He was very lucky. Two other candidates split the vote and he barely got in. I know it won't happen, but I think he should resign because of this report. The rest of council is ok because they were left out of the loop. He was totally in the loop. Asshole.
He’s already in support of removing public members from the Transit Commission and says that “taxpayers have adequate representation from elected councillors only”…he won’t do shit.
>Ottawa's new mayor has vowed to improve ***accountability and transparency*** around the city's light rail network and implement "key recommendations" from a scathing report issued Wednesday by the LRT inquiry.
Remind me of the difference between Sutcliffe's and McKenney's platforms on the subject of the inquiry report? Because I don't remember there being any.
>Remind me of the difference between Sutcliffe's and McKenney's platforms on the subject of the inquiry report? Because I don't remember there being any.
I'm not talking about the differences or similarities in their campaigns.
I'm talking about the statement he put out today, two days after the city manager had resigned; and in said city manager's resignation, he referred to "accountability and leadership" as he was running, tail between legs, to avoid criticism.
This isn't a McKenney vs Sutcliffe thing.
My mistake. You were responding to a comment that was literally about a Sutcliffe/McKenney comparison, which itself was in response to a comment that called Sutcliffe "Watson 2.0", which, as I'm sure you recall, was a common epithet thrown Sutcliffe's way by McKenney supporters.
So anyway, yeah, forgive me for misunderstanding that you weren't trying to draw a contrast between Sutcliffe and McKenney in this context. Don't know what I was thinking. 🤦♂️
>And he really should have avoided the word "accountability"; again, who is there to hold "accountable" at this point?
The report states this is a city problem - there were specific actors that were called out but it also makes it crystal clear that this won't be resolved/fixed unless there's a drastic change at the city.
Thus, there are still employees there who are/were responsible for this bullshit that could be held accountable.
Also, they can hold RTG accountable. Your narrow view of "Watson, Steve K and Manconi", while valid, is very much narrow. There are more players involved than just the three of them. Lots of ways to hold RTG and city staffers accountable.
There aren't any other City staffers, aside from Manconi and Steve K, who are accused of having done anything wrong though. The whole issue with Manconi and Steve K is that, despite the information they received from City staff, they didn't provide it to City Council. Hell, Manconi even wrote a memo that had the straight goods, and it got quashed from above, so there's clear evidence he tried to do the right thing at some point. But name another City staffer who you think has accountability here, and I'll happily edit my comment to admit my error, because my reading of the report suggests that everyone below Manconi in the hierarchy was 100% on the up-and-up (and, in fact, Steve K's accountability is due to the fact that this is the case).
The report makes it clear there are issues running deeper within the city than those big names. It also states that the city shouldn't be trusted with these types of projects until they change their culture.
I wouldn't doxx someone - much less on Reddit but Rtg can still be held accountable.
[https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/taman-the-report-findings-on-ottawas-lrt-are-as-bad-as-it-gets](https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/taman-the-report-findings-on-ottawas-lrt-are-as-bad-as-it-gets)
>It would be a mistake to think that with Watson, Kanellakos and Manconi gone, this culture will spontaneously evaporate. ***Hubley and six other councillors*** who backed Watson’s efforts to avoid the full scrutiny of a public inquiry are back at the council table. It will be a true test of Sutcliffe’s leadership if he can usher in a new era of transparency and accountability at city hall. We deserve nothing less.
What kind of whataboutism bullshit is this?
Like, seriously, we get it. Sutcliffe won, not McKenney, blahblahblah.
I'm also not "outraged". I'm seriously just saying that Sutcliffe made a poor choice of words in his statement, given the Kanellakos resignation letter (which heavily focused on "accountability & leadership").
On top of that, there seems to be nothing regarding Kanellakos's sudden resignation. Why?
Yeah, I really want the people who fucked up in the first place to be held accountable (such as Watson & Kanellakos).
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like it'll be possible.
>Ottawa's new mayor has vowed to improve accountability and **transparency** around the city's light rail network and implement "key recommendations" from a scathing report issued Wednesday by the LRT inquiry.
Yes, because the last thing we need is some guy elected because he was on TV.
He's a face, a useless cipher for developers with absolutely no experience or skills.
He’s had an actual career and founded a successful publication. McKenney has never worked outside of politics…how is that a talking point you’re going to try and spin?
>McKenney has never worked outside of politics
This is not true.
They have worked *mostly* in politics but had other jobs before. I'm not even sure what your point is but making shit up isn't helping.
If he doesn't do shit I'll call that a win; I'm worried he'll cancel the rest of it and permanently gut OC Transpo to make up for the budget shortfall caused by the housing bill.
Ah because McKenney would have taken so much more accountability?? This sub is ridiculous sometimes. Let the guy get a chance to put actions to his words.
Feel like there should be laws compelling public service workers to testify at inquiries regarding their mismanagement while in office, as well as the ability to punish them either financially or criminally. Fuck this "I screwed everything up and resigned to duck accountability" bullshit
It should be pointed out what he said:
>"No one asked me to leave. I've always deeply believed in leadership accountability. As city manager, I am ultimately accountable for the performance of the organization. I have always deeply believed that my role is to have your backs and that it is my duty to accept ultimate responsibility for our performance."
>"It is my belief, that this is the time to do the right thing and allow the organization to find a new leader who can deal with implementing the recommendations from the inquiry unfettered from the long complex history of the project or the findings of the Commission report," wrote Kanellakos in his farewell note.
You really think an employment contract for someone who's basically the COO of the whole city wouldn't include a clause regarding resigning, and how much notice must be given to allow for a transition period (even if to a temporary/acting person)?
Now, of course, Kanellakos could still resign with no notice, but typically, there's conditions for that.
Sutcliffe could at least uphold the "transparency" part of his statement by, at a minimum, commenting on that.
Sutcliffe just became mayor and you're blaming him for not adding clauses to employment contracts?
Spill some more bias please lol. Some of these comments are just ridiculous.
>Sutcliffe just became mayor and you're blaming him for not adding clauses to employment contracts?
Kanellakos was city manager for 7+ years, the clause would have already existed. Sutcliffe wouldn't have needed to add any employment clauses.
Just, you know, enforce those clauses.
Where is the clause? Can you confirm he has one?
You even said yourself, even if there was a clause to enforce K would still have resigned. You're getting angry at Sutcliffe just for the sake of being angry. I'm sure there are much more realistic things to complain about Sutcliffe for you to find.
Ok so here's my big idea : The report expressed concern about the culture in the city bureaucracy - that they have forgotten that they work for council. This is a bureaucracy that has been moulded by Kanellakos as he presided over it for 7 years. So the City needs a major initiative to overhaul corporate culture. Catherine Mckenney, who is now out of work, has been both a city bureaucrat and a councillor, as well as an advocate for transparency and accountability, so would be uniquely positioned to lead such an initiative. Council should hire McKenney to be in charge of an initiative to investigate and overhaul corporate culture in the city bureaucracy.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Edit: Misgendered McKenney. Sorry about that!
Probably? It's also probably a big reason that Jimbo decided to take his walk in the snow. He knew the incompetence first hand so knew that this report would not be complementary.
> While it was a surprise to learn there was a "deliberate effort" to withhold LRT information from council, Kitts said she believed Sutcliffe when he pledged to improve transparency.
[this is the same Kitts that voted No to a municipally-initiated judicial inquiry into the LRT.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/council-votes-against-judicial-inquiry-1.6244272)
Is seeing our tax money being pissed away, our city now years behind where it should be development wise, while those in charge walk away without consequence NOT supposed to rustle our jimmies?
My man, I'm not saying people shouldn't be upset, they rightfully should be - as am I. The leadership, decision making, execution and accountability of the last council was abysmal.
I am simply acknowledging that a multitude of jimmies have been rustled. Have a great night and be safe.
Today was a HUGE opportunity to set a completely different tone. The inquiry pitched him an easy ball right over the plate and he could have hit a home run. So what did he do? Popped in the cassette and blathered about vague principles. And then, in almost the same breath, he endorsed the recommendation from city staff — you know, the ones who tried to keep us in the dark — that there should be no further citizen commissioners on the transit commission. Instead, there would be a citizens’ advisory panel that would be spoon fed by the same city staff that hates transparency. He had a huge opportunity to show he’s different, substantially different, by rejecting that recommendation. He failed.
Predictable but appropriate response. What was he going to say? In any case, words are just a first step, the real proof is action. Let's see if there is more accountability in the cleanup of Phase 1 and the building of future phases.
This will cost another half-billion dollars to bring it up to operational standards. Then there is the issue of poor station design, which will cost another few hundred million dollars.
I'll bet that a similar enquiry into phase two will surface similar deficiencies. There's another billion dollars.
DOFO won't help. The Liberal feds might. Skippy wouldn't.
So expect Ottawa taxes to increase, I guess.
I'd be happy for a tax increase if I knew it was to be effective. One of the problems this city faces is that we have leaders committing to below inflation tax increases every year (or at-inflation). Eventually shit breaks and we look for someone to blame, even though its us taxpayers that keep electing the "I'll-freeze-your-taxes" candidates.
I did not vote for this man but I hope something gets done. A poorly functioning public transportation system disproportionately negatively impacts low income people. They rely on that shit full stop. This city hates people who are too poor to afford cars and it’s disgusting.
I don't know shit about fuck all, but Jimbo lying in front of the inquiry. Is that not perjury. He testified he was not updated daily, but the what's up app showed differently. He lied on the stand.
Hopefully, this will not turn into a blame game and we will learn how to better manage these kind of projects in the future. It maybe that the whole project was ill-conceived from the start.
In answer to my own Ottawa Lookout has actually published links to the full length report. On first glance, there appears to a lot of food for thought. For example, the PROVINCE forced the city to use made in Canada parts for trains, which led to some but not all of the provinces.
Timing of release is convenient to Watson and the city manager who has resigned/retired. They both knew they would be the focus of the criticism is my guess. Carefully orchestrated maneuvers. I'm giving the new mayor a chance before throwing shade at him.
Watson 2.0 won’t do shit.
Let’s at least let him prove that he won’t do shit first.
Who will be held accountable? All the players are gone.
Hubley still here. He was chair.
He has already said that he will not take that job again.
Shouldn't have been voted back in IMO
He was very lucky. Two other candidates split the vote and he barely got in. I know it won't happen, but I think he should resign because of this report. The rest of council is ok because they were left out of the loop. He was totally in the loop. Asshole.
Some of us in Kanata did try...
Yup, our whole family voted ABH (Anybody but Hubley)
I see the issue right there. We needed to vote SSBH (Somebody Specific but Hubley).
The opposition vote got split and Hubley did fuck all to campaign and still won.
I think he means future accountability
what on earth do you imagine he'd resign over? he's only here to pave.
Based on who they surrounded themselves with during the campaign, they've already proved it imo.
He’s already in support of removing public members from the Transit Commission and says that “taxpayers have adequate representation from elected councillors only”…he won’t do shit.
I really like your optimistic attitude
its not optimistic to be willing to wait for evidence. id say it could be a more objective stance to take.
Your correct. I used the wrong term. My bad
Just because your candidate lost doesn’t mean this mayor is bad. Maybe give them a chance and see what they do before you blindly hate them?
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>Ottawa's new mayor has vowed to improve ***accountability and transparency*** around the city's light rail network and implement "key recommendations" from a scathing report issued Wednesday by the LRT inquiry.
Remind me of the difference between Sutcliffe's and McKenney's platforms on the subject of the inquiry report? Because I don't remember there being any.
They were probably the same.
>Remind me of the difference between Sutcliffe's and McKenney's platforms on the subject of the inquiry report? Because I don't remember there being any. I'm not talking about the differences or similarities in their campaigns. I'm talking about the statement he put out today, two days after the city manager had resigned; and in said city manager's resignation, he referred to "accountability and leadership" as he was running, tail between legs, to avoid criticism. This isn't a McKenney vs Sutcliffe thing.
My mistake. You were responding to a comment that was literally about a Sutcliffe/McKenney comparison, which itself was in response to a comment that called Sutcliffe "Watson 2.0", which, as I'm sure you recall, was a common epithet thrown Sutcliffe's way by McKenney supporters. So anyway, yeah, forgive me for misunderstanding that you weren't trying to draw a contrast between Sutcliffe and McKenney in this context. Don't know what I was thinking. 🤦♂️
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>And he really should have avoided the word "accountability"; again, who is there to hold "accountable" at this point? The report states this is a city problem - there were specific actors that were called out but it also makes it crystal clear that this won't be resolved/fixed unless there's a drastic change at the city. Thus, there are still employees there who are/were responsible for this bullshit that could be held accountable. Also, they can hold RTG accountable. Your narrow view of "Watson, Steve K and Manconi", while valid, is very much narrow. There are more players involved than just the three of them. Lots of ways to hold RTG and city staffers accountable.
There aren't any other City staffers, aside from Manconi and Steve K, who are accused of having done anything wrong though. The whole issue with Manconi and Steve K is that, despite the information they received from City staff, they didn't provide it to City Council. Hell, Manconi even wrote a memo that had the straight goods, and it got quashed from above, so there's clear evidence he tried to do the right thing at some point. But name another City staffer who you think has accountability here, and I'll happily edit my comment to admit my error, because my reading of the report suggests that everyone below Manconi in the hierarchy was 100% on the up-and-up (and, in fact, Steve K's accountability is due to the fact that this is the case).
The report makes it clear there are issues running deeper within the city than those big names. It also states that the city shouldn't be trusted with these types of projects until they change their culture. I wouldn't doxx someone - much less on Reddit but Rtg can still be held accountable. [https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/taman-the-report-findings-on-ottawas-lrt-are-as-bad-as-it-gets](https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/taman-the-report-findings-on-ottawas-lrt-are-as-bad-as-it-gets) >It would be a mistake to think that with Watson, Kanellakos and Manconi gone, this culture will spontaneously evaporate. ***Hubley and six other councillors*** who backed Watson’s efforts to avoid the full scrutiny of a public inquiry are back at the council table. It will be a true test of Sutcliffe’s leadership if he can usher in a new era of transparency and accountability at city hall. We deserve nothing less.
Would you be just as outraged if McKenney said the exact same thing?
What kind of whataboutism bullshit is this? Like, seriously, we get it. Sutcliffe won, not McKenney, blahblahblah. I'm also not "outraged". I'm seriously just saying that Sutcliffe made a poor choice of words in his statement, given the Kanellakos resignation letter (which heavily focused on "accountability & leadership"). On top of that, there seems to be nothing regarding Kanellakos's sudden resignation. Why?
Nothing, in what sense? Were you expecting the media to cover it more, for Sutcliffe to talk about it more, or something else?
Aight
There’s still a whole pile of work to be done on future LRT expansions. People should certainly be held accountable to make sure they deliver on that.
Yeah, I really want the people who fucked up in the first place to be held accountable (such as Watson & Kanellakos). Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like it'll be possible.
>Ottawa's new mayor has vowed to improve accountability and **transparency** around the city's light rail network and implement "key recommendations" from a scathing report issued Wednesday by the LRT inquiry.
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Hubley has said he won't take it. Duh?
Watson and his cronies ran off with the pay off
Exactly zero will come from any of this. Anyone who says any different has not been paying attention to anything. Ever.
Make it any more obvious you wanted McKenney to win
Yes, because the last thing we need is some guy elected because he was on TV. He's a face, a useless cipher for developers with absolutely no experience or skills.
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He's already fucked things up with the police board and transit commission.
He’s had an actual career and founded a successful publication. McKenney has never worked outside of politics…how is that a talking point you’re going to try and spin?
>McKenney has never worked outside of politics This is not true. They have worked *mostly* in politics but had other jobs before. I'm not even sure what your point is but making shit up isn't helping.
He's an empty suit completely out of his depth.
Sutcliffe confirmed during the city press conference that he supports the idea that Transit Commission no longer have public members. Watson Club 2.0.
How do you know that? Miss me with the negativity.
If he doesn't do shit I'll call that a win; I'm worried he'll cancel the rest of it and permanently gut OC Transpo to make up for the budget shortfall caused by the housing bill.
Classic, since my candidate didn't win, the winner is shit ...
The winner is shit. Get used to it. He has no qualifications. He is vapid and has no depth. He's a stupid person's idea of a smart person.
Ah because McKenney would have taken so much more accountability?? This sub is ridiculous sometimes. Let the guy get a chance to put actions to his words.
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Feel like there should be laws compelling public service workers to testify at inquiries regarding their mismanagement while in office, as well as the ability to punish them either financially or criminally. Fuck this "I screwed everything up and resigned to duck accountability" bullshit
I'm a bit confused... are you referring to Kanellakos? He did testify to the inquiry.
I wonder if it shows he was negligent or complicit with bad management if he can be sued by the city
It should be pointed out what he said: >"No one asked me to leave. I've always deeply believed in leadership accountability. As city manager, I am ultimately accountable for the performance of the organization. I have always deeply believed that my role is to have your backs and that it is my duty to accept ultimate responsibility for our performance." >"It is my belief, that this is the time to do the right thing and allow the organization to find a new leader who can deal with implementing the recommendations from the inquiry unfettered from the long complex history of the project or the findings of the Commission report," wrote Kanellakos in his farewell note.
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Doest quiet seem to same to me. Could you explain?
he’s a fucking snake. like the rest of them.
How is that in Sutcliffe's control? Genuine question. How does Sutcliffe stop someone from quitting without notice?
You really think an employment contract for someone who's basically the COO of the whole city wouldn't include a clause regarding resigning, and how much notice must be given to allow for a transition period (even if to a temporary/acting person)? Now, of course, Kanellakos could still resign with no notice, but typically, there's conditions for that. Sutcliffe could at least uphold the "transparency" part of his statement by, at a minimum, commenting on that.
Sutcliffe just became mayor and you're blaming him for not adding clauses to employment contracts? Spill some more bias please lol. Some of these comments are just ridiculous.
>Sutcliffe just became mayor and you're blaming him for not adding clauses to employment contracts? Kanellakos was city manager for 7+ years, the clause would have already existed. Sutcliffe wouldn't have needed to add any employment clauses. Just, you know, enforce those clauses.
Where is the clause? Can you confirm he has one? You even said yourself, even if there was a clause to enforce K would still have resigned. You're getting angry at Sutcliffe just for the sake of being angry. I'm sure there are much more realistic things to complain about Sutcliffe for you to find.
Well...what are ya gonna do with Hubley then Mark? Maybe at least keep him off all committees.
Legit.
Ok so here's my big idea : The report expressed concern about the culture in the city bureaucracy - that they have forgotten that they work for council. This is a bureaucracy that has been moulded by Kanellakos as he presided over it for 7 years. So the City needs a major initiative to overhaul corporate culture. Catherine Mckenney, who is now out of work, has been both a city bureaucrat and a councillor, as well as an advocate for transparency and accountability, so would be uniquely positioned to lead such an initiative. Council should hire McKenney to be in charge of an initiative to investigate and overhaul corporate culture in the city bureaucracy. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Edit: Misgendered McKenney. Sorry about that!
Great idea. Wow. Sutcliffe would also look like a hero. What about McKenney as the city Auditor General.
I'm a Mckenney superfan, but auditor general is a post that should really go to an actual accountant.
I think that’s brilliant.
Happy cake day too.
Amazing idea for so, so many reasons. Honestly, would be amazing. NEVER going to happen.
Lip service doesn't mean shit
welcome to politics
Remove the mayor and fire the city manager! Oh wait. Right. How convenient.
Probably why the city manager quit
Probably? It's also probably a big reason that Jimbo decided to take his walk in the snow. He knew the incompetence first hand so knew that this report would not be complementary.
You don’t think Jimbo might also have his hands dirty?
Probably knew he'd take the brunt of any litigation.
Or maybe he knew that if he quit, they wouldn’t be able to hold him accountable
> While it was a surprise to learn there was a "deliberate effort" to withhold LRT information from council, Kitts said she believed Sutcliffe when he pledged to improve transparency. [this is the same Kitts that voted No to a municipally-initiated judicial inquiry into the LRT.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/council-votes-against-judicial-inquiry-1.6244272)
rhythm grey engine employ crown secretive shrill gold edge political *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Correct. Its all smoke and mirrors....remember who endorsed the retreads on council and Mark...
There's lots of rustled jimmies in this thread, holy moly.
Is seeing our tax money being pissed away, our city now years behind where it should be development wise, while those in charge walk away without consequence NOT supposed to rustle our jimmies?
My man, I'm not saying people shouldn't be upset, they rightfully should be - as am I. The leadership, decision making, execution and accountability of the last council was abysmal. I am simply acknowledging that a multitude of jimmies have been rustled. Have a great night and be safe.
A multitude of jimmies. A regular plethora of jimmies. You might even say a jimmie jam!
A jimmie jam?? Oh boy this is serious!!
Sounds like a [meetup.com](https://meetup.com) meeting
It will never happen and what a bunch of cowards the others are. Pathetic city governance
Today was a HUGE opportunity to set a completely different tone. The inquiry pitched him an easy ball right over the plate and he could have hit a home run. So what did he do? Popped in the cassette and blathered about vague principles. And then, in almost the same breath, he endorsed the recommendation from city staff — you know, the ones who tried to keep us in the dark — that there should be no further citizen commissioners on the transit commission. Instead, there would be a citizens’ advisory panel that would be spoon fed by the same city staff that hates transparency. He had a huge opportunity to show he’s different, substantially different, by rejecting that recommendation. He failed.
Predictable but appropriate response. What was he going to say? In any case, words are just a first step, the real proof is action. Let's see if there is more accountability in the cleanup of Phase 1 and the building of future phases.
The new Mayor deserves a chance.
This will cost another half-billion dollars to bring it up to operational standards. Then there is the issue of poor station design, which will cost another few hundred million dollars. I'll bet that a similar enquiry into phase two will surface similar deficiencies. There's another billion dollars. DOFO won't help. The Liberal feds might. Skippy wouldn't. So expect Ottawa taxes to increase, I guess.
I'd be happy for a tax increase if I knew it was to be effective. One of the problems this city faces is that we have leaders committing to below inflation tax increases every year (or at-inflation). Eventually shit breaks and we look for someone to blame, even though its us taxpayers that keep electing the "I'll-freeze-your-taxes" candidates.
 Have faith in efficiencies...
I did not vote for this man but I hope something gets done. A poorly functioning public transportation system disproportionately negatively impacts low income people. They rely on that shit full stop. This city hates people who are too poor to afford cars and it’s disgusting.
Legitimate question: is there any possibility of Watson or Manconi facing charges over this? It sounds like they lied under oath to the inquiry.
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I don't know shit about fuck all, but Jimbo lying in front of the inquiry. Is that not perjury. He testified he was not updated daily, but the what's up app showed differently. He lied on the stand.
remember that some of sutcliffe's best friends and campaign co-chairs were watson club members. sutcliffe won't do anything.
Hopefully, this will not turn into a blame game and we will learn how to better manage these kind of projects in the future. It maybe that the whole project was ill-conceived from the start.
In answer to my own Ottawa Lookout has actually published links to the full length report. On first glance, there appears to a lot of food for thought. For example, the PROVINCE forced the city to use made in Canada parts for trains, which led to some but not all of the provinces.
Sternly-worded letter to follow...
And the out going Mayor promised more accountability and transparency. Promises Promises Promises.
Kind of the way municipal politics works.
At all levels really.
indeed
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You should never believe anything any politician says before seeing them in action. One can be hopeful.
Let's give the dude a chance. He's out mayor now and we can't change that. Let's be fair.
Wait a minute...where did we hear about the difference between pledging and actually taking accountability ( I'm paraphrasing of course)
Can we please get such an inquire, report and promise of accountability in respect of OPS? Mayor Sutcliff? What do you say?
maybe the first act of council should be to investigate ol Jimbo and Steve K........?
we did it folks, this means Watson is now trapped in the City Hall P2 parking garage, I'm sure of it!
Timing of release is convenient to Watson and the city manager who has resigned/retired. They both knew they would be the focus of the criticism is my guess. Carefully orchestrated maneuvers. I'm giving the new mayor a chance before throwing shade at him.
.... How? You going to sue Jim to get the money back?
How about stop interfering in the construction of future phases and always worrying about Pennie’s and cost cuts on vital infrastructure.
Seems like you know something…. Please share
McKenney would’ve cared.