View Royal denied voice on amalgamation
Times Colonist Letters
October 14, 2014
North Saanich, Central Saanich, Sidney, Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Langford will have a governance or amalgamation question on their ballots during the November municipal elections. Colwood council will consider adding a question to its ballot at today’s council meeting.
This will leave View Royal surrounded by municipalities that value their electorates’ opinions enough to ask them a nonbinding question on local governance.
In fairness, when approached to place a question on their ballot, View Royal councillors Ron Mattson and John Rogers supported adding a question, but outgoing Mayor Graham Hill, Coun. Heidi Rast and councillor and mayoral candidate David Screech opposed asking a question.
Rast and Screech can defend their decisions during their campaigns; however, why would an outgoing mayor oppose such a democratic process? Hill can’t even be held to account by the electorate for casting the deciding vote denying their right to wade into this issue, as almost every municipality around them is doing.
Colin Nielsen
Victoria
copyright Times Colonist
Times Colonist Letters
October 14, 2014
North Saanich, Central Saanich, Sidney, Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Langford will have a governance or amalgamation question on their ballots during the November municipal elections. Colwood council will consider adding a question to its ballot at today’s council meeting.
This will leave View Royal surrounded by municipalities that value their electorates’ opinions enough to ask them a nonbinding question on local governance.
In fairness, when approached to place a question on their ballot, View Royal councillors Ron Mattson and John Rogers supported adding a question, but outgoing Mayor Graham Hill, Coun. Heidi Rast and councillor and mayoral candidate David Screech opposed asking a question.
Rast and Screech can defend their decisions during their campaigns; however, why would an outgoing mayor oppose such a democratic process? Hill can’t even be held to account by the electorate for casting the deciding vote denying their right to wade into this issue, as almost every municipality around them is doing.
Colin Nielsen
Victoria
copyright Times Colonist