TODD COWAN: FORMER WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP MAYOR

Disappointment, resignation, vindication, cheap exhultation and finally sympathy. Those are my feelings to date regarding the status of former mayor, Todd Cowan. Personally I hold him in the highest contempt as the liar he is and for the damage he did me personally with his pathological and petty lying including doing so in an already biased book about the Elmira water crisis. That said at what point is the punishment more severe than the offences? Whatever slight sympathy or even support remained for Todd has pretty well dried up with the newest revelations at his trial. Improperly expensing his girlfriend's breakfasts four times and on at least some of them substituting other politician's names in an apparent attempt to claim a "business" breakfast and have her meal paid for, has done him in.

My sympathy which did not extend to shaking his hand at trial a couple of weeks ago is based both upon his horribly public downfall as well as his horribly flawed personality. Yes according to the prosecution Todd has committed both fraud and breach of trust. We won't know until February 2016 whether or not the judge agrees. My expectation is that the judge will have no choice but to find Todd guilty. At that point he will be a publicly proven liar and thief.

Here's the rub. Todd was making very good money for four years ($100,000/yr) . He hadn't been making good money for years prior and he sure as hell is making buggarall currently. He has two wives and multiple children behind him as well with alimony and child support payments into the bargain. He was broke going into the mayor's chair. Does this justify petty theft? No, but it might at least partially explain it. Partially. Despite my personal contempt for him I will always give him credit for shaking up a badly flawed and co-opted CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee). He was the first and only mayor to understand the ridiculous and asinine situation whereby our local polluter was in charge of both the alleged cleanup and the citizens committee allegedly overseeing it.

Back to Todd's apparent petty theft. $3,300 of which he immediately paid back $2,700. Fair enough theft is theft. I guess I am a little surprised at the $25,000 for a forensic audit spent by Woolwich Township to look at the former mayor's expenses and yet their adamant opposition to spending half that amount to learn the truth about their current mayor's election expenses. It is a double standard and I believe reflects Councils bias against Todd Cowan and in favour of mayor Shantz. That said I acknowledge that these are two different cases. The current mayor has not stolen or absconded with taxpayers' money. In my opinion however lying and deception can sometimes be more important and dangerous to the public interest than petty theft.