I sit on the Editorial Board here at the Hamilton Spectator. Yep, lumpy me, the editorial cartoonist, has a seat at the table which forms the opinion of a daily newspaper. It’s kinda like being Greenland and having a seat on the United Nations security council. I’m there mostly to listen, and nod my head, and read newspapers when discussions get boring. Occasionally, we get guests who appear before the board to state their cases and receive questions. Most of the time its local politicians, city staffers, activist groups or organizations that’ll sit down with us. I usually politely bow out attending those… you know, I’ve got a cartoon to draw, ‘fer Pete’s sake.
Other times we get some bigger acts coming through, particularly at election time… we’ve sat down with Dalton McGuinty, Ernie Eves, Jack Layton, Ralph Goodale, and even Stephen Harper. This morning it was David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Everytime I show up for these things I always bring some paper and a pencil and I sketch away. Here’s Wilkin’s portrait:
