Thread by @CameronKroetsch

I think that the Mayor's statement from yesterday is a perfect way to encapsulate some of the things that I hope the new Council will do away with. 🧵 #HamOnt

Paragraph 3 is where it starts to get problematic. By thanking "all of the candidates who put their names and ideas forward" the Mayor invites us to pay respect to candidates, like Paul Fromm, and their ideas, like Fromm's widely-held white supremacist views. Nope.

It cannot continue to be ok to offer up blanket statements of civility. This is not a communications strategy. It's parroting, recycling, and paraphrasing from a long-out-of-date playbook.

Fromm's work does not have "lasting positive impacts" and is not "strengthening our democracy". There's no reason why the Mayor cannot be much clearer. It's a culture of communicating in a tone of "wins" and "positivity" that has led us here. It has to stop.

Paragraph 4 is also patently false and ridiculous. By all accounts this election was handled terribly. Don't want to say something "negative" or "critical" about staff? Cool. But be honest about what happened without mentioning them. Definitely don't gaslight everyone.

By the way, I think it was nice of the Mayor to congratulate the Mayor-Elect and acknowledge her historic victory. That's important, but he should have left it there and focused on that alone.

I'll leave it there. Overall, just really looking forward to a Mayor who communicates clearly, avoid platitudes and generalizations, and will treat Hamiltonians with the respect they deserve. I am hopeful that Mayor-Elect Horwath will do that work and make us all proud.

*widely-known