Life Imitates Art
Faithful readers will know that I've been plugging my book, The Ideal Candidate, recently. The book is in large part a political satire, a humorous reflective comment on my own hometown of Mississauga. Set during a municipal election, the story is peopled with ruthless mobsters and calculating political operatives all doing there utmost to influence its outcome. Pretty farfetched stuff, right? I mean, it's quiet suburbia, right? Meet me at the corner of Banal and Apathy.
Well, what should your humble scribe read in today's Mississauga News but a piece on Adnan Hashmi, a candidate for council in Ward 10, now charged with impersonating a police officer and trying to intimidate other candidates (specifically Ishrat Nasim) into withdrawing from the election (those of you in possession of a copy of The Ideal Candidate may want to turn to page 95, or 249, or... et cetera, et cetera).
This is the part in the infomercial where the announcer says: 'But wait, there's more!" and offers you a second solar powered juicer - that's two for the incredibly low price of $14.99.
So..."But wait, there's more!" Councillor Eve Adams, Ward 5, is also in trouble for using her city staff on her re-election campaign. For shame. And this after her husband and brother were charged last election for stealing her opponents' signs. Doesn't she know that Mississauga has a nearly 100% incumbent return rate?
So for today's homework, read The Ideal Candidate and compare and contrast the political strongarming, misappropriation, and abuse of office presented in the book with current and historical examples from Mississauga.
I'll give you a hint: Cliff Gyles.
I should offer a disclaimer, I suppose. I ran into Mayor Hazel McCallion the other night at the Mississauga Arts Awards. She said to me: "There's not much fiction in your book. I haven't read it, but people who have tell me there's not much fiction in it." Well if that were the case, I'd be in trouble, for the Mayor of Newhazel in my story has a private paramilitary counter-espionage agency at her disposal (hidden in the Parks and Recreation department) that protects her interests 'with extreme prejudice' . Naturally, that's not true. Nor is the suggestion that the school board is controlled by the mob, or that elements within City Hall caused a train derailment to secure the Mayor's ongoing popularity. In fact, the book is not fact.
As they say, any resmblance to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental.
Well, what should your humble scribe read in today's Mississauga News but a piece on Adnan Hashmi, a candidate for council in Ward 10, now charged with impersonating a police officer and trying to intimidate other candidates (specifically Ishrat Nasim) into withdrawing from the election (those of you in possession of a copy of The Ideal Candidate may want to turn to page 95, or 249, or... et cetera, et cetera).
This is the part in the infomercial where the announcer says: 'But wait, there's more!" and offers you a second solar powered juicer - that's two for the incredibly low price of $14.99.
So..."But wait, there's more!" Councillor Eve Adams, Ward 5, is also in trouble for using her city staff on her re-election campaign. For shame. And this after her husband and brother were charged last election for stealing her opponents' signs. Doesn't she know that Mississauga has a nearly 100% incumbent return rate?
So for today's homework, read The Ideal Candidate and compare and contrast the political strongarming, misappropriation, and abuse of office presented in the book with current and historical examples from Mississauga.
I'll give you a hint: Cliff Gyles.
I should offer a disclaimer, I suppose. I ran into Mayor Hazel McCallion the other night at the Mississauga Arts Awards. She said to me: "There's not much fiction in your book. I haven't read it, but people who have tell me there's not much fiction in it." Well if that were the case, I'd be in trouble, for the Mayor of Newhazel in my story has a private paramilitary counter-espionage agency at her disposal (hidden in the Parks and Recreation department) that protects her interests 'with extreme prejudice' . Naturally, that's not true. Nor is the suggestion that the school board is controlled by the mob, or that elements within City Hall caused a train derailment to secure the Mayor's ongoing popularity. In fact, the book is not fact.
As they say, any resmblance to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental.
posted by Benjamin Thornton at 2:14 p.m.
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