Council candidate Gary Gardiner took a not so subtle swing at Mayor Al McDonald this morning using a sports analogy.
In a news release, Gardiner says it's time for a new leader and new direction.
"Leadership is hard to define," he says. "Why is it that one coach can take a rag-tag team and turn them into champions? Take the ordinary and make them extraordinary, yet another coach, with an all-star lineup, finishes out of the playoffs?
"In simple terms, it’s leadership.
"The first coach sees the potential in each and every athlete. He challenges them to be better. He makes the most of their strengths and works with them to improve on their weaknesses. Day after day, bit-by-bit, the ragtag team gains in skill and confidence. When they lose he has their back and takes responsibility. They learn to be successful and by the end of the season, they expect to be successful.
"When the other team loses the coach blames the athletes for underperforming and by the end of the season, they do just that. This coach can’t wait until next season and a batch of new recruits, because it wasn’t his fault that the team underperformed. If only he had had better athletes and the league had better rules then things would have been different."
Gardiner predicted the next council will be an all-star team selected from 26 candidates.
"If given the opportunity and the privilege, I will lead this new council so that it can be the best that it can be. And when that happens I know that North Bay will become extraordinary."