One of the things that has irked me throughout this civic election campaign is the tendency of some candidates to run on a platform of “listening and collaborating when new ideas come forward” whenever asked about what they plan on doing when combatting an issue. This is essentially a copout from having ideas of your own, and a way to politely admit you haven’t done your research on the matter. If you are a city councillor and this is your go-to response, then you are either disinterested in keeping up to date on issues facing residents (and therefore lazy), or frankly the issues are too complex for you and you’re in over your head.
Now this isn’t to say that some candidates can’t be better read on some issues than others and need some time to formulate a more complex plan, but I do believe that if you show up to a debate with a set agenda and item of focus, you are required to come with ideas of your own, and not respond with “council needs to hear back from the community what its priorities are.” Of course, listening to the city is important, but voters want to hear your priorities and not a promise to reject any form of self-initiative.
Vision, dynamism, and commitment to see projects through is no longer sought after in our public officials. It appears that we seek the meek, the weak and civic flak catchers.
If you are running for elected office, you should bring new ideas, not the promise to just sit there listening to the public’s perceived wants. How about “I’ve been a councillor for a couple of years now, and I’ve taken the initiative to research and consult on my own time. After that it is time for action, I’ve resolved that _____________ is a way we can best counter this issue.”
If we keep electing officials who refuse to come with plans and ideas of their own, we will continuously find ourselves in the same situations.
Sam McLaren
Prince George
