On Feb 14, 11:53*am, "Brian Watson" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Can I make it clear that this was no power-hungry grab. It was a (totally
screwed up admittedly) attempt to deal with a problem that constituents
have complained about vehemently and repeatedly for many years.

I would never have met the ambulance driver if a constituent hadn't rung
me up and told me that the gate had been broken open. If he had correctly
reported that the gate had been left open by someone entitled to open it I
wouldn't even have gone to look. I'd just have called the council officers
and left them to it. *That was where things went wrong and I lost it in
frustration for the failure of people to do their jobs as promised.

I'd say (as someone who doesn't actually live in the city and has no
political or personal beef with Colin) that that looks like a perfectly
reasonable statement about why he was there and why he did what he did.

He got it wrong, but was not fully-acquainted with the facts. It doesn't
excuse it but it explains it.

I spot a parallel with the way in which people posting to this group,
not acquainted with any facts, have behaved rather badly.

The difference is that, rather than having been misinformed, they know
that they have no facts and decide to make judgements nevertheless.

(Or are simply pursuing an attempt at a wind-up and spectacularly
failing to get the response they hoped for, which indicates an
appropriate degree of restraint from the Councillor concerned.)