HEY BIG MOUTH - 2022 IS HERE - WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

By Joe Ingino Editor/Publisher ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States “I live a dream in a nightmare world” The other day, way from the back of the hay stack, I heard someone call me out. ‘HEY BIG MOUTH, 2022 IS HERE - WHAT’S YOUR TAKE’. Normally call outs like these would follow by a 911 call for ambulance assistance for whom ever called me out. But in this case, I look behind me and had to fight my red blooded male instinct and reply, “Ah Ma, you are such a piff”. She looked at me as I dialed myself 911for myself as she had that I have my slipper in my hand and you better be behaving look on her face. I smiled and said, “What Ma, what are you busting my onions over this time.” She reminded me not to be smart and asked again in a motherly tone. “So, it’s 2022. If you had been Mayor. How would things been.” I looked at her and said. Look, Ma. My heart breaks for Oshawa. For the youth of this great city. For the many people that are today struggling to pay bills. To those struggling to put food on the table and keep a dignified look on their face. Ma, you made me ugly, honest and hard working. In 2018, I lost to a former addict, snake oil salesman with obvious incompetency with a prettier smile. A man that if he lost the election would never been hired by any other firm to make the decisions he is making today on our dime. A man that has lived off the system for so long that deems him unemployable. I ask mom, why did you sent me to school? Why did you make me honest, hard working? It is obvious that it does not pay. Today it appears that society rewards people not on merit or competency but on pity and social etiquette. we the hard working tax payers are left to pay for their mistakes. Those that are voted in. Do not care. As deep inside they know they are incompetent. You can’t blame the hunter that keeps shooting himself as we the people put the gun in their hands and asked them to go hunt to keep the rest of us fed. Municipal governments are failing. As I walk downtown. I can see and feel the desperation. The level of our municipal incompetency is overwhelming. I can tell you one thing. In my Oshawa. There would have been no suffering. No, homeless walking our streets and no one having to worry where their next meal would come from. Let me explain. Success does not come to you. You have to go to it. I worked hard for what I have and earned. I do not expect pity nor sympathy as we live a dream in a nightmare world. We can’t sit and expect. We have to go out and make it happen. If I had been in office back in 2014. Our Oshawa would not have lost General Motors. I would have negotiated with them that if they left. A hefty price they would have pay. As it stands. General Motors is gone. We the people of Oshawa are stuck with the many environmental disasters they left us to deal with. Including the dump at the mouth of Simcoe St., South. The Grandview area disgraceful development on a dump site and many more. Force GM to take social responsibility for the years they enjoyed record sales. Use their buildings to house the homeless. Our Oshawa today would not be paying $600,000 tax payers dollars a year to fund the Tribute Community Centre. The Tribute Communities Centre, formerly known as the General Motors Centre or GM Centre. THIS PROPERTY IS OWNED BY THE PEOPLE OF OSHAWA. WE PAY SO THAT COMPANIES LIKE ‘The Tribute Communities Centre can enjoy the facade that they some how own the property when in reality they pay the City a token amount to have their name on our building. This I would change dramatically. No more City money to fund this money pit. John Gray as mayor left the people of Oshawa with this white elephant. It is time to make it perform or find another way to make it profitable. NO MORE HAND OUTS. Our Oshawa today would have had a re-designed downtown. I would have brought in major developers much like the ones working Mississauga, North York, Hamilton. Level our core and rebuild it to modern standards. This would have created jobs, prosperity and brought Oshawa to world ranking. No homeless, no drugs, no prostitution. NO CRIME. In my administration The Oshawa airport would have today been a beacon of success for Ontario. I would have brought training facilities as well as introduce aeronautic related business that would have put Oshawa on the industries top as a training facility... without the increase of air traffic. Today what has changed from 2014 or 2018. The only things in flight are the same old empty promises and pipe dreams by Mayor Carter and area rep Titto-Dante and Jane Hurts. Two councillors that must go. Under my administration. Today, Oshawa would have a world class port and facility. 50 story luxury condo/apartment complexes. Attracting world class investments. Opening our harbor to a multi use facility including a state of the art marina with adequate naval repair facilities. Offering ferry services all across the Great Lakes. Creating jobs, opportunity and prosperity for all to enjoy. I would have found investors to develop all the lands around the park with state of the art entertainment and cultural facilities. Instead what do we have today. The same we had back in 2014, 2018 and if things don’t change in 2022 expect the same old same old for eternity. Oshawa does not need an administrator as a Mayor. We need a visionary with clear direction. As it stand city staff run the City based on recommendations. City council are nothing but flags in the wind. Staff job is to blow enough wind in any particular direction to get council to approve anything. We have nothing on the official development books other than natural growth to the north. The City is allowing the raping of prime farm lands by these, two by four/plywood over priced houses developers that only interest is to make their money and move on to another municipality. This is not growth. This is not planning. This is not vision. Here is what I would propose if I was to consider running in any future election. I would prioritize at finding a way to leveling out our downtown core and erect six 50 - 80 story building right on our four corners. Bring world class attention to our core. I would close off Celina St and Albert St. Turn them into a major people/culture centers. Create an all year around canopy so people could enjoy the different events in a safe and climate controlled area. Similar to what other cities have accomplished. All this done without the use of one tax dollar. I would do this by entering partnerships with developers and investors. The key to success in any business depends on your ability to negotiate. Something that we do not have at City hall. In 2022 think of what is important. Don’t make the same mistakes and expect different out comes. I think Einstein called it insanity. Hey Ma love you.