to come up and urge me to not become a politician but to remain true to my self and remember the people.

So I cannot, will not raise money for signs.

Besides I do have a few.

A decal sign from a friend who had his brother cut decals for his vehicle and my car as well as some legal size signs I printed off of my computer. Some friends are threatening to paint up some signs which is fine, I can only hope they get the spelling right. One or two friends are insisting I need at least a few signs and insisting on getting at least some put up. Then there are those who are printing up their own signs from their computer as did I.

As my homeless acquaintance said I have to remain true to my self … which brings me to the question of whether you have remembered the food bank recently?

Three more years of not asking and for citizens to have to pay for, deal with or just live with the consequences of council’s conduct.

I am not speaking of the $$$ millions Abbotsford taxpayers are out of pocket because city council could not bather to ask our federal MP Ed Fast to get federal funds to lower the cost to taxpayers of Plan A. Nor the $$$ millions more taxpayers were forced to shell out because city council could not be bothered to listen to those who opposed Plan A and secure provincial funding before finalizing full funding for Plan A.

Obviously citizens approve paying the higher costs and property taxes associated with these council actions since they endorsed them in the city’s recent municipal election.

Similarly the tens of $millions$ of dollars of cost overruns were signed off on and stamped approved by the vote. As was the continuation of council’s profligate spending and the resulting large tax increases or the deferment of needed infrastructure and maintenance.

Clearly citizen’s claims of concern with crime and safety issues were overstated. Why else would they choose to elect a retired school principal rather than an experienced police officer who retired from the local police force?

I do find citizens endorsement of council’s doing nothing to endeavor to address the afflictions of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, the growing numbers depending on the food bank for their daily food and survival, poverty and affordable housing hypocritical in light claim to being Christian.

Still they have the right to choose harsh indifference over compassion; to stamp their approval on the theft/confiscation of the meager belongings of the homeless and the leaving them facing the task of surviving the night and the weather with only the clothes on their backs.

Nonetheless it would have been nice if council would have bothered to ask the library for their input before locating their pond in front of the library’s downstairs/basement entrance – much nicer for the current and future children of Abbotsford.

With the grassy swale and large old shade trees that use to be outside the exterior entrance to the downstairs it had been the plan to move the current upstairs children’s area to more spacious and open accommodations downstairs.

That plan is now gone since the librarians are responsible people and will not be locating a children’s area downstairs with the presence of an unfenced pond and bridges just outside the door.

Unfortunate loss for the children of Abbotsford, but this kind of can of worms is business as usual for city council. On the other hand perhaps it is best that the children of Abbotsford learn early that they will long be paying for the choices their parents and grandparents made.