LangleyAdvance
2011: Defining moments Inside
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012
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2011
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Mayor Rick Green ended 2011 with an electoral defeat, just one of the headlines he generated over the year. by Matthew Claxton mclaxton@langleyadvance.com
Rick Green’s name was heard everywhere in 2011, from council chambers to the offices of a special prosecutor. Green lost his bid for a second term in office at the end of November, but for better
or worse, he was at the centre of several of the biggest news stories of the year. He had been a lightning rod for controversy since the date of his surprise win over threetime incumbent Kurt Alberts in 2008. Green’s opposition to tax hikes spoke to a large number of voters, and he won convincingly. He moved to create a special budget committee, and began studying a plan for a land reserve to generate revenue. But his efforts led to clashes with the rest of his council, starting within weeks. Relations between the mayor and council only got worse, thanks to the Brownshak issue, which
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Rick Green unveiled his Vote Langley Now team, complete with hockey jerseys in July.
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erupted in 2009. By 2010, he had been censured for misleading the council, news that came out in September of that year. After two years of open arguments, squabbling, and the still-mysterious “Given the culture of issue of exactly conflict amongst the what had caused Green council and the mayor’s to be censured, open rejection of the January 2011 fundamental principles began with of shared and collective news that surprised few: a decision-making…” consultant’s Berry-Habkirk Report report declared that Green’s council was dysfunctional. The Berry-Habkirk report recommended cancelling a planned Jan. 22 workshop, saying it would not be a good use of Township funds. “Given the culture of conflict amongst the council and the mayor’s open rejection of the fundamental principles of shared and collective decision-making, it is our conclusion that holding a working session to address the issues at this stage in the council’s term is unlikely to produce a satisfactory outcome and in fact might further inflame prevailing conditions,” the report said, clearly placing the burden of blame on Green. Green turned that blame for any problems on his council, while several councillors turned the blame right back on the mayor.
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