Saint John — City council along with Mayor Mel Norton voted Monday to turn on the tree lights uptown every night of the year, rather than just for 2 months during the holiday season.
While this pronouncement has been celebrated by many people on social media who think that the tree lights are “pretty,” the decision is not supported by everyone — least of all the mayor’s wife, Stephanie Norton, who thinks that the ordinance is just an excuse her husband contrived to be lazy.
“It’s embarrassing,” said Stephanie, bitterly. “I’ll bet you anything that Brad Woodside doesn’t keep Fredericton’s Christmas lights up for an entire year.”
Norton stated that his wife brings up the fact that her mother always wanted her to live in Fredericton on a near-daily basis. “Because it’s a ‘capital’ city,” he said, doing an unflattering impression of his mother-in-law.
“But noooooo,” said Stephanie, picking up the story. “I just had to run away to the dirt and grime of New Brunswick’s ‘bad boy’ city, like the foolhardy teenager I was.”
Clearly, the discussion had moved away from the issue of the uptown tree lights, and onto to something much deeper and more personal between the mayor and his wife. As the argument became more heated, our Manatee reporter quietly excused himself, dodging a soaring plate on his way out.