Actually...he didn't...

...although I'm sure he's still going to insist that he 'did'.

The question from Ken Peters, The Spec reporter is: "Have you brought this to her attention?"

And Mr. Bustamante replies: "Actually, yes. I copied her."

"And has she replied to you?" Mr. Peters asks.

"No, she didn't reply."

Like Strother Martin opines about Paul Newman, in 'Cool Hand Luke', "What we have here...is failure to communicate."

Here's what happened, chronologically:

On Thursday, September 9th at 12:56 PM, Mr. Bustamante circulated an emailed 'press release' to various local media types. (Including yours-truly.)

Ms Pearson was CC'd. (So she wasn't actually the main recipient. Merely a carbon-copied one. Okaaaaaay...)

The circulated 'press release' had no details. (I emailed Mr. Bustamante shortly after I received it, asking if I could safely assume that no details would be released before the 'press conference' at City Hall on Monday, September 13th. He replied in the affirmative.)

On the evening of September 9th, Maria Pearson's husband was served with the summons for her to appear in court October 20th, 2010. No details as to the action being taken were included in the summons.

On Monday, Mr. Bustamante held his 'press conference'. At which time all present were given copies of the 'damning' information being used against Councillor Pearson, as well as a two-page explanation and declaration.

Shortly after, all this information was available online, both at The Hamiltonian, and here and elsewhere on My Stoney Creek.

Here's the fascinating part: at no time was Councillor Pearson given all of the background information, the specifics and the context.

Mr. Bustamante did not stop by her office and give her copies while he was at City Hall on September 13th.

Nor did he provide her copies subsequent to these documents being available online later that day.

As of the time of this post being typed, she still had not been given the courtesy of full inclusion by Mr. Bustamante.

Which, when you think about it, is kind of odd. After all, he's essentially got himself all decked out in the traditional armour of a white knight, playing the part of Defender of the People, while presumably his own press machine has named his figurative horse 'Propriety'.

Funny, that.

As yet another film character once said, "This is disturbing on so many levels."

Putting aside the fact that he shouldn't have taken this tack at all, at the very least he would have been showing some class had he presented her with copies of the information before he held his 'press conference'. (I'm of a mind that he should have discussed the action with her well in advance of actually going forward with the court action, but clearly, that's not how Mr. Bustamante has framed all of this in his mind.)

But to leave it to the modern-day equivalent of the gossip mill (I'm referring to online sources such as 'The Hamiltonian') to disseminate the material, trusting that she'd eventually have someone send her the link, is a little much...while making his declamations in the video of the 'press conference' seem-

Actually, I think I'll leave that up to you to determine.