The departure of Meaford's CAO/CFO/Treasurer David Free a few months ago and the recent resignation of Mayor Wally Reif will hopefully pave the way towards saner local government in Meaford.

While life without Reif and freedom from Free are good first steps along the road toward good governance, we are still left with Graeme Kirkland and RAMSS. Meaford folks will remember that it was Mr. Kirkland and his ratepayers group who endorsed Mr. Reif for mayor, and who were strong supporters of Mr. Free.

So what does this say about Mr. Kirkland's perception and judgment?

As an effective citizen's group, Mr. Kirkland and RAMSS are two-time losers. Their future ideas about what is good for Meaford and about the kind of people to put in power will I hope, be taken with a very large grain of salt.