‘Very real risk’

Dear Editor:

Re: And then there were five, July 30.

The editorial rightly puts a focus on Centre Wellington mayoral candidate Bronwynne Wilton’s conflict of interest when it says “there is no room in this conversation for candidates that have a conflict of interest inhibiting their ability to speak on every significant development issue.”

Wilton’s spouse is a partner in a planning firm that represents clients in the township and the County of Wellington. Wilton tried to address the conflict early on, in a Facebook post stating past conflicts had properly been declared and future conflicts would be dealt with the same way. 

This explanation, in my view, falls short of the complexity of the role of the mayor, both inside and outside of council chambers, as head of council, to connect with the province, to deal with developers, to represent the interests of the municipality. 

Certainly any planning initiatives would be scrutinized with the additional consideration of possible preferential treatment. What about the possibility of unhappy developers challenging the municipality on this basis? Even if it could ultimately be defended, the taxpayers would bear the financial burden of such litigation. 

In addition, there is the issue of the lost vote on both township and county council if a formal conflict had to be declared. In this time of increasingly litigious challenges, why would the community take the risk? Do we want the possibility of four years of potential challenges based on a conflict that is ongoing and can be used in many ways against the township at the cost,  both financial and reputational, of the community?

In my view, with other qualified candidates to choose from, any possible good would be outweighed by the very real risk.

Anthea Fisher,
Centre Wellington