BREAKING NEWS: Former Vancouver City Hall Staffer Carlene Robbins Made to Walk the Plank by Agents of Gregor Robertson and Penny Ballem

This shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

Yet another firing, by EVERY other name, covered up by Penny Ballem’s henchmen and buttressed, albeit feebly (as per usual) by the Mayor of Vancouver, who claims to know nothing of what happened to booted Property Use Inspector Carlene Robbins, as Community Services Manager Dave McLellan, once again, looked straight into a camera shrugged and then lied to the public with as straight face as any of the Mayor’s lickspittles, when he suggested to both Global and CTV that Robbins “left on her own…it surprised everybody”

His comment to our old pal Ferris Bula of the ‘Mop and Pail’ was classic BS. “We were stunned,” McLellan told Bula. “I did go down after and the staff were all very upset and confused.”

What a load.

Ms. Robbins for the uninitiated “left” the city under the rather dubious circumstances of “SURPRISE retirement” and “NATURAL transition”, told us by Penny Ballem and Dave McLellan, in their recurring roles as ‘The Dragon Lady’ (last Empress of China) and ‘Dick the Butcher’ from Henry VI.

In fact, if you just changed the name of Carlene Robbins, to Ark Tsisserev, the similarities are frightening.

FACT: Both were honest, decent, committed employees nowhere near retirement. Robbins joined the city right out of high school at 17 and stayed, becoming one of the most beloved employees, for 38 years.

FACT: Both handled messy files that challenged superiors immediately before being, ahem, coincidentally ushered out the door–essentially for being diligent and honest and looking after the safety concerns of you and your families. But this is not what Ballem and Co. want at City Hall. They don’t care. They’re not interested in you, just covering their collective derriere is what matters. And the Mayor and his Vision cabal (that is breaking apart–more on that Monday) are the facilitators. They’re all more interested in political obedience and doctrine adherence. If you’re competent, that doesn’t matter. It’s hardly a top consideration. So long as you know how much time it takes to break to your knees and kiss the hem of Ballem’s Vision-anointed robes, that’s it, it’s all that’s necessary.

FACT: Both reported the problematic files (that precipitated their firings) to their superiors and were ignored. In both cases, after the fact, licensing and “safety” boss Will Johnston, chief adherent to the robe-kissing, did nothing with either the Olympic Village fire alarm file (Tsisserev) after Tsisserev was illegally fired, and when no inspections by city electrical staff took place of Olympic venues twiddled his thumbs as well.  Now, I can confirm that the Pandora Street file which Robbins sent him last last year was a paper weight on his desk, so, of course, Ballem and Co. made Robbins the scapegoat.

FACT: Both were intimidated into leaving and both were described as doing so on their own, no push, no shove.

FACT: Robbins is, in fact, seeking legal counsel and is said to possibly be suing the City, as Tsisserev almost did.

QUESTION: Why would someone retiring go to a lawyer and seek redress and punitive damages?

So, more specifics to help you through the McLellan fog…

Carlene Robbins, a well-respected, beloved Hall employee, did not leave because she wanted to. She was pushed–and not so gently.

Shortly before Robbins was to be told that she could go away pronto and ‘think about her future’ yet another Ballem hem-smoocher, Deputy General Manager Brenda Prosken, did her best impression of a psych ward patient, sans medication, and let Robbins have it, both barrels about, among other matters, the Pandora fire “handling.” This was at a manager’s meeting that is now affectionately referred to as ‘The Second Pandora Fire’. Prosken, who reports directly to Ballem lit her hair on fire and BLASTED Robbins for what one city hall insider described to me as, “absolutely nothing, it was unbelievable, she basically made Carlene the scapegoat…they also told her she either quit or be fired…if any of the rest of us acted like Brenda, we’d be fired within a day…instead, it meant Carlene’s head…everyone knows about it but are too afraid to say anything…Xxxxxx went and approached McLellan, who said he already knew, but  just smirked and brushed it off…”

Ah, excuse me?! Didn’t Mr. McLellan, notorious whiner when he appears in any of my posts, tell Frances Bueller that he was “stunned” about Robbins departure?

He also told the intrepid Vision propagandist Bueller, “the Pandora thing was particularly tragic… we’re always looking at ways we could do things better. I don’t know if she took that as a criticism.”

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Me thinks the man is a comedian and missed his calling. He didn’t know about the Prosken circuit breaker overload? He was told about it! And he smirked!!!

These people have no shame. But here’s the killer.

On December the 8th, 2010, Carlene Robbins, decent and caring; honest and diligent, put the Pandora file ON THE DESK OF WILL JOHNSTON.

That’s right. She referred the file to her immediate superior on that date, Will Johnston, the man who has proven incompetent time and again since he replaced Ark Tsisserev as ‘Chief Life Safety Inspector’ (although you’ll find no reference to him as that anywhere at the city).

Johnston did NOTHING with it. He and HIS superiors, McLellan, Ballem and Prosken all sat on their hands.

A couple of weeks later three innocent native aboriginal men were burned to a crisp in a fire that should have NEVER happened if someone was paying attention and running City Hall properly. Robbins clearly saw the problem, informed the Hall that there was an imminent issue, and instead of being thanked, she got Prosken’s horns for speaking out.

THIS IS THE CITY HALL YOU HAVE CREATED PEOPLE, BY ELECTING THE DOCTRINAIRE, EXTREMIST, RADICAL FOOLS UNDER VISION VANCOUVER.

They fire people who tell the truth. And when people die because City Hall is being mismanaged, they cover it up.

Then again, with people like Allen Garr SHAMELESSLY defending the cover ups and not demanding a full investigation (Robbins referral to Johnston of the Pandora file is logged. I have a copy but will not release it yet…trust me).

Kudos to Ferris Bula, a regular defender of the Vision faith, but in this case she did a very, very good piece on it (although the title, chosen by some junior editor I’m sure, was idiotic, if not misleading). Shows you how bad it must have been for Bueller not to take a day off in covering a serious Vision screw up (like when she ignored my series on Tsisserev telling everyone privately that it “wasn’t a big deal” or any other series of major Vision screw ups that she excused. LOL!) And top of the tree kudos to paid political consultant and make-believe “journalist” Mike Klassen for breaking the news on Sam Sullivan’s blog.

Meanwhile, stubborn-as-a-mule, NPA millstone Suzanne Anton STILL won’t go public to say she won’t run for Mayor, so that money and decent candidates will finally walk in that party’s front door.

What a joke this city has become.

“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…”

Sing along with me…

….while we wait for sanity to return to this town, because if it doesn’t….we can’t afford another three years. Ballem, McLellan, Prosken, Johnston, THE LOT OF THEM SHOULD BE FIRED. Even if it costs us a few million.

Worth every PENNY…no?

Well, you can’t ask three dead men, they’d probably give you a biased answer from where they are.

Yup, that’s right Frances, Ark Tsisserev’s firing was no big deal….you keep telling your echo chamber that, sweetheart.

People are dying because of City Hall incompetence and the two most “prominent” journos on local issues (I didn’t say best) in Vancouver are asleep at the switch. L’ chaim Allen, no investigation necessary, eh? Wasn’t one of your family members BBQed in that hellhole was it?

You are not safe, folks. I’ve been telling you this for the last two years while the MSM have been on the attack against me because their natural political pals are in council seats and I’m applying the truth serum.

Oh well, there’s always Lee, Hasiuk, Howell and Thomas…..anyone heard from them?

You betcha.

Hope springs eternal.

____________________________________

I’ll be back on a local beat next week to give you a run up to the coming civic election. And I’ll show you some documents with Will Johnston’s signature on them that will leave you scratching your head.

Tomorrow, Friday, I’ll give you the balance of what’s owing for this week including two pieces, one on the BC Libs and one on the BC NDP that you will NOT want to miss.

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