To the Editor;
In reference to Turning up the heat, (Amherst Daily News, May 26), Ernie Fage's silence on the future of the county jail, while sitting as an Independent, begs the question - what did he have to say about it while he was still in the Tory caucus, and in particular being in cabinet during the time in question?
To say that he didn't know about it, when the evidence shows clearly that it was a done deal as far back as 2007, is about equal to him forgetting to tell the cabinet about the Potatogate fiasco. His excuse that he spoke to Justice Minister Clarke, and was told that no decision had been made, is really grasping at straws. Why would any cabinet minister tell a loose cannon Independent anything that is privy to cabinet only? Mr. Fage was certainly fishing in the wrong hole, and unlike his federal counterpart Bill Casey, who got as much done as an Independent in dealing with his constituency agenda as he did when he sat with the government, Fage has managed to alienate both the government and opposition with his whining and excuse making.
Of course, as always, he will win the sympathy vote, the same misdirected vote that kept the federal riding devoid of meaningful representation for 32 years up until a few years ago. Aside from that dangerous fringe, why would practical-minded voters elect a man who has been nothing more than a rubber stamp, whose biggest achievement was to become an embarrassment to the government? In fact his admission that he voted with the government on bad legislation because he still considered himself a Tory, makes him the classic rubber stamp.
There is more to political representation than covering off a seat in the legislature and having a well-rehearsed staff. Progressive ridings hope to elect someone with new ideas; someone who has the constituents at heart, not someone who endorses whatever the government thinks we should have.
John G. McKay, Amherst
