Getting here

It is a fascinating experiment. Whatever else may be said or written about the Prince Edward County Citizens’ Assembly, it cannot be denied that what is taking place above the fire station in the old town hall in Picton is a novel and potentially compelling way around a problem that has vexed municipal council for the better part of the last decade. (See story here.)

Twenty-four folks, chosen at random, are listening, learning and thinking about how many people ought to represent us on County council and how we should be represented. Should we elect council as a whole— everyone voting for each member of council, like we do for mayor? Or by community or region? And, if so, how should we draw the lines to ensure an equal balance? How do we respect the history of our wards and villages?

These are not easy issues. They have twice brought council to a grinding halt. Despite what has been written by some, Council did not give up on this issue. Nor did it skirt the challenge of trudging through the swamp known as size of council. Those who observed the life cycle of the Composition of Council Committee in 2008 will know there were hard feelings, deep divisions and everyone’s motivations were suspect. The aroma of the horse trading that was needed to push amalgamation through in 1998 still hung in the air like rotting meat.

Yet the committee, led by Councillor Bev Campbell and clerk Victoria Leskie, pushed through the noise and the mistrust. Their committee, however, wasn’t permitted to make a recommendation. Many on council, fearing they were being railroaded into a pre-ordained fix to a problem they didn’t believe existed, wanted the committee to report research findings, not a way forward. The result was 13 options plus the existing arrangement (15 councillors and 1 mayor in 10 wards).

Council spent several long days examining the 14 alternatives— constructing elaborate weighting systems in an attempt to assess the options in an analytical and substantive way. But the process proved too cumbersome and a lack of will to seriously consider change likely doomed the project from the outset.

Mayor Leo Finnegan had been a leading voice for a smaller group of municipal representatives. But by January 2009 he knew the project was finished. “I am a pragmatic person and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no point continuing to hit our heads against the wall,” said Finnegan.

The issue, Council concluded, would be put to the people in the form of a ballot question. Many, including this newspaper, argued that size of council was not a burning issue among County residents. Voices had been raised around an assortment of issues but rarely did someone complain about the inequity of representation. And given that we pay our municipal representatives the paltry sum of about $20,000 a year, the potential savings would be meaningless in a $50 million government.

But that fall, the folks of Prince Edward County offered a different opinion. More than eighty per cent of respondents to the ballot question said they wanted to see a review of the size of council.

It was a clear and unmistakable statement that this issue, in the minds of County voters, wasn’t settled, despite Council’s inability to arrive at a decision. The result disproved the assumption that County residents don’t care about the size of council and how they are represented.

Some councillors, past and present, continue to deny the outcome of the ballot—resting their view on the fact that fewer than 50 per cent of the eligible voters answered the question (even though 88 per cent of those who voted in the October 2011 election answered the ballot).

In spite of the result, Council has continued to dither. With unacceptable disrespect to its voters,council has put off the electorally demanded review until the third year of its four year term. Time is running out to make a change. Some are clearly hoping to run out the clock.

Now the question has been put to 24 County residents. Unlike the 2008 process, this working group will, indeed, make a recommendation. It will do so based upon the history that has shaped this issue over the past decade, the context of governance models used elsewhere, and guided by the values and principles each of them share about the County and the community in which they live.

Next week I will explain why I am looking forward to the recommendation of the Citizen’s Assembly and why council would be unwise to ignore it.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca