Bob Bratina

April 14, 2007

Some context to any out-of-towners wanting to know about this curious cartoon…

A week ago I wrote about the entertainment aspect of legislative debate that is essential to liven up the tediousness of the democratic process. To those who earnestly express their outrage against humorous political ads or forceful blows during question period, I say, lighten up.

So Hamilton City Council was the stage this week for a split second of action that made some headlines in the Hamilton Spectator. Events turned sour after Councillor Bob Bratina was rambling on about something during council proceedings when Mayor Eisenberger interjected to speed things up. The resulting hissy fit from the smooth talking morning man / city representative was beautifully captured on film.

It reminds me of my 5 year when she needs to clean up her crayons upon being told it’s nap time. Seeing it all unfold with a grown man… now that’s entertainment.

March 7, 2007

…And these are just the waterfront proposals. There’s a whole bunch more which could be recognized in, say, a downtown proposaleum. A new city hall, a rebuilt Lister Block, a new market, a naturopathic college, a downtown casino. All types of bold headline making ideas with splashy architectual/conceptual sketches that have gone no where.

Today’s cartoon is actually a revision of a cartoon I did way back in 1999:

This is not to say all new ideas for advancing innovative plans for Hamilton are stupid. I actually like Bob Bratina’s idea after you get past what sort of lake smell will be wafting down-breeze from the fountain, and maybe some more pressing needs like actually doing something about the toxic goo laying in the harbour’s Randle Reef. And while Councillor Bratina sounds very worldly pointing out Geneva’s Jet d’eau as an example, he needn’t look further than Peterborough’s own Centennial Fountain. So before he and a couple other councillors venture off on a fact finding trip to Switzerland they might instead consider a day trip to Peterborough.

September 27, 2006

Today’s editorial cartoon is a bit of cheat. I wasn’t too pleased with the previous Volpe cartoon I had created yesterday so I modified an older local cartoon to comment on the current membership irregularities plaguing the federal Liberal party thanks to the Joe Volpe leadership campaign.

The original cartoon, published in November 2005, commented on an issue related to a local yokel on Hamilton’s city council. Thinking I did a pretty good illustration, I thought it would be alright to alter the theme in order to share it with audiences outside Hamilton. Here’s the earlier version: