Editor:
I’m disappointed that in the era of powerful women’s leadership the community of Banff had to endure yet another example of men attempting to create division, derision, and libel toward our fine mayor, as well as a woman manager and adviser.
It was a shock to read the Report to the Citizens of Banff from Jamie MacVicar and Barry Kelly, and to see that they’d signed it “on behalf of the citizens of Banff.”
You don’t speak for me, sirs, not the least of which is due to your inability to ask of yourselves the same integrity as you demand from the investigatory process with the Town of Banff.
In this “report” where you believe that you own the “facts” you state: “These are tall orders and a harsh assessment but we are all on trial.”
Despite heavy-handed proclamations like this, your words and actions indeed face a reckoning. You write that you have “no malice toward any parties” yet you demand that the full council and the mayor resign, at great cost to the community who relies on their wisdom, continuity and knowledge.
It’s one thing to ask for facts, and it’s quite another to decide that only two of you men speak for the diversity of this place.
Throughout your document, you name the mayor and her husband, and other Town employees, but you casually omit those whose words you use to your advantage – there’s a “frustrated neighbor” and “others in equal measures who expressed the same sentiment,” and “a working group of nine citizens,” – none of whom apparently wanted to be known or sign the letter along with you.
You use shorthand instead of actual text, and expect us to believe in your righteousness. You decide that Mr. Sorensen profited in “tens of thousands of dollars” with no substantiation of that claim. Accountability is integrity. Where’s yours?
Human resources director Ms. King and experienced mediator Ms. McNeil also suffer damage in your “report,” smearing them with smarmy assumptions about their qualifications and attacking their veracity.
These kinds of comments are so directed toward women that I can’t help but wonder if the issue that lies at the heart of this year-long process isn’t misogyny?
I can’t help but wonder who benefits from actions like MacVicar’s and Kelly’s, ones that attempt to engage citizens in public infighting and shaming? Their “report” seems to be aligned with the current American pastime of indecorous blame and knee-jerk call-outs, rather than a clear-eyed investigation.
Sonya Lea,
Banff
