[URBAN NOTE] "Councillor Carolyn Parrish fires back at ‘cranky constituent’"

[rfmcdonald]

I'm inclined to sympathize with Carolyn Parrish's actions, as described in San Grewal's Toronto Star article. Fair criticism is one thing, but if you're making allegations of malfeasance you should prove them, and take responsibility for them.

Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish is standing up for her profession, after sending a letter to a resident calling him a “cranky constituent” for suggesting she took a “bribe.”

“As politicians all we have is our reputations,” Parrish told the Star. “The best way to get me riled up is by claiming I’ve ever taken a bribe. In my 32 years I’ve never taken a nickel. We are not steel-coated people. We do have emotions. You should treat me with a similar courtesy that you should use with your doctor, your teacher and others who work to make ours a better society.”

In her July 8 letter to resident Frank McGurk, Parrish wrote: “You are a cranky constituent — insulting to say the least. The Cliff Gyles reference was obnoxious. I suspect from your tone, others may find your opinions equally rude so I’m not concerned greatly regarding your opinions of me.”

The Malton resident had earlier sent Parrish a letter regarding the planned demolition of a local shopping plaza to make way for a mixed-use residential development that would include affordable housing units, which has been a priority for Parrish.

“I’m very disappointed as I read the minutes of the meeting regarding Netherwood plaza,” McGurk had written to Parrish two days earlier. “The plaza is a mainstay in this community where I have lived for 40 years plus. I smell another Cliff Gilles (sic) move here. We do not need 30 more detached homes with front yards the size of postage stamps.”