11774 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Comment: There's too much acrimony at Victoria council meetings

 

I am troubled by many things, but I am especially troubled by the polarization and acrimony that characterizes council meetings.

 

 

Marg Gardiner

 

 

 

As a recently elected member of Victoria city council, I am compelled to make public my deep disappointment in this council.

 

I am troubled by many things, but I am especially troubled by the polarization and acrimony that characterizes council meetings. By failing to work constructively together, we are, to put the matter simply, failing the city.

 

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We have fallen into the same dysfunction of the previous council, well documented by the MNP’s City of Victoria Governance Review report of July 18, 2022. The previous council deferred this report to the current council.

 

Our council was elected five months ago and has not yet addressed the recommendations in the MNP governance report.

 

Failure to do so has created shortcomings — debate on important issues is routinely cut off; perspectives and input from some at the table have been selectively considered while contrary voices are ignored.

 

Proposed ethical guidelines are missing and ethical lapses are all too common. Council is floundering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...eetings-6738868

 

 

 

During recent council discussions of public safety with the police chief, a councillor suggested that police should tell the public less about crime and provide fewer warnings to the public of dangerous situations, because police bulletins might increase the perception of unsafe streets.

 

While professing to be concerned about public safety, council has ventured forth on “bold initiatives,” charging headlong into an ideological agenda.

 

The majority of councillors think we should set aside sound principles of management and decision-making to make way for accelerated actions. Some councillors speak of bold actions and accelerated programs without planning, expert input or, and this is the most egregious failing, without listening to the public.

 

We must go back to basics. As Victoria councillors we bring differing priorities to the table. We bring passion, impatience and agendas.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 March 2023 - 04:56 AM.

[Nparker]

Nothing will change on this council until at least the next civic election. The wokies are too entrenched in their self-righteousness to ever consider compromise. They will save the CoV from itself even if it means destroying everything.

[AllseeingEye]

Read that in the online T-C this morning and although she is not wrong - she's bang on in fact - I'll bet the next council meeting may be a bit, um..."frosty" insofar as Ms Gardiner is concerned.

 

To one of her main points though if CoV councils could only accept the fact they exist primarily to provide good governance, not to mention deal with such mundane (but important, at least to the common citizen) matters as filling in potholes and possibly above all actually listening to their constituents, they would be perceived in a much more positive light.

 

NOTE to City Council: you do NOT however exist or have a blank check mandate to plunge zealously forth headlong into whatever your latest ideological dog bone happens to be.

 

To wit how would you asses the effectiveness of this city's former council's "letter to Vladimir Putin"? Surely you remember him? He's the pathological sociopath who started the latest European war. The guy now charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes....remember him? Would you assess that letter as an effective and useful activity for the city of Victoria's elected representatives to expend even a single ounce of energy on? Pretty sure I could confidently answer that one on behalf of about 95,000 citizens. So...you get the drift and gist of Gardiner's message. Now hop to it and fill in those potholes....

[Mike K.]

Isn’t that the plan, to burn it all down?

I’m pretty sure that’s the plan. It’s all happening exactly according to plan. There should be no surprises, nine years in.

[Daveyboy]

 "'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it," a United States major once stated during the Vietnam War.

[spanky123]

I’m pretty sure that’s the plan. It’s all happening exactly according to plan. There should be no surprises, nine years in.

 

What I don't get is that the same people who think that the Mayor and council should be working for minimum wage are surprised that we wind up with people funded by SIGs who are then answerable to those SIGs.

 

Paying the Mayor and council a competitive wage commensurate with our expectations would cost the City next to nothing incrementally in its annual budget but hopefully help recruit component, capable people to run who are not focused on their next job. That of course implies that the public is then smart enough to elect them based on merit rather than someone promising them free cake.

[Mike K.]

I used to believe that, but then I looked to who runs, and who we elect, to represent us provincially and federally. The pay is great, the calibre of candidate doesn't matter as much as whether or not a well oiled machine of volunteers is behind them.

[lanforod]

That's not exactly comparing apples and oranges though. Provincial and federal elections are driven 100% by partisan politics. It's all about the party. That's only partly true for municipalities.
I agree with spanky here, bad as it may seem optically for a 13 municipal region that really should be 4. If the CoV were to pay its mayor 150k and it's councilors 100k, it could dramatically increase the quality of candidates, for a relatively low cost. Added benefit - it should be considered a full-time job then, and Mayor and councilors expected to put in 40+ hrs weekly (not all do).

[Mike K.]

Municipal politics is a service, not a job.

If we’re turning it into a job, then we need to assess why municipal councillors are spending that much time in that role, and not enable the scope creep.

Maybe we should give them all assistants, too? Secretaries, and a driver? Since they’re so busy, how about we also provide them with a consigliere.

[Nparker]

... of course [this] implies that the public is then smart enough to elect them based on merit rather than someone promising them free cake.

There were some very good candidates running in the last civic election; only 3 of them made it to the council chamber. Never underestimate the ignorance of the electorate.

[lanforod]

Municipal politics is a service, not a job.

If we’re turning it into a job, then we need to assess why municipal councillors are spending that much time in that role, and not enable the scope creep.

Maybe we should give them all assistants, too? Secretaries, and a driver? Since they’re so busy, how about we also provide them with a consigliere.

 

Why? It's a service for Podunk, BC, population 2500.  It's a JOB in a large municipality, IMO. 

It should also have minimum job requirements, IMO, but thats a different issue. That'd disqualify half the current council probably.

[dasmo]

It’s already a corporation. With 99.99% of its staff hired and not elected. We should just make it like a co-op. Where we the people are members and we elect the board of directors every year. The board hires and fires the council and mayors.

[Victoria Watcher]

Podunk has no city manager. In Victoria we have over 75 managers earning over $150,000 per year.

Council should just be policy and guidance, lots of staff to implement.

[Mike K.]

But they meddle to the point of becoming busy-bodies serving special interest.

 

Politicians are elected to represent everyone. But in Victoria:

 

 

12,271 citizens, or 17% of the eligible electorate, cast a vote for C. Thompson. Elected officials are not there to solely represent that 17%, they are there to represent the entire 100%. That's what Marg Gardiner is saying, is you can't just raise the political draw bridge and focus on your special interest when you're a politician. You are responsible to everyone, which means taking into account opinions which you don't share. That's what service to your community is, fundamentally.

 

Councillor Thompson proved Gardiner's point.

[dasmo]

That’s exactly what they do now. We are being governed by useful idiots who think their roll is as social activist parenting us plebes because we don’t know what’s right…
Just fix the potholes protect the streams, maintain the parks and get out of the way…