Editor's Note - interesting that comments came from City Councillors Laurie Walters, Sue Zacharias and Geoff Bourdon but not Councillors Tom Barr, Surinderpal Rathor and Natalie Hebert and I personally find it very curious as to why these Councillors were not quoted, even after they were asked for a quote...
UPDATE - The City's Communications Officer (Ken MacInnis) states to me, via email, Friday evening (April 1st at 8:52pm) that Councillors Hebert, Rathor and Barr did not respond to a request for a quote. But I would argue better to delay the press release and ensure that all City Councillors get quoted rather than rushing with quotes with the Mayor and only 3 City Councillors as the public may wonder why the 3 other Councillors were not quoted
UPDATE #2 - Councillor SPS Rathor informs me that he did respond to the request for a quote from the City's Communications Officer but he isn't sure why the quote was not included in the City's Press Release last Friday
Also - I continually find it disappointing that we (City of Williams Lake) are always behind the City of Quesnel when responding to issues. Seems Mayor Cook and her staff deeply believe in reactive, rather than, proactive communications like the City of Quesnel believes in
Williams Lake City Council would like to respond the recent MoneySense.ca ranking of Canadian cities, which places Williams Lake 177 out of 180.
"This ranking is not a true or accurate reflection of the quality of life in our city," says Mayor Kerry Cook. "Williams Lake is a vibrant and diverse city and home to a compassionate and active community."
Cook also appreciated that MoneySense.ca did a follow up story on Williams Lake, which highlights successes and bright spots in the community, such as the reduction of crime, improved relationships with First Nations, reasonable house prices, higher than average household income and discretionary income, rather than only publish the ranking based on weighted indicators. In 2010, the City challenged the MoneySense editors to come to Williams Lake themselves to see why people choose to live and work here.
"This has always been a community that has worked together, and the efforts of the residents, business owners, community groups, businesses, and government agencies over the past several years have paid off – in reducing crime, attracting visitors and residents to the city, and adding to our quality of life," Mayor Cook says. "Here in Williams Lake, we enjoy natural beauty, warm hospitality, and the passion and vibrancy of our people."
Some thoughts from City Councillors on what they think makes Williams Lake a wonderful community:
Councillor Geoff Bourdon:
I like that I can have a specialized profession and still take advantage of a stress free lifestyle. I have a 10-minute commute and I live on the outskirts of the City.
Councillor Laurie Walters:
What makes Williams Lake great is the youth in our community. They are our future movers and shakers. New to our city and so exciting is the Junior Council, which will be the voice of the new generation.
Councillor Sue Zacharias:
I have lived in Williams Lake for 30 years and hail originally from Vancouver. We raised our family in Williams Lake and were able to own a home, have good jobs, and put our kids in all sorts of sports. We even owned horses. You could never enjoy all that in bigger cities because of the expense. I live ten minutes from downtown Williams Lake and see moose, deer, coyotes and eagles almost weekly in my backyard. The quality of life here is exceptional. There are many flights out to Vancouver everyday and an hour to the big city. Every time I return from a trip away I am humbled by the beauty of my surroundings and the amazingly genuine, caring and honest people of Williams Lake.
The article on Williams Lake can be found on the City of Williams Lake website at www.williamslake.ca in the What’s New section, and at www.moneysense.ca/2011/03/28/struggling-cities-fight-back/
7 comments:
Did anyone ask the City or Mayor Cook why the other Councillors were not included in the quote? It would seem that in a story this simple and with the City recently hiring a Communications Coordinator the story would have been held off until all could be quoted or a footnote be include as to why they were not.
I have heard that Mayor Cook gets personal against people who slight her and this could certainly be perceived as an example. This also seems to be a way to political support the campaigns of those she wants to be successful when she runs again. Rather abusive of power one would think.
All you reporters out there ask these questions and report the answers. This also looks very bad on the Communications Coordinator for releasing an incomplete article ...however I would bet it isn't his fault.
Interesting. Quesnel never issued a press release on Moneysense....so how can WL be behind Quesnel?
Thanks for your comments...
Anonymous at 1:02pm:
Yes - it is true that the City of Quesnel "did not" release a formal press release however they were on the radio stating their official position on the 2011 MoneySense Poll on Thursday, March 31st and the City of Williams Lake did not respond until Friday, April 1st and in my books - that says Williams Lake responded "after" Quesnel did and as I've said before - this is not the first time that this has happened
Commment # 2 I am not sure if you have taken notice but the City of Williams Lake generally takes one to two days if not more to respond to anything. It takes time to doctor reports. First there must be a behind close door meeting, then there must be a few drafts of "facts and quotes", then a person to blame must be selected..and then it is released.
You may think I am being sarcastic but go back to when the "lack of communication" occurred during the wildfire season. It was stated by the CAO that communication was halted due to the wildfires but in actuality the communication stopped well before that...in fact it stopped almost three weeks prior to the fires breaking out.No one thought to challenge the comments, because we have grown accustomed to how everyone accepts the mistruths thrown out there by Her Whorship. The result in this case was ....a Communications Coordinator was hired even thought one was just release due to re=struturing (really because she didn'tfit the Mayor's corporate image). Can anyone say CYA.
Can anyone say "Conspiracy Theorist"? Holy cow.....some people's imagination...LOL!
Steve..wondering if you noticed you criticize the City for being behind on responding but also say it is better to delay than rush out without quotes from all Councilors. Seems quite contradictory. Is it possible the City was trying to repsond quickly and couldn't wait for quotes from a few Councillors who may have been unavailable due to other circumstances?? Just asking??
Anonymous at 11:35pm...
The Moneysense story was out Wednesday and certainly - the City could have easily if it wanted to quote "every" member of Williams Lake Council had everything lined up for Friday and if you see my statement on this as "contradictory" - that' s fine, it may appear that way however the City of Quesnel has the same amount of Staff Williams Lake does and yet they had their response to the Moneysense Poll, through Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom on Thursday.
Finally - The City of Williams Lake's press release on the MoneySense Poll should have had the same answer that Quesnel's did. Quote only the Mayor and not the Councillors, otherwise you run into difficulties in case not all 6Councillors can be reached and the public could wonder - why Councillor "x" wasn't quote - it is:
a) Councillor "x" couldn't be reasonably reached in time
b) Is the Mayor playing political games with their "opponents" on Council...? Remember - Mayor Cook doesn't have real reason to love either Councillor Barr or Rathor at the moment
Again - you need to have a consistent public communications policy out of Williams Lake City Hall and there really isn't one to date. Maybe with the next Council, post-November ...
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