Regional Coun. DiPaola says signs for charity misplaced across Richmond Hill

'It doesn’t tell me what’s going on, what it’s about, and I really just thought it was like visual pollution'

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 22, 2020

 Richmond Hill Regional Councillor Joe DiPaola who has recently caused confusion over his signs said they were intended for promoting an out-of-town privately funded charity event and some were misplaced across the city.

The mysterious appearance of several colourful signs with DiPaola’s name on in early September had many people in Richmond Hill scratching their heads over what they were for.

“It doesn’t tell me what’s going on, what it’s about, and I really just thought it was like visual pollution. So you’re just putting something up to basically promote your name,” said Michael Taggart, a local business owner, who stumbled upon two of the signs in the week of Sept. 7.

He said the two signs, one at Richmond Green and the other at the intersection between Bayview Avenue and Elgin Mills, were removed after being on display for about a week.

In an email response on Sept. 17, the regional councillor said the signs were put up in order to promote a charity event -- his second Annual Charity Golf Classic -- on Sept. 16 for Abuse Hurts, a Newmarket-based agency that aims to significantly reduce the incidence and impact of abuse through education and public awareness.

On the upper left corner of the sign in a photo taken by Taggart, “abuse hurts” can be seen in a smaller text next to “Thank you for the general support.”

The golf tournament, however, was not mentioned on the sign.

Taggart said he didn’t find out about the event that DiPaola was hosting in supportive of Abuse Hurts until he saw a post about it on DiPaola’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the signs with the city logo on were spotted across Richmond Hill a week prior to the event, even though the golf tournament was scheduled to take place in Whitchurch-Stouffville.

The signs were only intended for the road access locations near Meadowbrook Golf Club where the event was held, the regional councillor responded.

“The signs for this charity event were mistakenly placed in a few locations around the city through a miscommunication,” DiPaola said, noting the misplaced signs were removed the very next day.

In his response to questions raised about the cost of the signage and the golf tournament, DiPaola said the event was “entirely funded” by private donations and sponsorship.

No tax dollars were used, he said.

“That’s poor use of charity money. Whoever paying for these signs, I think the money would’ve been better off for the charity’s goal, instead of self-promotion of a councillor,” Taggart told The Liberal.

The local business owner also pointed out that the regional councillor’s wife Charity DiPaola sits on the board of directors of Abuse Hurts, the agency where DiPaola said the proceeds of the golf tournament was going.

The regional councillor said his family and he had supported this charity for many years and his wife’s involvement in the past and present was “strictly voluntary with no remuneration of benefit.”

He added that it was their intention to allocate proceeds to other charities that have local impact in the future.

DiPaola's golf tournament was probably the first public event held by a Richmond Hill representative in a while as the city has cancelled all city-led and council festivals and events until September 30 since mid-March due to COVID-19.

“There is no bylaw specifying where members of council can hold events,” city spokesperson Libbi Hood wrote in an email on Sept. 18.

She noted the city’s sign bylaw establishes rules for community special event signs on city streets but doesn’t apply to regional roads within the city.

“I think it’s wrong,” Taggart said of DiPaola’s signs. “As we’re not allowed to have open house signs promoting a house for sales. I don’t’ know why we can have signs that really just promote the councillor.”