Our Election To Win: Do The Homework

The upcoming municipal election is shaping up to be one of the most heated in recent memory.

While the campaigns are in their infancy, lines are being drawn in the sand, emails flying – appreciative, critical or dismissive of either side in what will be the great mayoral debate of the decade.

And everyone has an opinion - some fit to print; others more suited for the circular filing cabinet.

One reader observed “all of the sudden RICK is ‘the guy’.  It is seeming to be getting Rick is the good guy and Eddie the bad, the way the battle plan is laid out.”

After years of an incumbent manufacturing crisis after crisis to later take the credit from those working behind the scenes and dismissing any or all opposing or differing viewpoints - the excitement and enthusiasm Rick Limoges’ candidacy has generated is understandable.

And there’s a lot to like especially what he wrote to his facebook supporters:

Partnership comes with responsibility however. A partner owns the problem as well as the solution. By working together toward common goals we will find value in everyone’s contribution and rather than being divisive and pointing at one another, we can lean on each other in our ultimate quest to improve our economic situation and quality of life.

The issue of diminishing revenues and increasing demands must be understood by all partners and each of us must contribute to the solution.

The issue of unemployment must also be approached in a similar fashion. Once we understand how so many of the issues we face are interrelated, we are better equipped to solve them.

I believe in sharing not hording information. While hording can give a strategic advantage in a skirmish, sharing can empower people to look for solutions together thereby winning the war.

 Secret meetings and back room deals don’t help us to grow.

Sharing responsibility.  Teamwork.  Transparency.  What’s not to like? 

But the question is how?

While acknowledging the incumbent Mayor has to go, the reader also suggested that, “We state what we expect for anyone that takes the mayor’s chair.  To me something is getting lost at the people’s expense for a solid future of this city we call home.”

The 2006 election quickly comes to mind with not only its lack of debate; but the incumbent’s avoidance of discussing any of the issues.  The “anyone but Eddie” argument, while understandable, is equally concerning.

And there is much to talk about – whether it be infrastructure and taxation to poverty and neighbourhood issues or transparency and accountability to what should or should not be our priorities.

With many candidates vying for the top job any candidate that attempts to avoid the issues should be filed in the circular cabinet.

As the campaigns progress it is important to press all candidates for details, ask questions and listen to what is said, and most importantly what isn’t.  

This isn’t an election for politicians to win;  it is ours.  

And winning means doing the homework – because in the words of another reader, “this is our city.”