Same old story

Citizens’ Assembly recommendation of 10 councillors defeated

The matter was likely dead long before it even reached the council table last week, but just to be sure, nine members of council extinguished their last chance to fix their own house.

Despite an overwhelming majority vote in 2010 seeking a review of the size of council, and, despite a clear and broadly supported recommendation, emerging from that review, that council be reduced from 15 to 10 councillors—a majority of council rejected any change at all at a special meeting of council last Wednesday night.

Now council members will try to carry on, ignoring the unfairness of the unbalanced representation that was created in the rush when the County was amalgamated. They will limp along with the same inefficiency inherent when 16 folks try to make a decision. They will pretend they didn’t hear their own citizens, who told them plainly in the last election that status quo wasn’t good enough.

But that is exactly what nine members of council have given them—more of the same.

“At last the silent majority have found their voice,” crowed Councillor Terry Shortt of Sophiasburgh to the 55 folks who had filed into the pews at Shire Hall last Wednesday, mostly in opposition to any change.

Two dissenting members of the Citizens’ Assembly, unable to persuade their majority colleagues of the correctness of their view, over three Saturdays this past summer, took their case directly to the council chamber.

Former Sophiasburgh councillor Kathleen Vowinckel presented a petition bearing more than 800 signatures, gathered by herself and former County councillor Monica Alyea, urging council to vote against any change.

“Ameliasburgh Fair won’t happen in Ameliasburgh anymore, because Ameliasburgh won’t exist,” suggested Vowinckel. “Leave well enough alone.”

Bill McMahon, another one of four dissenting voices on the Citizens’ Assembly, attempted to diminish the significance of the fact that 81 per cent of those who answered the ballot question during the last municipal election voted for a review.

“You can twist numbers anyway you want,” said McMahon. “You are flogging a dead horse. Give up the battle. Walk away.”

A great many in the gallery were concerned about changes to ward boundaries. A proposed map redrawing the County into five electoral districts drew fire for cleaving off Rossmore and Fenwood Gardens from Ameliasburgh and joining these communities to Sophiasburgh for the purposes of electing council representatives. There were other challenges with the proposed map—Glenora was set to become part of Sophiasburgh and a corner of Hillier was proposed to move to Ameliasburgh.

But council never got the chance to consider the proposal or try to fix it. Nine members of council had already decided they would kill the entire business.

Nor did they give any consideration to Gary Mooney’s N.E.W. plan that would have enabled council to reduce their numbers while avoiding the inherently risky task of redrawing ward boundaries.

Athol councillor Jamie Forrester said he participated in a couple of town hall meetings with an open mind, but ultimately wasn’t persuaded by the arguments for change.

“This is democracy,” said Forrester to the 55 citizens arrayed in the gallery.

Perhaps sensing democracy extended beyond these 55 folks, Picton councillor Brian Marisett offered a more nuanced argument against reducing council size.

“There are different values in the different regions of the County,” said Marrisett. “It is important that we represent these various values.”

Fellow Picton councillor Bev Campbell urged her colleagues to listen to the electorate—cautioning them of the danger in ignoring the will of the people.

“Eighty one per cent voted for a review of council,” said Campbell. “It was a clear message. To me that was a mandate. In response we commissioned a Citizens’ Assembly to make a recommendation. They’ve spoken. I can think of no better process to determine that number.”

Perhaps the most perplexing vote was that of North Marysburgh councillor Robert Quaiff. Quaiff had voted in favour of the Citizens’ Assembly. He had voted in favour of its recommendation to reduce the number of councillors to 10. Though he said last week, he only voted for the recommendation so that he had something to bring to his constituents at a town hall meeting in his ward.

At that meeting the councillor asked for a show of hands from the assembled residents. All but a couple of hands rose in favour of the smaller council size. A few less, but still a majority, raised their hands in support of the proposed electoral district map.

Yet when Quaiff’s name was called last week he voted against reducing the size of council.

“After that meeting, the phone calls and emails started coming,” explained Quaiff. “I changed my mind.”

The issue was already doomed—eight councillors had already signaled they were against making a change. Quaiff’s decision to make it nine will surely cause some in North Marsyburgh to wonder why they came out to the town hall meeting. Why were they asked their opinion if their councillor wasn’t listening?

The 7,578 folks who voted for a review of council in the last municipal election are surely asking themselves the same question this week. So too are the residents who gave up three sunny summer Saturdays this past summer to consider the issues and make a recommendation on the size of council.

Last week’s vote effectively closes the window on any change for the next municipal election, set for next fall. It seems unlikely council will act to address the concerns raised about the ward boundaries in town hall meetings across the County. There is little appetite to fix something that many around the horsehoe don’t believe is broken. Several councillors say it is time to move on and put this issue behind them. They have won the day, so nothing will change.

Now it is up to County residents to determine if this is satisfactory.