Mayor and Flag

To the editor of the Sudbury Star

Let me say from the start that I did not vote for John Rodrigues and I never supported the flying of the Franco-Ontarien flag at city hall. My opposition to the flag was not based on any lack of respect for the Francophone population in Sudbury, but merely because it was my belief that it only forms one part of the rich ethnic patchwork that compose our city.

That said, a large portion of the citizens of Sudbury did vote for John. If deciding what flag flies is within the mandate of his office, then he has the right to make that executive decision. He could refer the issue to council and have them take up valuable time debating it while the city continues to be divided arguing the merits of the move, or he could actually have the courage to make a decision and stand by it. Unlike his predecessors, he has chosen the latter step.

With all the problems facing Sudbury right now that need council's attention, the flag is a minor matter in my opinion. I don't see a clear-cut consensus on the direction to go and, rather than get bent out of shape because the elected leader chose something I didn't favour, I am going to applaud his taking swift action and put this behind me. At the end of his term, the flag will be a very small item in deciding his success as a mayor while the decisive style he has shown here will be very important. That is provided, of course, that his decisions are successful in dealing with the more serious problems we are facing.

I look forward with great interest to less talk and more action from our municipal government over the next four years.