DOBA WHO ARE THY MYSTERIOUS 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” Always Remember That The cosmic blueprint of your life was written in code across the sky at the moment you were born. Decode Your Life By Living It Without Regret or Sorrow. No one will disrespect me in my house or backyard. No one will hurt my family and all those that I love. With this said. I take every downtown business owner as my family. The citizens of Oshawa that I love I vow to stand before you and anyone attempting to bring you harm or hardship. As our house our City is our home and pride. My/Our backyard is our downtown, our lake front and our airport. We are a blessed population with the unfortunate tempest of no leadership and a municipal government that has lost touch with citizens needs. With this said, I put a STRONG warning to all merchants of the downtown core over the development of a handful renegade downtown merchants that have taken upon themselves to attempt to deceive us, mislead us and in the long run bring us economic hardship. The group in question goes about calling themselves DOBA or Downtown Oshawa Business Alliance. A group made up of a handful of downtown restauranters that claim to represent the downtown cores best interest. WRONG THEY DO NOT REPRESENT MINE. And I am sure not yours also. Most of the 70 members of the successful INGINO shop local initiative have never heard of them. So who are they and why are they all of a sudden before an election coming out? In my opinion I strongly believe that these folk are attempting to mislead city hall by claiming they represent the best interest of the merchants of the core. I CAN TELL YOU. THEY DO NOT REPRESENT MY BEST INTEREST. I say this because for the past four weeks I been putting calls in to DOBA and no one had the decency to call back. I am the editor of the largest and oldest independent newspaper with the most successful shop local program in the history of Oshawa. You would think DOBA would want to align themselves with such a success story. No instead they work in the shadows and sneak and hide. According to sources DOBA has applied for a NOT FOR PROFIT status in which they have to wait a year for it to mature and start operating as such. DOBA has not yet completed one year. Therefore they are going about asking for local donation on their web site. A web site that has no mention of membership, directors and or contact number. A web page full of cliche and irrelevant information. Once DOBA’s year come due and they can openly utilize the special status of NOT FOR PROFIT. You can bet your bottom dollar that they will approach the city and claim that they have a right to the same funding as the debunked BIA had. Now remember. The BIA was destroyed by Rick Kerr local councillor inability to think outside the box and the fact that the BIA was demanding an extra $100,000. from the city. The BIA wanted to increase the levy and the merchants fought back. The BIA lost. This new DOBA in my opinion will do little or nothing for the core and will assure that all their so called ghost administrative members get a hefty salary. COME ON PEOPLE... WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU DOBA. If you truly cared about the downtown core you would not be so underhanded. So disrespectful. Let me send you a message through this column and I know every one of the handful of members of DOBA will read it. START OVER: Actually send and invite to all downtown business owners to attend a special downtown meeting. And not some fictitious email. Actual go to their front door and ask them to attend. Every single one. Not pick and choose. Not your friends or your friends, friends as DOBA has done up to now. EVERYONE. Once you have that list and you meet ask the merchants what their needs are. NOT WHAT YOU WANT OR WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOUR OWN BUSINESS. Then from those that attend. Have all of them be part of the decision process. No Chair. No secretary baloney. No one gets paid. no reenumeration should ever be considered. Once you have this nuclei... and only then. You can call yourself a representative of the core. Personally. I will not be insulted and disrespected in my own back yard. I know other local merchants feel the same. I am bringing this to light because I care about those merchants of the core. I do not want them to suffer and or have to close their businesses due to hefty levy to support scoundrels that operate in the shadows. DOBA needs to learn a little respect. A little about what businesses really need and want for our core. DOBA is and has in it’s short life disrespected those they want to represent. DOBA just this past week on their once again sketchy Facebook page posted and insulting and attacking ‘City of Oshawa Report Card’. Really!!! Who voted on the issues they claim? What statistical numbers are they presenting that are backed by hard core data? I read it and it is a blatant attack on the two current councillors. It is an attack against the city of Oshawa staff. Very disrespectful towards staff. It is not Staff fault that they have no leadership. No direction. To me it is a disgraceful attempt to attack to councillors. I am surprised that they are not attacking the mayor as he is responsible for his lack of leadership. His lack of vision. No mention of Carter... Why? Because this is the same group that will eventually support Carter in this election in turn get funding from the city. What a coincidence that this same group will be hosting a meet and greet across from Carter's campaign office. DOBA has no creditability and by posting this ‘REPORT CARD’ has further proven the bias, prejudice and slant they employ. DOBA - prove me wrong. If you truly care about the core. CALL ME. Introduce yourself. Prove me wrong. We are the City paper and a prominent downtown business. 905-441-2657 Merchants I will keep you posted.