Dear Editor,
Elections are coming; your chance to shape your world. Here’s what I would like to see in the upcoming municipal and MRC elections: voters asking questions of the candidates before they vote, rather than complaining afterward that councillors, mayors and warden don’t do as we wanted. Then, councillors and mayors, don’t act as if you’re guarding state secrets and hidden agendas. Let your constituents know what’s being discussed and planned, before projects are underway, and irretrievable money is thrown toward them.
Incompetent citizens elect incompetent councils. We’re all out of perfect people, so we have to make do with the citizenry and the candidates that we have on hand. Political office should be a short-term thing, not a career. The real business of living is done at home, at the office, on the streets and backroads, and very little is actually done at the council table. When citizens approach in bad faith, with ‘gotcha’ attitudes, councillors withdraw like snails into their shells. When councils fail to clearly engage, citizens resort to rumours of conspiracy. Once again, these are all just people, and that’s the way it should be.
Local councils are caught between the Quebec government’s mania for everyone to walk, talk and act the same, and the taxpayers’ hunger for all the amenities, with none of the cost. It’s a lot for an amateur politician to deal with. So be kind, and remain vigilant – this is your world. Make the best of it, while you’re here.
Robert Wills, Shawville and Thorne
