Conservative Doc O'Keefe, the St. John's mayor, wasn't trying to avoid politicizing a portion of the meeting at city hall on Monday night as your humble e-scribbler originally thought.
Turns out the loyal Connie and some of his fellow councilors - also long-time Connies of the federal and provincial variety - were trying to make a political attack on the Liberal Party's Green Shift.
They were doing so by pretending to be concerned about the cost of the Liberals' environmental policy to taxpayers on things like public transit.
Yes, the boys who helped bring you the Coombs-Wells Memorial Money Pit, a.k.a St. John's Sports and Entertainment and the Mile One Stadium, have developed a sudden, overwhelming concern for the taxpayer's bank balance.
Let's just take a second while you catch your breath and stop laughing.
Someone may have to get Nan a wee medicinal dram. The shock of finding out Keith Coombs, Art Puddister and Doc O'Keefe don't want to piss her pension cheque down the nearest toilet is likely to give her the vapours.
According to O'Keefe, city staff figure the Green Shift will cost the city an extra $800,000 in 2012.
To put that in perspective, the annual city budget is currently over $175 million. Over the past two years O'Keefe and his fellows at city hall boosted the subsidy to the Mile One money pit by more than double the extra 800K.
In making his nakedly partisan attack on the Green Shift, O'Keefe ignored the other aspects of the Liberal plan including federal cash for improvements to public infrastructure, public transit and energy efficiency for homes and buildings.
To really put this in perspective, O'Keefe is one of the crew that agitated for the government gasoline price fixing scheme currently screwing citizens of the province.
His sudden concern for taxpayers is a bit of a stretch.
Councilor Tom Hann - bless his heart - pointed that out to O'Keefe. The former provincial Liberal candidate went a little gaga by dragging in the Connie Family feud but on the Green Shift part, Hann was spot on.
"I don't think we need to get into the political posturizing [sic]. I'm trying to keep this non-political," O'Keefe said.
Pull the other one, it's got bells on, Doc.
The surest way to cut down greenhouse gases in this city would be to find a way to silence the likes of Coombs, O'Keefe, Puddister and some of the others at city hall.
Sadly, that isn't likely to happen any time soon, let alone soon enough.
-srbp-
