And we’re off.
Hopefully Mayor Lyn Hall’s announcement Monday night that he won’t be running for a third term as mayor, combined with Todd Corrigall’s announcement Wednesday morning that he’s running for mayor this fall, will open the floodgates of announcements from candidates running for mayor, city councillor, school board trustee and regional district representative.
Regardless of their politics, most candidates run because they care about their community and they want to make it better, for their families, for their children, for everyone. They care so much that they’re willing to seek public office, rather than just volunteer and make donations to worthy charities. The discussions and debates over what needs to be better, how to make it better and at what cost is democracy in action.
Corrigall made it crystal clear in his announcement that he thinks he can do a better job than the outgoing mayor. Now it’s the job of voters (and diligent reporters and editors, of course) to unpack the promises.
In Corrigall’s case, as Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO, he challenged the City of Prince George to find a five per cent tax savings without cutting staff or reducing services and complained he never heard back. Considering how much of the city expenses are tied up in labour costs and how much of those costs are tied up in police officer and firefighter wages, a five per cent tax savings is no simple thing. And what exactly is there to cut if services and staffing stay the same?
The devil is always in the details and those details always matter.
Corrigall is running on a “change” platform, a tried-and-true method for newbies across the political spectrum to get elected, from Barack Obama and Donald Trump to Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau. So, no change there.
Furthermore, everybody loves change… when somebody else gets handed the bill. How much is it going to cost and who’s going to pay? The only change that’s cheap are the coins jingling in your pocket.
Lastly, no mention from Corrigall about downtown social issues (odd considering he made his announcement at Wood Innovation Square) or what he’d like to do with that $28 million FortisBC windfall sitting in the city’s bank account waiting to be spent by the next mayor and council.
Hopefully he and the candidates to come have some concrete answers, giving Prince George voters what they need to make good choices in October.
That’s also democracy in action.
Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
