I have ZERO tolerance for bullies, cheats, and liars.
Councillor Vander Doelen recently insulted residents and then went on to insult fellow councillors at the March 21st Regular Council meeting calling voters who want to vote in-person Luddites. Councillor Vander Doelen then went on to say that councillors who did not agree with him are unworldly. The condescension in his tone was palpable. I called point of order 4 times, I was yelled at by the current mayor and then in the following meeting he said in council he, “did not hear me”… go to the link below, watch, and decide for yourself.
After Watching a Recent Council Meeting, a Ward 3 Resident Sent the Following Article to Local Media:
Letter to the Editor
Harrow News:
The Town of Essex public meetings continue to disappoint, anger, and sadden me.
The latest in the ever-growing examples of dysfunction in our municipal government is exemplified to the regular Town of Essex council meeting held March 21, 2022.
While discussing the merits of internet voting, through sticking with facts and working on a solution to his self-proclaimed solution to last election’s ‘dismal turnout’, Councillor Vander Doelen chose to demean his fellow councillors and constituents who were not in favour of his position on the matter.
Councillor Vander Doelen referred to those who do not ascribe to his point of view as ‘Luddites’.
Many watching this meeting went scrambling for their devices to search the meaning which yielded a couple of connotations. One defined it as “a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs.”
Clearly, not applicable.
The other connotation, noted as ‘derogatory’ and defined ‘Luddite’ as “A person opposed to new technology or ways of working”.
The catchy, yet disparaging, moniker stuck like glue in the heads of many.
Councillor Vander Doelen succeeded in his quest by giving those against his position an unkind label by using an easy to remember pejorative name.
A textbook example of propaganda . . .the prattling of biased, demeaning and purposefully misleading information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
Propaganda is the new way of the world, thanks predominantly to the political cesspool south of our border. Councillor Vander Doelen latched on to that like a spring-hungry pickerel on a shiny lure.
It is also quite presumptive of Councillor Vander Doelen to claim those who don’t hoist his ‘internet voting’ banner are somehow opposed to technology and this supposed ‘new way of working’.
Resistance to change ranks low on this constituents list of reasons to not jump hastily into the foray of internet voting.
Ever had your cell phone ‘hacked’ or ‘cloned’? What about computer ‘hacking’ or ‘identity theft’? What about the plethora of warnings we’re getting about being extra cautious during these tumultuous times relative to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Who’s had to go through the hassle of replacing a credit card because it was hijacked while making an ‘on-line’ purchase?
What about the integrity of the voting process?
That one is as real as it gets for us in the Town of Essex.
Reviewing the aforementioned derogatory definition of ‘Luddite’, I failed to see any reference to ‘exercising caution’, something Councillor Vander Doelen ought reasonably to have practiced before blurting out yet another unsavory comment about the constituents who pay his councillor’s salary.
Face it, Councillor Vander Doelen is a bully. It doesn’t take much research to find comments about ‘saving’ Colchester residents from themselves and negative racial comments regarding COVID-19.
Just plain old bullying.
Typically, those who bully look to gain a feeling of power, purpose, and control. They practice their emotional abuse to intimidate, subjugate, demean, punish, or isolate others through degradation, humiliation, or fear. Unchecked, it slowly erodes the victims’ sense of self-worth, self-confidence, security, and trust in themselves and others. It infects organizations in which it is allowed to fester to the point of dysfunction.
When Councillor Bondy called a ‘point of order’ with respect to Councillor Vander Doelen’s use of the aforementioned ‘derogatory’ comment about fellow councillors and constituents, it fell on deaf ears. In fact, it was Councillor Bondy who was admonished and ordered to yield the floor.
That’s a blatant disregard for the rules of order designed to maintain decorum in such venues.
A ‘point of order’ can be called by any councillor. When done, the meeting comes to a full stop. It is then the chair’s responsibility to make a binding decision on the called point of order based upon the rules at hand.
The Town of Essex has a code of conduct which stipulates, among many other things, that “Council Members will . . . treat each other and others with respect at all times, which includes not using derogatory language, respecting the rights of other people, treating people with courtesy, and recognizing the different roles others play in local government decision-making.”
Despite being in clear black and white, the chair, Mayor Meloche, failed to do anything about it and the rest of council stood by and allowed the transgression. The unwillingness to respond is proof-positive the tactics of Councillor Vander Doelen and others of his ilk have taken root as this isn’t the first occurrence of this type of behavior. Unfortunately, history being what it is, it won’t be the last.
What is further appalling is that it would appear much of the bullying is gender-based. None of the male councillors are subject to the feigned shock, eye-rolling, trolling comments and disrespect during legitimate address.
It is 2022, councillors. Time to step up and do your jobs with grace and dignity as any reasonable person knows that bullying and gender-based bias is unacceptable.
Those who do not are clearly the ones unwilling to accept the ‘new ways’ of the world, be it in the workplace or otherwise.
Maybe, Councillor Vander Doelen, you may want to hop on that newfangled internet and look up ‘The Pot and the Kettle’.
Seems more than appropriate in this regard. Sincerely,
Anthony Charles ‘Chuck’ Sinkevitch Ward 3 Colchester, Ontario
At the 1:19 min mark I called Point of Order- I was then yelled at and the Point of Order not acknowledged.
Councillor Steve Bjorkman has called ‘point of order’ many times in the past and each one of his points of order have been acknowledged… and I was yelled at. It is time for equal treatment. You deserve better and so do I.
At the start of the next Regular Council Meeting, April 4th, the Mayor claimed to have not heard me and then half apologized saying we need to be more tolerant. How about we need to be more civil?
Let’s not throw decorum out the window… we deserve to be treated with respect and acknowledged equally.
Listen and decide for yourself if you think he heard me or not around the 1:19 minute mark.