Archive for October, 2008



truth v. manners

October 8, 2008

[This is a note I wrote while my website was offline. In the interest of openness and transparency, I'm posting it now.] 

Sometimes it seems manners are more important than truth. 

Nobody has yet told me that it’s a good idea to walk in the middle of the road. Nobody has told me that it’s a good idea to ignore safety signs. Nobody is actually arguing that what I said is incorrect. Some are offended that I dared say it at all. Others were offended by my insensitive language — the lack of manners in the words I used. And on that, I agree. 


accountability demonstrated

I am slowly restoring this website after the webserver I had contracted crashed and lost my files. I’ve been able to recover most of it.

Someone told me how to find ghosts of my pages floating around of the Internet. I’ve been copying and pasting them back onto this site. 

Unfortunately, it seems some of the best parts are gone. My notes from brilliant lectures at the 2007 UBCM conference and Bliss Brown workshop could not be found. They were incredibly inspiring and pivotal for me – their presentations changed my opinions on a number of issues. I wanted to share those to show everyone how and why some of my ideas or priorities have changed. 

I believe this website is also an important part of my accountability as an elected representative. Sharing my thoughts and the information I have considered is one way for me to be transparent in my decision-making. It is distressing to me that some of those posts can no longer be accessed, especially since they discuss things that have had a profound impact on my perspectives. 

However, I am doing my best to put everything back as close as possible to the way it was before. The only thing that might not be exactly the same is the time stamp, but I am not editing or omitting any text. I’ll admit, it is tempting to skip or delete some, but I believe it’s important to be open about my growth and the evolution of my opinions.

Dedication to transparency and accountability isn’t something that should be feigned during elections. It should be a perpetual element of public duty. I hope this website demonstrates my commitment to that principle.