Which P.A. city councillors will still be at the table following the Nov.9 election? (File photo-Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff) 

By Glenn Hicks

making a choice

The race for Prince Albert City Council Part 1 – dysfunction and histrionics

Oct 5, 2020 | 7:00 AM

OPINION: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the writer of this editorial do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of paNOW or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

The municipal election is five weeks away and the period for candidate nominations closes in just a few days – at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. With campaigning set to get into full swing paNOW News Director Glenn Hicks goes over some familiar territory and the latest example of dysfunction at Prince Albert council.

Imagine you’re stuck in a room with eight other people, many of whom you can’t stand. You’re only a few metres apart, there’s often a lack of civility, voices become raised, tempers invariably fray, and there’s no escape for hours on end. Sounds awful doesn’t it?

Yet this is a situation entirely of Prince Albert city council’s own making. And what’s remarkable is they’re all eager for more. The entire line-up of what their most veteran member, Don Cody, has admitted is a ‘dysfunctional’ bunch, is seeking a mandate from the electorate to keep going. That would indicate they all think they’re doing a good job.

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While councillor Dennis Nowoselsky’s mayoral bid will guarantee at least one seat becomes vacant, every player in these sometimes pantomime-like proceedings, is seeking re-election. They want to keep breathing the poisoned air they have created around a table that often pits the same victorious five against the same vanquished four. Only this council could rejoice the arrival of COVID in that the resulting social restrictions meant they didn’t all have to sit in the same room together; and we saw what a fiasco that caused. To say this council is sharply divided would be an understatement. There are more fault lines in the room than a southern Saskatchewan fracking operation. Yet it’s possible, following election day on Nov.9, eight of this group could be returned to office.

P.A. city council’s disdain, dislike, and distrust for each other has been evident at various times, but there’s one particular dynamic around this tense and tetchy table that never fails to capture the imagination and offers a wonderfully entertaining sidebar for anyone who may feel like nodding off during proceedings: Dennis Ogrodnick v Evert Botha.

It’s the elephant in the room that, when it surfaces, can plough through the council chamber like a scene from Jumanji, the movie based on a children’s book. Its origins are in that infamous social media post, and the roots of their conflict now run as deep as a cottonwood on the banks of the North Saskatchewan.

Here is the gist of Botha and Ogrodnick’s fascinating floral two-part exchange which played out at a recent meeting.

Scene One

[Botha is explaining some of the reasons why he did not support the passing of the city budget, including spending $75,000 on floral displays for the beautification of the city’s entrance points]

Botha: I’m not going to mention the flowers on the budget but that was one of the reasons as well …

[He is interrupted by an angry Ogrodnick who jumps to his feet]

Ogrodnick: There was nothing about flowers, it was to beautify our entrances! That’s what the $75,000 was for .. they keep slandering that particular part of that budget saying it was for flowers , it was not. [He becomes more agitated and raises his voice]. Let’s get the facts straight instead of muddling [sic] the waters!

[Botha feigns acquiesence before taking another irresistible jab]

Botha: So, $75,000 on the beautification of entranceways to the city… a lot of that has totally been on flowers …

[An even more irate Ogrodnick stands up and interrupts again as Mayor Dionne tries to keep order]

Ogrodnick: …no, that was not for flowers, it was for beautification of entrances, and that councillor knows, and he’s muddling [sic] the waters!

Dionne: I know, he’s just trying to aggravate. Please let him [Botha] finish.

Scene Two [a little later in the discussion]

[Councillor Botha takes issue with being interrupted with what appears to be cynical laughter among some of his council colleagues when he declares he is “fully in favour” of the new recreation and aquatic centre project]

Botha: I’m just going to repeat that, because I wasn’t given an opportunity to finish without any giggles from the gallery.

[Ogrodnick again back on his feet interrupting Botha as Dionne tries to maintain order]

Ogrodnick: ..I am not part of the gallery! I’m a councillor and I should be respected by my fellow councillor and not be called part of the gallery Mr. Mayor!

Dionne: I stand with him [Ogrodnick]

(Here are the audio extracts of the above exchanges)

–

The above outburst is not unique; all councillors have, to varying degrees, played a role in transforming what should be a place of decent, honest and mature debate on behalf of the taxpayer, into a cauldron of personal gripe. Sometimes it’s blatant and sometimes it’s disguised, nearly always thinly. Each councillor must surely know their own faults and missteps, their impatience, intolerance, sprinkled with the occasional lapses of judgement on social media. Oh, and don’t forget to throw in some legal action and ethics violations that prompted one of the great media quotes of 2019.

To be fair, despite this extraordinary behaviour, council has made progress on some of the big ticket items and issues, as Dionne is keen to point out. But imagine what more could be achieved if councillors didn’t spend so much time trying to conjure up ways of getting under each other’s skin?

There is no doubt very challenging years lie ahead as this city, along with every other one on the planet, grapples with the tough financial decisions that will come in the continuing and post-COVID world. As a group, is this council up to it?

That’s for the public to decide.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this editorial series when paNOW News Director Glenn Hicks ponders some serious questions as we consider our election contenders.

For all things election – municipal and provincial – head to our special election section.

–

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow