An OllyOopps Straight Into the Lunatic Fringe

A political candidate has no better ally than single-issue voters. These people will cast their ballots not on the candidate’s overall platform but solely on one issue. The single issue voter tends to be a bit irrational – usually a right-winger voting on some moral question or some leftie voting on a societal problem. I guess we now can add OlyOpps voting on the Olywest project - OlyOpps has decided to throw their support behind Marianne Cerilli in the upcoming civic election.

While proponents on both sides have made their fair share of suboptimal choices (let’s not forget Olywest’s stacking the deck in the visitor’s gallery at City Hall), I can’t help but think that OlyOpps has taken the rabid rhetoric to dizzying new heights. As a fellow businessperson, I cannot even begin to comprehend their latest missive. OlyOpps is throwing their support behind a decidedly anti-business candidate instead of rationally pleading their case to the Clean Environment Commission.

Should Olywest simply get a red-carpet welcome prior to setting up shop in our fair city? Absolutely not – tough questions should be asked and answered to everyone’s satisfaction, although the tone of the discourse thus far suggests that perhaps addressing the majority’s concerns is the best we can hope for. Let’s make use of the appropriate channels for raising those tough questions. I’m sure the businesses flying the OlyOpps flag would conversely appreciate the courtesy of due process the next time THEY take on a contentious business endeavour.

When pondering OlyOpps latest antics, somehow a cliché about cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face readily comes to mind…