PERSONAL ATTACKS ON MAYENCOURT NOT USEFUL to DEMOCRACY

Underbelly News
Downtown Eastside

PERSONAL ATTACKS ON MLA MAYENCOURT NOT USEFUL to DEMOCRACY

While I am in disagreement with Lorne Mayencourt's Safe Streets Act legislation, I am equally concerned that three alpha males at Vancouver City Hall are increasingly displaying careless disregard for Mr Mayencourt's personal safety.

Councillor Jim Green and Mayor Larry Campbell instead of acting like grown men are once again acting like goons. It appears that Councillor Tim Stevenson has joined them.

The latest blustery call by Councillor Stevenson for Lorne Mayencourt to make public his 911 calls regarding his recent assault really undermines our charter rights which is first and foremost, the law in our country. Privacy issues are a cornerstone of our fundamental freedoms and Councillor Stevenson should know better than to make political hay out of an assault.

Another issue remains and that is whether Mr Mayencourt was gay-bashed and I suspect in due course this will be answered, however, it doesn't need to be aired in order to suit Councillor Stevenson's political timetable. As many political observers know, Mr Stevenson is campaigning to unseat Mr Mayencourt who toppled Mr Stevenson in the 2001 election.

When another politician was gay-bashed a number of years back and had the courage to speak out, it would have been distasteful had anyone requested him to make his private calls for help, public.

At a time of an assault, its a very stressful and difficult time. You feel enormous pain and often, your comments are harried,emotional and sometimes disjointed. I'm not sure if Councillor Stevenson has ever been assaulted in life, but if he has, I wonder whether he would want his pleas for help, made public for political reasons.

Councillor Green's mimicking of Stevenson's calls is equally really ill thought out. Councillor Green should think carefully about his posturing when he parrots Stevenson's calls that an issue of a private nature be made public. Would he for instance want any issues concerning himself or his family regarding privacy matters to be exposed for all to hear or see? I would think not.


As for Mayor Larry Campbell, I think the public has become accustomed to his disregard and intolerance of political differences. His latest personal vendetta against Lorne Mayencourt though is troubling. Why the Mayor would say he plans to actively campaign against Lorne Mayencourt by using his political office is questionable.

The Mayor can disagree about Lorne's Safe Streets Act, however, why he would use his office to actively campaign in the riding of his friend, Tim Stevenson is not, I think, a smart use of taxpayers dollars. Then again, in fairness to Mayor Larry, many observers knowing his political intellect, are not surprised over this latest maneuvre.

Mayor Campbell should cool down and let the public know how he is opposed to Mayencourt's Safe Streets Act and write a letter or do something constructive. But to actively campaign in an election of which he is not running and using his Mayoral chain of office calls into question, the ethics of the Mayoral office.

Perhaps the Mayor needs to be reminded that the prairie boy has outgrown his britches and should go back to chopping wood or bale hay or something like that. I think this might even be something MLA Lorne Mayencourt could inform the Mayor of!

Jamie Lee Hamilton
tricia_foxx@yahoo.com