Improve municipal leadership

The Wednesday, August 16th issue of the Orono Weekly Times had a very interesting editorial (as it usually does). It talks about the relationship of the media to politicians, both past and present, and how things are looking today. It talks about our responsibilities as voters.

Federally and Provincially, things seem to be looking fairly good at the present time, according to the editorial, and I would agree to some extent. But when we look to the municipal scene (in the GTA), there are not many strong, effective leaders. There is the odd one, but certainly not many. Hazel McCallion (Mississauga) is one who is mentioned, and I'd certainly agree. I would also add Steve Parish (Ajax) is another.

"The voters of Toronto are slowly recovering from years of embarrassment. Their habit of returning well known politicians, regardless of scandals and of poor record in council, left them with the $100 million computer scandal, a declining transit system, polluted beaches and more. Those citizens deserved their fate because they repeatedly took the easy way out at election time and either failed to vote, or simply rubber stamped well-known politicians."

Sound familiar? Voter apathy equals low voter turnout. And many who do vote simply vote for the most familiar name, without really knowing anything about the candidate or the issues facing Clarington. This is important as this is where we live. It's important to have the best possible people in the positions that affect our very lives in this municipality.

"The time has come for us - the voters - to put in the time and effort to improve municipal leadership. First we must encourage good, honest and intelligent people to get involved. We should help such candidates with work and financial contributions."

Yes, yes, yes! We do have some excellent new candidates running in this election already, and they deserve our help. It is always difficult to go up against an incumbent, especially with the shortened time frame because of our vote by mail scheme in Clarington. With the old sign by-law not being changed when the voting method was changed (an oversight that benefits the incumbents), the new candidates are at a distinct disadvantage.

"Then we need to do personal research to determine who are the best people for the jobs."

This is important. Read all you can about the candidates. Attend the debates if at all possible, or watch them on TV. Ask questions. Ask more questions. Find out what the issues facing our municipality are, and how they will affect you.

"Once we have done that, we need to vote, so the effective people are elected."

If you don't vote, you have no right to complain when our municipal government ends up being less than stellar. Do your part and get out there and vote, but only if you know who you are voting for, and why. Don't just rubber-stamp the known names.

"Even then our job should continue as we must consider municipal affairs to be seriously important, and provide hard-hitting feedback to elected officials. Good government is up to us!"

Truer words have never been spoken! What do you love about Clarington, and do you want to keep it or have substantial changes made to where we live, sometimes not for the better? It is up to us to become involved. Just as simple an act as writing a letter to the editor, or sending your thoughts on a subject to Council, or appearing before them as a delegation to speak to an issue can be the beginning of change.

So follow this election carefully. Listen to the candidates and ask questions. This is YOUR municipality, and you have every right to speak up. Without your input, how do the politicians know what you really want?

What do I want? I want ethical, accountable, fiscally responsible good government. I want to know what is going on and to have a say in it. And to be listened to. I want to be treated as if I matter. I want some respect. I want the politicians to remember that they are working for us, and should treat us accordingly.

What don't I want? I don't want scandal. I don't want rudeness or to be bullied. I don't want to see tax increases and at the same time see politicians give themselves excessive salary increases. I don't want to have a politician complain that he has been subsidizing the municipality out of his own pocket to justify an enormous mileage rate increase. I don't want to be shut out of decisions that affect me such as being able to elect the head of Durham Region.

There are many more things I want or don't want. How about you?