Top ten reasons why Denis would NOT make a good PEO councillor

The Top Ten reasons why Denis would not make a good PEO councillor are:

10	Unjustified fee increases bother Denis
9	Denis wants the hotels, wine and fine dining
8	Denis opens his big mouth too often
7	Volunteer code of conduct
6	Denis is able to use technology
5	Denis wants to live in a good retirement home now
4	Denis would like to have a cozy relationship with PEO staff
3	Denis thinks that the PEO has made itself irrelevant
2	Denis believes in a democratic system
1	Denis does not fit into PEO's old boys club

So, why am I running?

Denis Carlos Quite simply, I have been asked to run. Many times over.

In fact, P.Eng. members and executives from each and every chapter in East Central Region (East Toronto, Lake Ontario, Scarborough, Simcoe Muskoka, Willowdale/Thornhill and York) have signed my nomination forms. These forms were presented to me as a measure of the grassroots support. For many years I have resisted the call to run because I clearly see that PEO is extremely resistant to change. Not good. Besides the fact that I have a lot better things to do with my life than to sit through monthly council meetings that last a couple of days each. Yuck.

So, I'm doing my best to lose. wink
In fact, I even provide a link on every page to the almost acclaimed sitting councillor's website so that you can compare and choose the best of the worst. exclaim

So what is different this time?

If you look at PEO's website you will see plenty of candidates for President, Vice-President, etc. However, there was no competition for each of the five regional councillors. Every PEO regional councillor in Ontario was about to be acclaimed. I have long argued that PEO's long standing practice of recycling councillors is a sign of a dead or dying system. So to do more than just complain about this situation, I threw my hat into the ring. Now, only you, the members of East Central Region have a little choice for your regional councillor.

What am I promising?

I will at least raise the issues that no one wants to talk about. Simply cracking open the closet door so that a little light falls upon the skeletons within may evince a little more ethical behaviour.

I want the voice of members to be heard. I know of several members who have given up because their cries have been ignored.

On the other hand, if the sitting councillor is recycled, do expect a repeat of previous years results.

What am I not promising?

I cannot promise to change everything for the better -- because I know it is not possible. I will start the process for positive change.

You will not see me making statements that are contrary to the facts.

Example

The sitting councillor Thomas Chong states on his election platform that his primary accomplishment was that he had improved the funding for all your chapters. It is true that as a senior councillor he had responsibility for 2008 chapter funding, but the facts contradict his statements.

Chapter	2008 chapter allocation compared with 2007
East Toronto	-10.45%
Lake Ontario	-1.75%
Scarborough	-1.27%
Simcoe-Muskoka	0%
Willodale Thornhill	-0.97%
York	-3.44%

Thomas' negotiating skills have ensured that none of the East Central Region chapters saw any improvement in their funding even though the total budget for all Ontario chapters had increased by 5%. (RCC Minutes #5 Sept 27, 2007)

To avoid boring you, I will not dissect the rest of his election platform.