Some years back an older wiser man offered this comment when I complained about the slow pace of political affairs: “Things don’t just go from A to B; they go round and round. You just hope that with each turn of the wheel, things move forward a bit.”
Sadly, he has been quite correct. The Snug Cove Plan, which mercifully received final approval on Monday, took umpteen years, and five written drafts just in the last four. Not to mention the cost in planning time, public and Council review. There remain a lot more issues in the works, from civic facilities to roadways and marshalling, business licensing to hazard slope development permit areas and secondary suites, Cape Roger Curtis to new ballfields. The likelihood of early resolution on all of these is nil.
In addition to the ongoing projects, there are new ones being promoted almost on a weekly basis. After a while it gets pretty hard to keep track, let alone evaluate and commence any of these without taking resources from those underway.
So as the election period begins in earnest over the next few weeks, it will pay to listen with a jaundiced ear to all the grand ideas being trotted out. They should be measured against a trio of yardsticks- the likelihood of implementation depends on time and money of course, but also on political will. Given the first two are in short supply, and the inverse relationship between choices and determination, it is easy to see why many things just don’t get off the ground.
Newly elected officials, and any returning old ones, will face a pretty full work program. This is not 1999, with an inaugural Council in a newly minted municipality. We are 115 bylaws down the road, with a fully commissioned staff, running at full tilt just keeping up with the demands of maintaining the day-to-day affairs of the community. Short of a radical shift in priorities, the agenda for the next few years is pretty well set. We can decide not to build a community centre, but we still will need to deal with our newly acquired 38.8 acres of Crippen Park land. Cape Roger Curtis and other developments are headed our way, like it or not. The ferry lineups will just get longer unless we come up with some remedies, whether better marshalling and bigger ferries or more alternative transportation options. Everything will cost the taxpayers more, unless care is taken to temper desire and expectations with prudence.
The real litmus test ought to be some measure of the capability to actually get the stuff on the work program done, in a reasonable length of time, on budget. Ideas without a plan mean nothing. Nor do the resolutions which emerge from the endless meetings, unless they result in actions taken. Yet the bull in the china shop routine won’t work either. Governance does demand fastidious attention to detail, fair and complete public process, time to digest the consequences of any actions.
Perhaps the best predictor of the future is to look at the past. In this case, it has to be the performance of would-be politicians, whether on Council, or in their own fields of endeavor. Asking the right questions is a good start- eg “What did you specifically do to get such and so done? What errors have you made and have they been rectified? Were your priorities addressed?” Or if a new candidate- “What would you have done in X situation, and why?” All candidates should have answers when questioned about balancing budget and dreams.
Then imagine them in action. Will they do their homework, go the extra mile, act in the best interests of the public? Do they have the capability to work as a team, or not?
Only then is it relevant to look at the promises and projects being touted. Based on our sometimes doleful experience both at the Council and staff levels, it shouldn’t take much to winnow the chaff and examine the handful of promising prospects. Measuring these against the candidates’ interests and talents will give a good idea of whether they will ever take flight.
The past two Councils have pretty much reflected the wide range in sensibilities among our residents. There have been close votes on substantive issues, again belying the strongly held divergent opinions of the populace. So it should not be hard to find candidates with strong feelings on any range of subjects. The trick is in ensuring that the successful candidates are the ones who can translate the thoughts into action, and make the dreams come true.
Peter Frinton
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