Voters clearly interested in studying governance
Times Colonist Letters
June 4, 2015
Re: “No mandate for area-wide amalgamation study,” May 31.
I agree there were several non-binding questions on the November municipal ballots. It provides a perfect illustration of everything that is wrong with our fractured governance. When municipalities could not come to agreement on a common wording of a single sentence, what hope is there for agreement on other matters?
The one preferred question posed to each municipality and the Capital Region District board, from whom some leadership was expected but not forthcoming, was: “Are you in favour of reducing the number of municipalities in the capital region?”
Despite variations in the questions, voter intention was clear that dissatisfaction with the current system is high, as evidenced by voter results and polling by Angus Reid and local media outlets. Voters clearly stated they are interested in looking at how we are governed.
I also agree that voter turnout in Langford was low, at 19 per cent. But to imply that low voter turnout taints the referendum results as less than legitimate is to question the legitimacy of every mayor in the capital region, who were elected, on average, by 18 per cent of eligible voters.
What is most striking is the failure to acknowledge that a study is being contemplated, not amalgamation. We need information from a governance review, and I would expect academia to welcome a rigorous analysis of our current system or, at the very least, to recognize the democratic will of the electorate.
Lesley Ewing
Oak Bay
© Copyright Times Colonist
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/voters-clearly-interested-in-studying-governance-1.1956747#sthash.pIQoDtke.dpuf
Times Colonist Letters
June 4, 2015
Re: “No mandate for area-wide amalgamation study,” May 31.
I agree there were several non-binding questions on the November municipal ballots. It provides a perfect illustration of everything that is wrong with our fractured governance. When municipalities could not come to agreement on a common wording of a single sentence, what hope is there for agreement on other matters?
The one preferred question posed to each municipality and the Capital Region District board, from whom some leadership was expected but not forthcoming, was: “Are you in favour of reducing the number of municipalities in the capital region?”
Despite variations in the questions, voter intention was clear that dissatisfaction with the current system is high, as evidenced by voter results and polling by Angus Reid and local media outlets. Voters clearly stated they are interested in looking at how we are governed.
I also agree that voter turnout in Langford was low, at 19 per cent. But to imply that low voter turnout taints the referendum results as less than legitimate is to question the legitimacy of every mayor in the capital region, who were elected, on average, by 18 per cent of eligible voters.
What is most striking is the failure to acknowledge that a study is being contemplated, not amalgamation. We need information from a governance review, and I would expect academia to welcome a rigorous analysis of our current system or, at the very least, to recognize the democratic will of the electorate.
Lesley Ewing
Oak Bay
© Copyright Times Colonist
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/voters-clearly-interested-in-studying-governance-1.1956747#sthash.pIQoDtke.dpuf
