Sycophant of the Month: June 2010

Total number of ProvGov press releases issued in June: 223 (+21 from May).

Total number with the phrase "Williams Government": 10 (-18 from May).

Sycophancy index: 4.5% (-9.4% from May).


It would have been hard to top last month's epic blowout... so they didn't even try. Despite the total number of ITAR-DAN releases climbing to a staggering 223 — certainly the highest on record since January 2005; possibly the highest monthly total ever — the WilliamsGovernmenty ones dropped back to below April levels, resulting in the largest month-over-month drop in the sycophancy index, ever.

Oh? CRA was in the field in May? Really. Wow. Did not know that.

Anyway... reliable Tom Marshall kicked things off for the month on June 2nd, reminding everyone of the Williamsy Awesomeness of Budgetosity 2010, answered almost immediately by his talented colleague Ms. Johnson.

Then, nine days of nothing, not unlike an international soccer game. (Incidentally, anyone know why so many of those soccer guys are named Fifa? Some of them should start going by Fifalito, Fifino, Fiforetto; anything to tell them apart.)

Recent high-roller Tom Hedderson got himself on the board, the traditional place of the Minister of Pavement, on the 11th, followed by none other than DWG himself, who, for good measure, WilliamsGovernmented himself three times in one release.

Then, eleven more days of nothing. Not even the buzzing of a vuvuzela.

The socceresque tedium was finally broken with a natural hat-trick by Tom Hedderson, with three consecutive days of Roadwork Rolling into Central Region, Roadwork Heads West, and the concluding episode of the trilogy, Road Improvements Coming to the Burin Peninsula. Jerome Kennedy capped the third week of the month with a single.

Susan Sullivan got on the board on Canada Eve, and unlike last year, was careful to credit this July 1st hike in the minimum wage to You-Know-Who Government. And Tom Marshall made good and sure that anyone earning that higher minimum wage, or any other wage, would know who to thank for the take-home pay, with his second of the month, and the second triple-WilliamsGovernmenting to boot.

But it was academic at this point. With his hat-trick plus one, Tom Hedderson handily defeats the other five scorers to reclaim the monthly title after Jerome Kennedy rudely interrupted his streak in May.

Congratulations, Tom!