Council, possible 4 yr term

Just curious and wondering if anyone knows where our council stands or wanting to vote next month when they go to Whistler? Are they for a four-year term? Interesting article in the Terrace Standard, thought I would share it with you and what your thoughts of having our council for a 4 yr term? With this council, there is maybe, one person I would vote for. It will be interesting to see who will be willing to run in the next election.

These politicians are just hanging around
bclocalnews.com/bc_north/ter … 89494.html

To imagine this council in for a four year term frightens me , I do not like the idea of them well except one member being there for another year. I can not think of one issue that they have settled for the citizens as of yet . There does not seem to be any movement with the present council and as I have stated before , it honestly looks as if the mayor has a real gag order on everyone who is sitting in chamber. Bit I fear that by the time another election would be called that no one would wish to put their name forward due to the mess they will have let this once fine community fall into . The mayor must allow the elected council members the right to represent the citizens who elected them , when voting on issues everyone runs in the same direction like sheep .

Elections (all of them) should be every 2 years. Hard to royally fuck shit up in that period of time but allows enough time to get things done if you don’t fuck around playing games like campbell does.

I was thinking, and in the spirit of considering alternative reasons for the above quoted statement, consider that the gag is not imposed but rather an agreement between fellow City employees. I’ve worked under a threatening, tyrannical-dictatorship-like boss before that imposes gag orders, un-orthodox and borderline criminally un-ethical assignments and impossible timelines and with even more impossible reprocussions for non-delivery - I don’t see that unhappiness of working in that type of environment in our councillors dispositions!

Gag orders cannot be imposed on representatives other than on in-camera discussions…it is a group decision as our elected officials feel it’s none of our business.

That’s right or it may be something as simple as the councillors have absolutely NOTHING to talk about as they haven’t done squat !!

I found the article interesting in that the proposal has moved forward despite the fact that the majority of people presenting in the public forums were opposed to the idea. The same reasons for extending terms to four years are the same reasons for the extension of terms from one year to two and then three years. As the author pointed out, what is the next step - five years and then more.

As to a gag order, I doubt that that is the case. However, negotiations are going on. That is good news. Let the process run its course. If nothing is accomplished by the end of September then we can certainly demand explanations.

If I were to make suggestions on how to change the way we vote in civic politics (and I dread bringing up an old issue), but I would certainly like to see the single transferable vote used in city elections.

The arguments about representing huge areas and being represented by someone not from the community would not apply in this case. The advantage would be that people would be more likely to get a councilor that they truly feel represents their point of view.

D.White"s post brought up an interesting point regarding individuals who sit on council being from the local community , which brings back another old question Does Kathy Bedard live in Rupert yet or is she still living in Port Ed ?

I don’t think there’s a gag order as such but this council seems to be very shy of public debate … quite different from other councils … news reports suggest for instance that Kitimat council meetings are more like cage matches … but perhaps … I don’t know, I don’t live there … that just reflects that after 31 years on council Mayor Joanne Monaghan is just thick skinned and has a high tolerance for debate and disagreement … characteristics that don’t readily come to mind when thinking of the mayor of this place …

It seems that here if a councillor speaks up ‘too much’ they either don’t get support from their peers or they’re treated somewhat unpleasantly by the mayor … dissent is frowned upon and actively discouraged … or maybe it’s relegated to bi-weekly 5 pm in camera discussions … but probably not … that would seem a bit impolite, just not done, after chomping through chinese or italian take-aways or hearty deli sandwiches … at taxpayers expense no doubt.

Those are my impressions, but … following from codybear’s comment above … the thought also crosses my mind that the council members don’t have much to say because they really don’t have much on their minds … preferring instead to go with the flow or whatever direction is set by the senior staff and the mayor … who was formerly, let us recall, a member of that august group that dailymews calls on occasion the ‘good ole boys’ … said if not as a term of endearment then at least I would imagine with a bit of a twinkle in his/her eye …

Which leads to the problem at hand … as DWhite points out, terms have increased from 2 years … where they should have stayed … to 3 years, and now will probably be extended to 4 … although no one has offered any compelling reason for doing that … and where does it go from there? … 5 years? After 4 years I would wonder how many people are very conscious that there is something called a municipal election that they can vote at … or at least recall what promises were made and whether they were delivered on.

There’s a point where … considering declining turnouts at less and less frequent elections … where maybe the whole system should be scrapped … turn it over to a board of party faithful and bag men appointed out of Victoria … maybe eventually privatize municipal operations … who said Westminster-style democracy with certain functions delegated to locally elected councils was to last forever? Yes, it would be interesting to know what the council’s position is on the idea of further extending the terms …

As for the idea of a single transferrable vote, that’s more of a provincial issue … the idea being that the balance of power in the legislature should better reflect the proportion of votes cast for various parties. I don’t see that working at the municipal level … it’s hard enough filling in the ballot as it is let alone marking down some ‘second choices’.

Port Ed … which is probably why ever so often she brings up highway maintenance issues at council meetings … driving back and forth she’s able to keep on top of those concerns.

When I sat in Chamber years gone by we seemed to be more open to the public and each council member represented Council on certain community boards and Jacko had a job to do plus he was directed by the council and city manager. Bill Smith was the man and he was very pleasent to work with . We did have some very good discussions and war of words , but the public was always represented and their voices were always welcomed . I sat on council when our present mayor made a brief appearance on the seat and he played the same idiot game as he does so well now. Many of my fellow council members were never impressed by his antics. I never feared speaking my mind when I sat there and the people who put me there were represented fairly at all times .

Those are my impressions, but … following from codybear’s comment above … the thought also crosses my mind that the council members don’t have much to say because they really don’t have much on their minds … preferring instead to go with the flow or whatever direction is set by the senior staff and the mayor … who was formerly, let us recall, a member of that august group that dailymews calls on occasion the ‘good ole boys’ … said if not as a term of endearment then at least I would imagine with a bit of a twinkle in his/her eye …

I love these people.
It’s not their fault they are working with low wattage. This is more our fault for electing them.

Aside from being more open and transparent, what would you do differently if you were on council right now, Justin Case?

As for the idea of a single transferrable vote, that’s more of a provincial issue … the idea being that the balance of power in the legislature should better reflect the proportion of votes cast for various parties. I don’t see that working at the municipal level … it’s hard enough filling in the ballot as it is let alone marking down some ‘second choices’.

While the original intent was to ensure that parties received seats based on the proportion of votes received, I like the idea of a single transferable vote at the municipal level because it ensures that some groups that may be marginalized have an opportunity to vote in one of their own.

With STV you have to rank your preferences. Let’s say a candidate who is campaigning on issues that are relevant to the youth of our community runs for council. Under normal circumstances, a candidate like that will have a hard time winning because he/she may not be known by the larger community or the larger community sees the person as a threat or whatever. But that person may have a large number of supporters who would place a 1 beside their name.

If 16% of the population see that one person as being the number one person to represent them, STV allows that candidate to win. Maybe we would see more youth on council. As a result maybe more young people would see a purpose in voting, knowing that someone they care about actually has a chance to win. That goes for any other group that may feel under represented.

Once we have more people on council who are representing specific people or issues, there would be more willingness to debate issues and fight for causes.

Perhaps wishful thinking, but I think it is better than the current system where candidates may be getting in simply because of name recognition.

Aside from being more open and transparent, what would you do differently if you were on council right now, Justin Case?

If I was young and my health was at par , I would probably consider being there and if being elected by the citizens of this community I would probably follow my old format . To start , I would continue to listen to the issues which concern the people , I would want the gallery to be available for open discussion and presentations from community boards , committees . I would question and try to address senior issues such as housing and health issues. I would most definately demand answers concerning our local airport and lack of proper measures concerning emergencies out there , such as the firetruck and trained personnel. I would encouage my fellow council members to represent and consider who put them there , with more courage and honesty . Reminding the mayor that his position is to listen and his or her position is only a figure head , not a wanna be dictator. I would certainly vote with my own feelings and convictions not the group of six. I would attempt to remind the Gordie Howes who they work for and who they are responsible to . I would want a council member to sit on boards not as a voter but one to brings issues to the chamber with reports , this would be on every social issue , senior issue , school and library . I would encourage having young people sitting on commitees and boards so their voice is heard. I would also invite organizations to come forward to present what they are about before the came to the city seeking dollars. Last but not least I would like to hear from ministries such as income assistance and health this would help making decisions concerning social issues. I would also continue walking with the people who put me in my seat and enjoy coffee with them at Tims.
If I was to run once more.

I don’t think that STV would succeed at the municipal level for the same reason that it didn’t succeed provincially … it’s too hard to make sense of for most people … including me and I voted for it. I also don’t see supposed ‘groups’ … young and not so young, aboriginal/non-aboriginal (I presume that’s what you’re alluding to) equating to parties at the provincial level. Maybe I’m a libertarian at heart but I’d rather see a bit less lumping of individuals together into ‘groups’ … put another way, there should be fewer assumptions about how people think or what they’re like. This is a multi-cultural society, comprised of ‘consumers’ with varying degrees of purchasing power; it’s not a collection of ‘estates’ like in pre-Revolutionary France or of commoners and lords like in Merry Olde England.

[quote=“dailymews”]

I love these people.
It’s not their fault they are below intelligence. This is more our fault for electing them. But then, who ran against them?

Oh, it’s a terrible circle, but I love it. Vastly superior to any reality show.[/quote]

Well said … I’m sure you speak for a great many men, women and bots in this place … we wouldn’t want this to be like Kitimat where a councillor can call the mayor ‘incompetent’ at an open meeting, apparently with no political sensibilities being offended or feelings hurt. By nature, people here are quite nice, comparatively speaking. We don’t want boat rockers on council because we’re not boat rockers ourselves. We mostly go with the flow.

[quote=“Justin Case”] … I would also continue walking with the people who put me in my seat and enjoy coffee with them at Tims.
If I was to run once more.[/quote]

… words from another true Rupertite … and don’t forget, Peter wasn’t afraid to hand out the occasional loonie to someone in need.

That is so true about Peter and I would hope your speaking of Peter Lester , he was a good man even though some people did not appreciate him at times , he helped me well before my election and he always took time to ask what was going down in the community . He sat on many community advisory boards for me and the people I try to help . When I first ran he gave me words of advice, " Don’t piss them all off at the same time".
Never forgot those words . I also have to say the council chambers is not where the elite meet but for the people who give a damn .

Well said. Hats off to all those who ran for an elected office and did not get in. It gives Joe Public a little faith that there are people in society that are willing to slow down their personal life and put some time and energy into their respective communities.

The town is lacking and the citizens are Leery, stores are closing , residents are moving . The Local government is getting fat sitting behind closed doors while listening to Jack . They all made promises in their platforms , kissed the hands and shook the the babies , nobody is talking and no one is listening . Now the cowboy rules the city hall and he will not stop till he Corralled us all .

Pretty dismal outlook you have. 'can’t say a agree with your rhetoric. Hope things get better for you soon. Take care.