Voter response strong to amalgamation issue
Times Colonist Letters
June 4, 2015
Re: “No mandate for area-wide amalgamation study,” May 31.
Jim McDavid claims there is “no mandate” for an amalgamation study in the Western Communities, even though residents in the only municipality (Langford) to place a question on the ballot voted in favour of such a study, a result he dismisses because of the low turnout.
How do we know what support there is in the other municipalities when their councils refused to consult residents? With an Angus Reid poll suggesting 80 per cent of Greater Victoria residents favoured a cost-benefit study on amalgamation, it could be argued that support is strong and that the other councils backed away from asking a question because they feared the response.
The writer’s statement that “there is no concurrent mandate to explore amalgamation-related options” among the four core municipalities beggars belief, given that there were strongly positive responses to the various questions asked in three of them, while even in Oak Bay, nearly 40 per cent of voters opted for amalgamation (the only question before them), never mind a study.
He downplays the 88.5 per cent result in Saanich because the word “amalgamation” was not mentioned, but voters could only respond to the deliberately vague question put to them. Their overwhelming endorsement of a governance review is in line with the 77 per cent response from Saanich to the direct question posed in the poll.
I agree that citizens’ votes do indeed count and hope that in any future referendum, all citizens will be asked the same clear question that leaves no room for speculative interpretations.
John Weaver
Victoria
© Copyright Times Colonist
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/voter-response-strong-to-amalgamation-issue-1.1956746#sthash.wewJ43LQ.dpuf
Times Colonist Letters
June 4, 2015
Re: “No mandate for area-wide amalgamation study,” May 31.
Jim McDavid claims there is “no mandate” for an amalgamation study in the Western Communities, even though residents in the only municipality (Langford) to place a question on the ballot voted in favour of such a study, a result he dismisses because of the low turnout.
How do we know what support there is in the other municipalities when their councils refused to consult residents? With an Angus Reid poll suggesting 80 per cent of Greater Victoria residents favoured a cost-benefit study on amalgamation, it could be argued that support is strong and that the other councils backed away from asking a question because they feared the response.
The writer’s statement that “there is no concurrent mandate to explore amalgamation-related options” among the four core municipalities beggars belief, given that there were strongly positive responses to the various questions asked in three of them, while even in Oak Bay, nearly 40 per cent of voters opted for amalgamation (the only question before them), never mind a study.
He downplays the 88.5 per cent result in Saanich because the word “amalgamation” was not mentioned, but voters could only respond to the deliberately vague question put to them. Their overwhelming endorsement of a governance review is in line with the 77 per cent response from Saanich to the direct question posed in the poll.
I agree that citizens’ votes do indeed count and hope that in any future referendum, all citizens will be asked the same clear question that leaves no room for speculative interpretations.
John Weaver
Victoria
© Copyright Times Colonist
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/voter-response-strong-to-amalgamation-issue-1.1956746#sthash.wewJ43LQ.dpuf
