Did Councillor Jackson just wake up or did the media?

As Councillor Pam Jackson slowly sails into retirement this fall, she has suddenly become very vocal. She will not seek re-election in the November municipal elections, as announced last month.
A number of stories have appeared in the media with Jackson going on about a host of topics ranging from councillor#039s salaries to Port Hope#039s contribution to the current Northumberland Hills Hospital fundraising campaign.
Her most recent foray into public debate was a set of caustic comments around Northumberland County#039s plans for new headquarters on the northwest corner of Elgin and Burnham streets.
It began with words of warning to not let the architects come up with some ghastly looking structure.
"The federal and provincial governments have built some notoriously ugly buildings in the past," she is quoted as saying in the newspaper.
After sharpening her claws, Jackson moved in for the killing swipe.
"Can we keep tweaking it so that it doesn#039t take place?" she said later.
And, here is her real motivation.
Forget the architectural critique, Jackson doesn#039t want the county to build. And, she is not alone. Several others have questioned whether or not the building is truly needed. Northumberland County council is vacating its current building, constructed more than 50 years ago, to allow the provincial courts to take over the building. The structure has already undergone several renovations over the years as the courts have expanded. Now, with the move to consolidate its entire operations in Cobourg by closing the court in the Bailey at Victoria Hall. There were complaints the historic courtroom was unsafe and not suited to modern judicial needs.
But instead of the county telling the courts to get new digs at the province#039s expense, it rolled over and agreed to vacate its headquarters and build new ones.
No doubt, there were fears the province would consolidate its operations for West Northumberland in Port Hope or somewhere other than Cobourg, if the county failed to agree. It would be highly unlikely the province would build a new building for the courts.
Besides, the county has been itching to get a new building for decades.
It almost succeeded in the mid-1990s, when the county council of the day, all 33 members, wanted to build a new superstructure adjacent to lands it owned next to HIghway 401. The design looked like a wedge of cheese and it would have been a monument. Yet, costs and a lack of political will meant it did not get done. Talk of amalgamation and downsizing municipal government were in the wind. Also, many councils were trying to cut budgets and taxes, not increase them.
This time it may be harder to stop. Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty was quick to quell Jackson#039s criticism, saying the building will be a "signature building". There is also going to be a reflecting pool and a monument.
The $9.2 million structure is before Cobourg council waiting to be finalized.
With Jackson having nothing to lose politically, she may be going out with a bang. If she can garner enough public support, this may be her opportunity to pay back the rest of council for some of the crap she has put up with over her two terms.
Hang on.