Mary Sheridan, Precise Park Link, Lead Sponsor

“I hope it’s hours before you get to this email, as you truly do deserve a rest after all you accomplished last evening.  Such an amazing success, and we were thrilled to have been a part of it.  All 5 of us on hand from Purolator enjoyed an exceptional evening, and were honoured to have done it for such a great cause.  Please keep us in mind as you turn your minds to a second annual – we would be pleased to be a part of such a great burgeoning tradition.  Rest up, and enjoy the glow.”

Sarah Hamza, Director, Public Affairs, Purolator Inc.

“Good morning Carolyn, hope you are alive and well after all your great work in organizing such a spectacular event.  Kudos to you and all the people who helped you.  You once again have proven to many people that you are truly ‘One of a Kind’ when it comes to doing what you say you will do and making everything you put your heart and soul into an outstanding success.  I am sure this will also prove to be true in Ward 5 as well.  Mississauga needs you back on Council as a voice of reason and probably the one person who can guide our great City with honesty and integrity for years to come.  You have always told the truth and have stuck by your principles no matter what the consequences.”

Terry Butt

Robert Blackburn, Mississauga

The Mississauga News,  August 9, 2011

Invariably her name evokes a response – good and bad.  She’s been a lightning rod for voters at both the federal and municipal level for years – pro and con.  Some charge that she’s a human incendiary device, a negative force on the political scene.  Others say she’s a dogged worker, an effective councillor and MP and someone who has the guts to tell it like it is – much like her archrival at City Hall,  Mayor Hazel McCallion.

Others, like the author of this piece, like the fact that she’s a huge supporter of good deeds in the community – the recent Mississauga Food Bank Concert at the Living Arts Centre being Example A.

It seems there is no middle ground when it comes to discussing the merits of former Ward 6 councillor, and ex-Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish.

On September 19th, she will try to win her way back onto Mississauga city council as one of the candidates for the opening in Ward 5, created when sitting councillor Eve Adams won a Conservative seat in the recent federal election.

Sure there are other candidates running for the Ward 5 seat, a glut, in fact.  But all eyes are on Parrish.  Will she or won’t she win?

In an unprecedented move, the Mississauga News last month announced that it has decided to “can the chatter” and suspend online commentary on all stories related to the Ward 5 vote and candidates.

It’s to provide complete, open and transparent coverage of the campaign and subsequent vote.

In effect, it’s the Parrish Rule.

The News argues that what it is receiving in its online commentary “isn’t commentary and it’s by no means fair.”  Many of the comments “have bordered on libel,” said an editorial in the News, published last month.

While many argue that the “Parrish camp” was responsible for the recent judicial inquiry into a proposed development in the city’s downtown core that might have involved a conflict of interest with the sitting mayor, there’s no doubt the inquiry will cost taxpayers upwards of $7 million.

The truth is this:  it wasn’t the actions of the “Parrish camp” that caused the inquiry, but the actions of the mayor.  Whatever the outcome of the inquiry, and we’ll know in September, it has brought into sharp focus a chummy city hall process that doesn’t pass the smell test.

It says here that Mississauga desperately needs more councillors with the spunk to tell it like it is.  Councillors who do their homework.  Councillors who can evoke healthy debate – pro and con, good and bad.

Carolyn Parrish was and is such a person.  Her time on council was productive and served the best interests of this community.

On September 19th, she should be allowed to continue her work.

- Rick Drennan, managing editor

July 5, 2011

It’s easy to kick somebody when they’re down.

And, in the case of former Ward 6 Councillor Carolyn Parrish, it would have been easy for her to walk away from public service after suffering a humbling defeat in last October’s municipal election.

But, after allowing herself sufficient time to dry her tears, collect her thoughts and pick herself up by the bootstraps, Parrish is back in a big way.

One day after confirming that she’ll throw her hat into the proverbial ring to run in September’s Ward 5 by-election, Parrish will step back into the civic spotlight – literally.  She’ll be at centre stage in Hammerson Hall tomorrow night at the first-ever Mississauga Food Bank Concert.

Parrish was the driving force behind the rockin’ fundraiser that will also celebrate the food bank’s 25th anniversary.

She has arranged a stellar line-up of homegrown Mississauga talent that includes former Triumph guitar god Rik Emmett.  Also on the bill are operatic tenor Michael Ciufo, jazz vocalist Carol McCartney, bluesman Chuck Jackson, rocker Suzie McNeil and country singer Marshall Dane.  Comedian Mike Bullard will act as master of ceremonies.

More than 1,000 tickets, ranging in price from $50 – $150, have been sold.  That’s thanks in large part to the organizer’s ability to both sweet talk and twist arms.  For weeks, she has worked the phones and called in favours.

The end result is a great event that will support a worthy cause.

Credit where credit is due, we say.  Great job, Carolyn!

The office will be open for drop-ins starting the week of July 25th, at 12:00 each day.

Volunteers are welcome to come by and sign up.