What a cat fight!
First Alex dissed Jim, accusing the mayor of “dirty politics” for not kowtowing to the patio owners.
Then Jim dissed Alex in a bloody Twitter war after the Barrhaven right-wing warrior (and closet Rick Santorum supporter) claimed that his pro-tobacco ravings are the official policy of the Bells Corners BIA.
Jim promptly slapped him down.
Appearing on CBC radio, Alex repeated his ridiculous claim that his lame defence of second-hand smoke represents the opinions of 330 Bells Corners businesses (“This is the opinion of the businesses that I represent.”) and is not just toadying to the BIA board member from the Cock & Bull and the owner of the Local Heroes (who partnered with Rick to form the dysfunctional organization).
Jim calls him on it, asking for proof that his pro-tobacco views are endorsed by the BIA.
Alex replies weakly that businesses should be free to do as they please without government interference. Jim just sighs.
Jim again asks Alex how he can say that he is representing the views of all Bells Corners businesses.
Alex ignores the question, saying that he’ll be willing to schedule a phone call from the mayor. As if that’s going to happen!
Nice work, Alex, alienating Ottawa’s most powerful municipal politician. Next time Bells Corners needs his help, you can bet he won’t forget your rudeness.
In the CBC interview Alex trots out his nutty argument that he’s in favour of “government management” but not “government regulation.” Huh?
Alex regularly rails against the evils of government and the CBC on his Twitter account (when he’s not posting fawning comments about Lisa, Pierre, Rusty and the American Tea Party).
I know a lot of small business owners in Bells Corners, and they’re not all to the right of Genghis Khan like Alex.
They certainly do not like Alex’s false claim that they’ve been consulted on his pro-smoking campaign. They don’t all think we should bow down to Calgary and kiss Harper’s cowboy boots.
In fact, they’re embarrassed to have a Rick Chiarelli/Lisa MacLeod yes-man sycophant representing them, and would love to dump him along with his inflated salary.
Good thing for Alex that Rick set him up with a no-trade no-cut four-year contract.
My favourite part of the CBC interview:
Robyn: “Are you a smoker?”
Alex: “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ah, well, my…. (pregnant pause, nervous giggles) …. Yeah, I am. I’m not going to lie.” If you say so, Alex.
You got your 5 minutes of fame by sucking up to your former boss at the Cock & Bull (where you used to sling beer) and acting as Rick’s proxy to attack Jim. Hope you enjoyed it.
Ottawa City Council Watch: The Bells Corners BIA is a special case in that while most BIAs are useless and just increase costs the Bells Corners BIA actually works against the interests of the businesses it is supposed to represent. It is bad enough to waste money on useless programs but to actually fund a program that actively works against your interests is hard to swallow.
I’ll give the last word to the Citizen’s City Hall reporter.
Just a quick correction. Local Heroes is no longer on the board of the Bells Corners BIA. The Cock and Bull is. Local Heroes was actively involved in the formation of the BIA but they disassociated themselves from the BIA pretty quickly.
Local Heroes is not the only business originally involved in the formation of the BIA that quit / were forced out when it became clear that Rick planned to take control of the BIA and use it against the businesses.
Jim Watson using the term “big tobacco” is very strange and inappropriate. The rest of the exchange is excellent. Watson is correct to call Alex Lewis out and demand proof that the businesses actually feel the way Alex claims they do. I suspect that the four bars with patios probably do, but Alex is expressing it as the opinion of the BIA and I doubt that the majority of businesses agree.
My question is where was Watson’s desire to see proof when Alex lied and claimed that the businesses supported the name change? Watson knew that it was not true and that Alex Lewis was lying but he didn’t ask for any documentation then.
“Alex replies weakly that businesses should be free to do as they please without government interference. Jim just sighs.”
Jim Watson throws temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. There’s no question that Lloyd Francis Blvd. was Jim’s baby; where was his interest in the will of the businesses when all that was going down? What a phony.
I’m 100% with Alex on this one.