Hard truth #2

The issue is trust. It used to be about the appropriate size of council for Prince Edward County. But when nine councillors chose to defy the expressed will of the people and then ignore the recommendation of 23 citizens in the fall of 2013, they fractured the bond between ordinary residents and their elected representatives. Who exactly did these nine councillors represent?

That is why every candidate heard it at the doorstep in the last election campaign. Skepticism. Mistrust. Why should I vote? To be ignored again?

Many didn’t vote. Some won’t ever vote again. The damage caused by the council’s refusal to act on this issue will last a long, long time.

That is why so many new council members are eager to fix this mistake early in the new mandate. They are right to do so.

Their enthusiasm will be tested, however. I suspect few understand just how difficult this task will be. The easy bit is to decide to reduce the size of council—the painfully hard bit is figuring out how to do it.

Essentially, there are two paths forward. The first is an at-large voting method, whereby every resident votes for every council member—just as we do for mayor. We avoid the issues of wards and boundaries and we move away from perceived parochialism in which councillors may be viewed as focusing on neighbourhood issues rather than on the County as a whole.

The other path retains existing wards, but overlays electoral districts every four years.

Both paths are fraught with dangerous hazards. Many will argue an at-large system risks putting too much electoral power in the Picton-Bloomfield-Wellington corridor. With roughly 7,000 votes strung along the Loyalist Parkway from Hillier to Glenora, it is not unreasonable to worry these voters will have the power to elect the majority of—if not all—council seats. Given the higher cost of campaigning across the County compared with a ward, it is easy to foresee that candidates will choose to focus their message on this narrow band of voters. Those outside these three communities will be isolated, cut off from their local government. For this reason, an at-large system for the County is a dead-end.

Instead, the new council must put its efforts into figuring out how to redraw electoral boundaries. But first, they must agree upon the reduced size of council. There will be some who argue that this should be revisited—that the primacy of historic ward boundaries should trump the recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly. This is a trap.

Some will urge a nine-member council plus mayor so that it fits with a model that carves the County into three electoral districts (three councillors per district). To do so, council will be ignoring the vast libraries of academic and experiential evidence that demonstrates that an even-numbered decision-making body leads to frequent stalemate and deadlock. We have seen plenty of evidence of this phenomenon on this very issue of council size over the past eight years with a 16-member council.

No, the next council must begin with the Citizens’ Assembly recommendation of ten councillors and one mayor and proceed from there.

My friend and colleague, Steve Campbell, suggests we simply redraw electoral districts. He contends that Ameliasburgh, Athol and South Marysburgh won’t be diminished because we vote in electoral district two. Or four. He may be right—but it won’t be easy. Or simple.

In fact, I expect this may be the most painful municipal exercise in Prince Edward County since the province decided to eliminate our town and township councils. Historic ward boundaries are already part of our County lexicon. I expect t-shirts and signs are already in the works. It will be hard and messy debate.

But just because it is difficult is not a reason to avoid acting. Council has a higher obligation—to restore trust in this battered institution. It must act— even though it is hard and painful—or risk rendering themselves irrelevant in the lives of most County residents.

For these reasons, we urge council to tread carefully as they consider the way forward. Further, we strongly urge council to consider recovening the Citizens’ Assembly to sort through the options. This accomplishes two things. It provides another set of eyes, both experienced and knowledgeable on the issues at stake, to focus exclusively on the best way forward. Second, it demonstrates council may once again be prepared to trust its residents.

Insight and trust should be viewed as much-needed fortifications by a council that is about to wander into a extremely perilous valley.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca