Mayor admits making mistakes

John Rowswell acknowledged Sunday that he made mistakes in the first half of his mayoral term, but insists we're now "doing just fine, and we're going to do better."

Cross-examined by a radio host who admitted to being less than impartial, the mayor told listeners of John Campbell's Contact program that "there's no question I made mistakes at the beginning."

Campbell, an EZ Rock journalist and SooToday.com commentator known for his relentless criticism of Rowswell in recent months, acknowledged his bias at the beginning of the hour-long program. "I would let someone else do this interview who was more objective, but there was no one else to do it," Campbell said.

Later in the program, after subjecting the mayor to an interrogation-like grilling, the controversial host acknowledged that "I guess maybe I got carried away there."

Rowswell was the first of four candidates scheduled to appear on the weekly EZ Rock program.

Lots drawn at Civic Centre

Having been accused during past elections of unfairly arranging the order of appearance, Campbell arranged a drawing of lots at the City Clerk's office.

Rowswell was selected for today's show.

Patti Jennings will appear next week, followed by Gary Bedryk and Peter Vaudry.

In a departure from the program's usual policy, callers were required to identify themselves.

Rowswell, who was widely expected to accuse City Council of not co-operating with his vision for growth, instead praised his fellow councillors, indicating that "I'd vote for any one of them."

No problem with Council

"I have no problem today with any member of Council that's there."

Asked to take 10 minutes to make some introductory remarks, Rowswell took 13 minutes to outline progress made on the 5-point plan that formed the backbone of his last campaign.

When Campbell pointed out that he'd gone three minutes overtime, Rowswell responded "You're looking at the clock, John. It's at my back."

"It's a work in progress," Rowswell said of his 5-point plan, indicating that he requires another term of office to finish the job.

Fire the Chief Administrative Officer?

Rowswell did not specify exactly what mistakes he was confessing to, but his admission came in the context of questions from Campbell about his often-stormy relationship with fellow councillors and Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi.

The mayor said that his dealings with Council stabilized about halfway through his term.

At one point, Campbell indicated that he'd heard numerous people who supported Rowswell last time around, say that they'd been given the impression that if elected, Rowswell would find a way to get rid of Fratesi.

Understanding reached

The mayor answered that he'd reached an understanding with Fratesi regarding their respective roles.

"Joe, he's very bureaucratic. I'm about the opposite," Rowswell said. "I will deal with [cabinet] ministers. Joe will work at a different level."

Campbell said he was in possession of confidential minutes from a closed City Council caucus meeting at which he said councillors had tried to rein in a mayor they perceived as too willing to interfere with City staff.

Rowswell indicated that he and Council had worked through their differences since that time.

'We've got to work the plan'

"We've got a great working relationship now," he said, nonetheless defending instances in which he approached City staff directly instead of through Fratesi.

"We've got the plan. We've got to work the plan," Rowswell said.

The mayor said that a pamphlet outlining his new campaign platform will be released sometime this week.