Alexandra Bonham - Community Driven

Councillor Ron Weese, President of Sport Aurora, has sat at the Council table for 3 years now - and yet, he is still acting like he doesn't understand Town of Aurora procedures, policies, and bylaws.

Councillor Weese himself sits on the board of a Cultural Partner - the Aurora Cultural Centre (ACC) - with Councillor Gallo as an Ex-Officio Director, in a similar capacity as that of Mayor Mrakas and Ms. McDougall. However, Councillor Weese and Councillor Gallo are in fact voting members whereas Mayor Mrakas and Ms. McDougall are not. Unlike former Mayor Geoff Dawe who was in fact also a voting member of ASHoF. The reason they are all Ex-Officio Directors appointed by Town Council to local boards who are not for profit corporations is so that they can advance the interests of the town.

This is not a conflict of interest under the Municipal Act.

I would assume that Councillor Weese is aware that this matter was resolved in the 2013 case of the Town of Aurora v. Her Majesty in the Right of Ontario that dealt specifically with the Cultural Centre. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that Town Councillors appointed by Council that sit on the Cultural Centre Board - a cultural partner - have no pecuniary interest and are not in a conflict of interest under the Act or the Town’s Code of Conduct.

For Councillor Weese to continuously imply that the Mayor or any other member of council for that matter (beside himself apparently) is in a conflict of interest in his role as a non-voting member of another community partner Board of Directors - in this case the ASHoF Board - is to ignore his own position as an Ex-Officio Director for ACC.

If Councillor Weese truly believes that there is a conflict of interest, then shouldn’t both he and Councillor Gallo have recused themselves from voting on giving $570,000 of tax payer's dollars to the ACC? Should they not have refrained from any discussions in relation to the negative effects that losing $11,200 would have on the ACC? The only conclusion one can draw from Councillor Weese’s continuous implied contention that the Mayor is somehow contravening the legislation when he knows (or should know?) it is not true is for self-serving opportunistic reasons; to deflect from questions from the public about his own potential conflicts of interest.

These false assertions and allegations do not help the Town of Aurora; the town he ostensibley serves.

In case the Councillor has forgotten, this is not the first time he has personally attempted to disrupt funding to or defund entirely the ASHoF. Point of fact, he has done so previously under the guise of trying to "save the town money"; this while also voting for a 42% increase in his own Councillor’s compensation mere months after taking office, and mere minutes in that same meeting after his first attempt to defund ASHoF back in 2023.

Curious given his own organizations funding requests.

Sport Aurora has previously requested $50,000 from Town Council, $20,000 more than ASHoF's request and not one person at the table demanded they go against Town Policy to provided audited financial statements.

The Councillor is fully aware that there are current policies in place at the Town level (and in provincial and federal legislation) that exempt cultural partners such as ASHoF (and Sport Aurora should they request town funding again) from being required to submit audited financial statements.

They are required to submit current financial statements only.

However, Councillor Weese is well within his rights to put a motion on the floor to change that policy.

The Councillor can very easily put forward a motion to change the policy to apply equally to all community partners. In the absence of said motion, then I would have to agree with the many residents who see Councillor Weese’s actions as nothing more than a continued personal vendetta against ASHoF.

It does beg the question though after all, is he speaking out as Councillor Ron Weese, or President of Sport Aurora? And if he is speaking out as President of Sport Aurora, is he doing so on his own or on behalf of the board and many sport organizations he claims to lead?

Welcome back to Septembe... oh shoot, it is nearly October. I had a wonderful vacation in British Columbia for two weeks with my Mother in Law, Father in Law and Jasper. Jasper had the opportunity to meet who we call Nana Nana. But, it means I was out of the Province for the first two weeks and have some catch up to do.

Every Sunday from now until July 2026 (when Council is down for the summer) I will be posting a weekly "In the know...".

I will cover upcoming meetings, public participation, upcoming events, and a breakdown of any past meetings from the week prior.

I want to hear from you! What are your thoughts on anything presented? Would you like to see me include other information? Do you recommend any changes to the format? Do you have an upcoming event you would like me to highlight? Or any concerns you would like addressed in more depth?

Try to keep communication to the main comment thread. Commenting on individual images can cause that image to be prioritized on it's own and I would like to keep my followers wall clean.

Important links:
💻 Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/live/M-LAv3aInW4?si=o-Nn04-y-vuBUiXm
📑 Agenda:
https://pub-auroraon.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=47a93d88-1c9c-4266-8f61-7a5c858ad663&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English

While I work on getting caught up, and due to there not being a meeting this week, I will be adding a breakdown of the September 16th and September 23rd meetings this week. I have yet to watch them as I do not want any discussion to impact my opinion on a few matters until I have voiced them in as though it was in real time.

I would like to address my concerns around some Councillor's motions, especially when directing staff to provide a report within a certain time frame etc.

Back in June 2025, I had concerns about Councillor Gallo's motion Re. 24 Hour Warming Emergency Centre and its severe lack of direction. It lacked the depth of detail required for staff to properly address this issue - and given his concerns Re. The soft costs of running the NBA Watch Parties I wonder if he has the same concerns about the lack of information in his motion that led to a report he has now criticized.

Councillor Gallo, a 24 hour warming emergency centre, is in fact a shelter. A shelter comes with requirements such as food, beds, and security. It comes with liabilities. Especially given Councillor Gaertner's amendment to include everyone. We cannot ignore the fact that this means that a 24 hour warming emergecy centre may be used by everyone from a family of 4 with children to a person experiencing homelessness. A person experiencing homelessness may have fallen on hard times, but they may also experience mental health related complications that could have a negative impact on others without proper protocols in place.

I questioned the financial impacts this would have on the town back in June 2025, and now that town staff have reported on Councillor Gallo's motion, he too appears to have reservations and has pushed the financial impacts to the Region. I understood it the same way town staff have, so I have to ask, did you think it through before presenting your motion? What were the soft costs to residents to report on a vague motion you now claim to be misunderstood?

I believe this is an important conversation to have, but I believe that clarity on motions is equally as important because "if we cannot delay any longer" one must provide as much information to town staff so that they can meet Council demand as quickly as possible.

"In a world of constant change and streaming technology, I find solace in the forest where a tree remains a tree." - Angie Welland-Crosby

It had been so hot for so long that venturing out for a walk wasn't a great idea for Jasper. It seems mother nature is taking a minor break from the heat so we have been off on our daily walks again.

I have noticed that milk w**d is becoming more prominent in the Aurora Community Arboretum and especially east of Bayview along St. John's and Leslie. I wondered if we wouldn't begin to see more monarch butterflies. Did you know that monarchs will only lay eggs on milkw**d?

Today's Monday Motivation is to try to get out for a walk, there is so much to see when we take a break from the daily grind to walk in nature.