Caricatures (2011 - 2013)

caricature politics Canada democracy pencil activism people cartoon humour newspaper alexandra davidoff

What Price for a Politician's Soul? The conga line leading to the confessional booth has candidates getting absolution on a selective criteria rather than the equality of law. Featuring St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan and regional councillors who breached the Municipal Elections Act by accepting multiple contributions from the same individuals. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/08/double-dipping-part-two-part-deux.html

The Niagara area was in the grip of a tragic period with the C-Difficile outbreak. Many families lost loved ones and friends as the death toll rose again and again. Still the Government of Ontario remained silent regardless of the pleas for help from the Niagara community. In response to this tragedy, I depicted Premier Dalton McGuinty as the Grim Reaper with Minister for Health Deb Matthews as his lady in waiting. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/08/nhs-crisis.html

During the re-election campaign for St. Catharines Mayor McMullan, Minister Jim Bradley was declared as one of his financial contributors. Circumstances helped coin the title - Protecting a Political Pal. Cue eyebrow lift. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2011/08/minister-jim-bradley-protecting.html

Selective Justice = Blind Justice. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/09/selective-justice-blind-justice.html

There's no doubt that www.mayorgate.blogspot.com presents itself as a thorn in the feet of St. Catharines Ontario's political landscape. But on September 1, 2011 the pressure showed evidence of bubbling over. Mayor McMullan, depicted above, enraged in pjs and bunny slippers, got his lawyer from Lancaster, Brooks & Welch LLP, to send a letter threatening legal action. Our retaliation became public with a brave and eloquent statement. Nothing was heard from McMullan or his lawyers afterward. Not even a squeak. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/10/mayor-mcmullan-attempts-shutdown-of.html

The debate centred on Canada's Albertan oilsands has given the country an international standing which it never enjoyed similarly before. Prime Minister Stephen Harper looks on with glee as he pulls Ethical Oil spokesman Ezra Levant's strings, Environment Minister Peter Kent looking from behind, trying to memorize unfamiliar environmental terminology. Original featured in the article http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/11/ethical-oil-vs-ethical-tobacco.html

The Governor General of Canada tries to be a salesman for the oilsands. Say what? Even the Queen looks shocked (well, at least in my caricature.) http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-queen-selling-oil-sands.html

On the eve of the Jubilee Year celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II, my image of a stern faced ageing Monarch with 'oil thugs' as her bodyguards surfaced with a provocative article title 'Royal Descent' http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2011/12/royal-descent.html

Everything tastes like chicken. Merry Christmas 2011. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2011/12/christmas-wish-and-chicken-dish.html

Mayorgate rang in the new year with my elegant illustration that aimed to get readers thinking: what future would you rather have? http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2011/12/happy-new-year-to-all.html

In the Court of Public Opinion, anonymous accusations can be either exaggerated or exposed for what they really are. And when no one was willing to question the disappearance of the equality of law, mayorgate stepped in. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/01/salems-witch-hunt-comes-to-niagara.html

Is anybody looking? Years of one resident's illegal parking went unticketed. Absolutely shocking. Especially when other vehicles were ticketed, illegally parked in the exact same spot! This caricature was accompanied with full photographic evidence of the truck and officials that spat upon our Canadian Charter of Rights. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/04/charter-of-rights-obliterated-by.html

Dr. Valerie Jaeger MD, PhD., the Chief Medical Officer for Ontario's Niagara Region lied. And there's undeniable proof. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-valerie-jaeger-md-phd-lied.html

My artistic response to the unoriginal Puppet Rap video, which took one of my original caricatures and copied my concepts without my permission. Yes, this one is original. So is the article exposing the situation in detail: http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/03/puppet-rap-overlap-or-fraud.html

Mayorgate turns 2. The Emancipated Monkeys celebrate with a banana cake, joined by Mayorgate publisher/writer Alexander Davidoff, who stepped out from the behind the scenes to be featured in his first caricature portrait. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/05/mayorgates-2nd-anniversary.html

Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley refuses to answer the people of his riding. There's a serious issue of contamination ailing a peaceful community in St. Catharines, double fried in a cover-up that leaves too much to the imagination. On the beach, that's no one's desire. So in this caricature Bradley steps out clad in a tight wetsuit, ready for a dip, or a marinade? http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/06/ministry-of-environment-negligence.html

LIAR LIAR Pants on Fire. Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley gets his MOE underlings to try and put out the flames, but none of them realize they're only igniting more embarrassment. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/07/liar-liar-pants-on-fire.html

This one leaves hilarious suggestions to the beholder's imagination. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/07/grabbing-integrity-in-politics-by-horns.html

Gisele Bundchen plants a tree, accompanied by Don Cheadle in his War Machine armour. Does Hollywood endorsement make the environment a more attractive cause? http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/07/rios-environmental-carnivale.html

Some painful realities behind what has become of the environment in the public's eyes. This caricature illustrates environmentalists asking for donations, selling every inch of our ecosystem in order to support themselves. But what are they really doing for our Earth? Every smile and bit of merchandise that pretends to be eco friendly conceals an ulterior motive. The Earth is not a soccer ball, so stop kicking it around! http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/04/earth-is-not-soccer-ball-so-stop.html

The first of a pair of caricatures on http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-more-people-question-status-quo.html Its significance in today's television/newspaper culture doesn't need much explaining.

The second caricature of the pair on http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-more-people-question-status-quo.html It symbolizes mayorgate's unbiased and brave journalism as the Emancipated Monkeys tear up the censored articles of the competition.

Voice of Freedom Dies - Голос свободы умер. This caricature has gathered 6000+ views on Google Picasa Web Albums only a month after its début on Aug. 27 2012. Originally featured in http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/08/pussy-riot-censored-by-disappropriate.html it features the Russian double headed eagle transformed to accommodate the swollen heads of Putin and Stalin, two tyrants opposed to anyone who questions them. The three women of Pussy Riot dangling from a noose in Putin's claw mirror the image of a religious puppet in Stalin's claw. It symbolizes Russia today and Russia of yesterday, that struggle for freedom continues even under the guise of democracy.

As the Fleur-de-lis dances, the Maple leaf falls. Unity v.s. Sovereignty. http://mayorgate.blogspot.com/2012/10/unity-versus-sovereignty.html

Ezra Levant, host of Sun News Network's 'The Source', is "a veteran journalist" and "hailed as Canada's no.1 defender of free speech" (according to Sunnewsnetwork.ca/shows/the-source). His hateful (televised!!!) rant against the Roma Community on "The Jew vs. the Gypsies" September 5th 2012 raised eyebrows and ugly questions. When did 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of the press' take on the role of justification for a complete indifference to the rights and dignity of others? This hasn't been the first shocking (televised!!!) outburst we've heard from Levant, though each time he has been protected from harsher consequences by Sun Media. Hence the umbrella ornamented with the face of Pierre Karl Peladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor Inc., Quebecor Media Inc., and the Sun Media Corporation. Is Levant the only star dangling himself on the media's edge of what's right and wrong? http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2012/12/how-far-can-freedom-of-press-go.html

Colourful, impossible, inspiring resoltions. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2012/12/it-is-time.html

Here is Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiskat First Nation, the unifying symbol of the IDLE NO MORE indigenous rights movement. Her hunger strike protest has made her into a celebrity of sorts, known worldwide and painted as a "willing martyr for her people and Mother Earth, standing up against a non-caring federal government." But as the truth percolates into the realm of public knowledge, Chief Theresa Spence isn't who she seems to be. You may think you've read it all, with the Deloitte audit leak and the stories of journalists being evicted from the Attawapiskat reserve while Chief Spence refuses to answer questions. You may think you've heard enough. Well, you really haven't. "The Forked-Tongue Teepee", featured beside the shocking article "Chief Theresa Spence Feasts on Misconceptions" on mayorgate.blogspot.com, shows a teepee draped in the skin of our national pride, our Canadian flag. At what cost does this teepee provide shelter? Read the shocking article here: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/01/chief-theresa-spence-feasts-on.html

"The Many Faces of Chief Spence - Saint, Hero, or Sinner." Without the media frenzy over Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike one can question if IDLE NO MORE could have broken through international borders. Her protest and 'selfless' drama was used as a symbol of IDLE NO MORE. But as the warriors for Mother Earth condemn Bill C-45, Chief Spence of Attawapiskat sits upon an Attawapiskat Trust that invests in Enbridge Inc., Pembina pipeline corp., Exxon Mobil corp., Halliburton Co., Petroleo Brasileiro Sa Adr, and various other oil and gas companies. And as Chief Spence herself cries about the state of poverty of her people in Attawapiskat, a close examination of the reserve's financials ignite confusion. Few have it all and many have nothing in Attawapiskat. To anyone with a logical mind and a heart, the evidence points to something disgusting and unacceptable. Read the in depth analysis: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/01/chief-theresa-spence-canadas-martyr-or.html

The deception behind the hunger strike of Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat has been revealed with shocking though irrefutable evidence. So what of the opposition politicians who shined her public pedestal of hunger heroism? Interim Federal Liberal Party Leader Bob Rae is depicted here, perched atop innocent bodies. His filmed visit to Attawapiskat (on Dec. 17th, 2011) showed houses in disrepair and the pitiful inhabitance, but when proof in the form of Attawapiskat's own financial statements points towards a reality far from what has been Attawapiskat's media image, one question remains: has opposition politics sunk to a new low in Canada? There are people in peril in Attawapiskat, and their bodies are being used as Bob Rae's soap box while he and other opposition politicians exalt the farce Chief Theresa Spence has clearly used to guide the public gaze away from the truth. It is time the privileged families stop hiding their privileges. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/02/has-opposition-politics-sunk-to-new-low.html

We like to think our various regulatory bodies, our 'watchdogs,' keep our democracy in check. But as lawyers oversee complaints against lawyers, doctors oversee complaints against doctors, police oversee complaints against police, etc., what are we left with other than a ineffectual club - a 'watchdog' with its dentures left wet on the floor. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/02/societal-watchdogs.html

Canada's polar bear has been a long enduring symbol, utilized on Coca-Cola boxes and once even considered as replacing the beaver as our national animal. In 2011 the polar bear was listed as a species of special concern, which under the SARA (Species At Risk Act) is one level below threatened and two below endangered. At that time in 2011 Environment Minister Peter Kent went on to say “Canada's home to two-thirds of the world's polar bear population and we have a unique conservation responsibility to effectively care for them. Our government is demonstrating leadership in protecting this iconic species.” But the tune changed this year 2013 at the CITES convention in Bangkok when Canada opposed a ban, proposed by Russia and the US, on the trade of polar bear skins, teeth and paws. Trophy hunting, which has become a profitable business and a part of tourism, is definitely impacting the future survival of the polar bear. But with aboriginal peoples arguing that it's part of their rights to hunt, and the WWF trying to convince us global warming is the only proven thing at fault for the polar bear's population decline, is there any room for logic and the truth?

"What motivates modern man to leave the comforts of his natural environment, his home and Facebook, put on camouflage, load a hunting rifle and end the life of another creature?" Read: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/03/what-is-value-of-extinction.html

Andre Marin, the Ombudsman of Ontario - "my only power remains the power of moral suasion." http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/04/omlet-or-simply-broken-eggs.html

In previous articles covering Chief Theresa Spence and the Attawapiskat Reserve, mayorgate.blogspot.com uncovered shocking truth in the form of questionable Financial Statements and the Attawapiskat Trust investments. 58 days after being sent an email full of questions, Danny Metatawabin, Chief Spence's spokesman, responds. But not with any answers or Idle No More rhetoric. Instead, he makes an odd request that leaves you wondering 'why?' Find out what the request is, with an overview of all the questions he left unanswered: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/04/chief-theresa-spence-danny-metatawabin.html

Why is a rabbit or an egg considered the shining symbols of Easter time? A boxing match between the two should settle this! What's this? Such violence doesn't solve anything, you say?! Well, let's indulge for entertainment's sake. Besides, this can't even be classified as animal cruelty, fact being real bunnies don't have muscles and eggs with limbs aren't real at all. Happy Easter everyone, enjoy! Delve into the myths and beauty of easter: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-myths-and-beauty-of-easter.html

Here's a pair of green thumbs who take to heart what Christopher Lloyd dared all gardeners: "do something outlandish, to splash out, and be freer than ever." Read the first chapter in the tale of their inspiring green adventures: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/05/silent-splendour-gardens-journey.html

To a mostly secluded artist like myself who spends the greater portion of her time playing with pencils in the company of only some headphones and her own smell, a garden can appear to be a fantastical, magical, science fiction universe, an entire foreign dimension caught intruding on the world she knows. Its mysterious inhabitants, the creatures called plants, toy with her curiosity and her sense of bravery. But the mystery is what makes it beautiful.

Monkey determination and pedal power. The mascots of mayorgate.blogspot.com learn to cycle in celebration of their third year anniversary. http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/05/monkey-determination-and-pedal-power.html

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne as the Political Shiva. "She walks without seeing, she speaks and says nothing, and she hears without listening." And, she's featured alongside a shocking tale. The tale of a lawyer caught lying, a developer's law breaching, media censorship, and a silent government: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/06/law-lawyers-are-they-one-and-same.html

Lawyer John Willey with St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan close behind stand upon a mountain, tugging at a rope of deceit. At the bottom, city councillors Burch and Stevens dangle, clinging to the rope with all their might. The rope is a long one, stretching across an issue of failed democracy, environmental wrongs, and bewildered constituents that has endured years of questionable secrecy. Lawyer John Willey, McMullan, Burch, and Stevens find themselves at the forefront. Their rope may be long, and their grip may be desperate. But gravity and the truth can never be forgotten, and is never generous or forgiving. Read the details of this shocking story here: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/08/deceit-censorship-breed-corruption.html

John McConnell founded the concept of Earth Day, in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. His proposal was to celebrate the Earth's life and beauty, to advance peace and to alert 'earthlings' about the need for preserving and renewing the threatened ecological balances upon which all Earth bound life relies. The first celebration of Earth Day was held on March 21st 1970, while a month later (April 22nd, 1970) another was founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson. June 1970 saw the creation of a worldwide Earth Day Proclamation signed by 36 world leaders that declared the principles and responsibilities of signers for the benefit of the Earth. Fast forward - the date of April 22nd was officially designated as 'International Mother Earth Day' by a consensus resolution adopted by the United Nations in 2009. Today, the celebration is coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and is celebrated in more than 192 countries every year.

From those ambitious beginnings and good intentions, how far have we really come? Earth Day is so heavily steeped in political rhetoric and celebrity glamour that it becomes easy to get distracted by the laughable impracticality of what the media promotes as being 'eco-friendly'. But that doesn't change the fact that the Earth is still in our hands. Here's to hoping we don't drop it. Read: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/04/earth-day-hits-wall-of-reality.html

Requiem for the fallen journalist.

'The Standard' reporters Marlene Bergsma and Jeff Bolichowski are joined by Editor-in-Chief Peter Conradi in the act of pallbearing, carrying a coffin heavy with the limp body of forgotten integrity. No strangers to deceit and misconception, they have each been caught with unarguable evidence in less than flattering situations that make their positions of media authority questionable. From lying in print to cover up a mayor's fixing of a by-law fine, to omitting from a report crucial facts relating to the breaches of the Planning Act/Zoning By-Laws by a developer, to the cropping of photographs to suit a story. The coffin is becoming heavier each day, casting an increasingly large shadow of doubt, distrust, disappointment, and disbelief. Read the details: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/09/can-opposition-be-silenced.html

Premier of Quebec Pauline Marois and Prime Minister Stephen Harper take a lesson in human rights, equality and the Canadian Constitution from Justin Trudeau. One is perplexed but trying to concentrate. The other is arrogantly looking away, and might have to be dragged to the principal's office.

http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-charter-of-quebec-values-defiles.html

“A world that recognizes the rights of the disabled, ensures that people with disabilities can be productive members of their communities and nations, and provides an inclusive and accessible environment, is a world that will benefit all of us – with or without disabilities.” - Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General on the issues of the disabled and human rights.

Meet Bob Handsplant. He's lost his legs to illness and has also lost many fingers. The apartment on Gale Crescent in St Catharines (owned by Niagara Regional Housing) where he has been living for four years has doorways so narrow that every time he tries to pass through he injures his hands and smashes his wheelchair (as seen in this video). He has to go down to the second floor to take a shower. The apartment also features an elegant 8 inch (approx.) stoop one must step over to get to the balcony. So in the case of a fire, how can this wheelchair bound senior manage to save himself? Bob's situation is one filled with sorrow, stress, and embarrassment. His attempt to get help has left a rather interesting trail of correspondence from the NRH. What is admirable about Bob is his attitude. When speaking of his dilemma, his eyes may be sad, but his voice is full of courage, strength, and a desire to live no matter the hardship. He speaks with a simple wish that other disabled people don't have to go through what he has and still is going through. Be inspired: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/10/disabled-body-heart-full-of-pride-bob.html

Halloween. It is a time for fun, laughter, candy, and maybe a few screams (if that's what you're into). Commercialized to the plastic point of no return, it is a time for children and adults alike to dress up and socialize over sweet flavours and friends. Kids go trick-or-treating, adults go partying. You may argue that neither is safe or good for your health. But both will be done. Lollipops and chocolate, and chips, and cake....and maybe some grown up liquids at the other end of the spectrum. But with all this talk of candy and partying, it's easy to forget that Halloween indeed has a unifying purpose for celebration around the world. So may this informative and clever article (featuring this fun drawing of children and playful monsters) enlighten and entertain you: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/10/halloween-fun-sacrificed-by-political.html

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (center) is joined by America's Barack Obama (right) , Britain's David Cameron (left), Russia's Vladimir Putin (far right) and China's Xi Jinping (far left). Floating above their heads aren't ordinary balloons - they're journalists, representative of the modern day media dangling limply in motions manipulated by the political wind. This caricature is a metaphor for the current climate of modern democracy, or rather, the illusion of democracy and freedom of information, as big media bends to the ultimate wishes of big politics.

That said, Tim Knight's "Watching the Watchdog" blog titled "Why Citizen Bloggers Aren't Journalists," in which he blasts bloggers as being "..not by nature into accuracy, balance and fairness, the hallmarks of good journalists.,” but boasts that “journalists are different from other people. We're trained to report on all sides without fear or favour. We're trained to serve the people, not the powers that be – which includes governments and our unions and our political beliefs and the nice people who sign our cheques,” is shocking. Bloggers - journalists who aren't paid and who aren't censored - are sometimes all that stand between what politics want us to read/hear and what we need to read/hear. Always challenging the methods of traditional media, bloggers, or "citizen journalists," present facts that would have never seen the light of day if it weren't for the internet and the bravery of these unpaid, uncensored writers. Case in point - Mayorgate, a shocking blog of facts uncensored and inarguably backed up with proof some would rather have remained hidden. Mayorgate was born out of a will to speak out against the observed and proven media censorship in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada, but it has grown to speak out on national and international issues, with democracy and freedom of speech/information being centrefold. Read Mayorgate's response to 'journalism guru' Tim Knight: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/11/journalistsare-different-from-other.html

Integrity Commissioner Robert J. Swayze is dressed in janitor garb and ready to sweep unflattering evidence into the black hole of political "integrity." An Integrity Commissioner in a municipality of Ontario, Canada, is said to maintain the ethical conduct of municipal officials and employees, striving to encourage and sustain a culture of integrity and accountability. In the event of an investigation that has risen from an accepted inquiry, the Integrity Commissioner has the authority to gather documents and question witnesses under oath, after which the Integrity Commissioner's findings and recommendations in relation to the inquiry and the gathered/examined evidence are gathered in a report presented to council for council to decide if those recommendations are to be implemented. However, the recommendations themselves are limited to either a reprimand or a suspension of pay (for a max of 90 days). Boiled down to simple terms - "when an investigation is complete the commissioner is no more effective than the armchair sports enthusiast yelling out advice and tips at a television screen." In Robert J. Swayze's case, his limited authority as Integrity Commissioner isn't the only problem. It's his concept of fairness and objectivity that brings greater doubt. Here's why: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/12/integrity-commissioner-robert-swayzes.html

The Earth is as beautiful as, or even more beautiful than, an ornament. With every smudge and crack of wear, it increases in value. And like an ornament, it is passed down to future generations to enjoy. But as our not so giving attitudes and modern lack of wonder in nature takes over our potential, where is the spirit of Christmas and the wellbeing of both humanity and mother nature stand? Hopefully not forgotten after the 25th. read: http://mayorgate.blogspot.ca/2013/12/a-gift-of-giving-act-of-taking.html

xoxoxoxoxoxo