Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 Source: Beacon Herald, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 Beacon Herald Contact: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1459 MAYOR MEL DOES IT AGAIN Well, Mayor Mel's at it again. Rarely does he make headlines for something innovative or worthwhile he's doing for the City of Toronto. Mostly it is because of some gaffe he's made on the public stage. The welcoming hand Mayor Mel Lastman extended last weekend to a Hells Angels biker at a downtown Toronto hotel was at the same time a slap in the face to his constituents and a sucker punch to the city's police force. Would a principal invite a drug dealer into his schoolyard with open arms? Even if the drug dealer promised to buy new playground equipment? No. So the bikers came to Toronto on their best behaviour for a weekend. What about the other 363 days of the year. Drugs. Prostitution. Extortion. Murder. That's their business. The Hells Angels is one of the most notorious organized crime operations in the country. They're to be feared and reviled. But in Toronto they're given instant legitimacy, made to seem like nice guys, by the mayor as he mugs for the media. What a public relations coup, and all it cost the Angels was a T-shirt. Even more galling is Mr. Lastman's failure to admit he made a mistake. In his backpedalling, he claims he was "naive" and didn't fully understand the Angels' involvement in the drug trade. "I don't know who the hell the Hells Angels are, but evidently they know me, or know of me," the mayor said after a meeting Monday with frustrated Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino. Come on Mel. Who over the age of 10 doesn't know what the Hells Angels are all about? Pitifully simple or callously arrogant, we wonder what Toronto voters were thinking electing him to a second term. One of the largest cities in North America deserves better and should demand it. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart