A normally mild-mannered council veteran has vented a bit of frustration as the new council takes office - some of it's directed straight at the new mayor.
Harold Usher, better known for saying he's "sensational" than firing salvos, has been uncomfortable with Joe Fontana's outspoken, take-charge approach since he was elected Oct. 25.
Tuesday, Usher let fly about Fontana's call for a tax freeze and the ripples from his suggestions some city hall jobs could be in jeopardy as he pushes for more productivity from civic workers.
"When we make statements like that, I think it makes the good workers worried," Usher said. "We should not be throwing these thoughts out like that until we (council) discuss (how to achieve a tax freeze) as a group."
Admitting "a bit of frustration there," Usher says that doesn't mean he isn't open to co-operating with the new mayor. But he's concerned about how things have unfurled since election night.
Fontana, who takes over Wednesday, along with the rest of the new council, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
Some will no doubt find the potentially big change Fontana represents at city hall refreshing, after Anne Marie DeCicco-Best's decade-long reign. Usher doesn't sound like one of them.
"Joe has one vote and so do I and so do the rest of the (council) members," he said. "(So) he can't be authoritarian. He can make a request, but there is not something that he can veto.
Usher says the departure of so much council experience after the election leaves it to veterans like him to show leadership now. "It's up to us to speak."
While it's unclear how many returning councillors share Usher's frustration, one newly-elected politician says he's sensed a bit of resistance by the "old guard" amid the change.
But Ward 9 Coun. Dale Henderson doesn't predict a lasting divide - quite the opposite.
"I don't think they know what the change is yet, so they're a bit uncertain," Henderson said.
"They're used to back-biting and the disappointment that they've had . . . I don't think that's going to happen now."
One small flashpoint is the redistribution of councillors' offices on city hall's third floor.
A meeting room is being converted into an office for Bud Polhill, who's worked in a windowless second-floor office.
While Polhill considers it a small issue, Usher's concern is the decision to take away the room was made without full council input. "These things have a way of increasing. You start with something small and then you do something bigger and something bigger and something bigger."
E-mail patrick.maloney@sunmedia.ca, or follow Patatlfpress on Twitter.
E-mail randy.richmond@sunmedia.ca, or follow RandyRatlfpress on Twitter.
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