We
are now well past the two-thirds point of this council term. A strange thing started
to happen during the petition process and now I am hearing it more around town,
and I expect it will happen more and more as we get closer to the next election.
I
do not know if people just want to believe this or maybe there really is
something to it.
Getting
to my point during the petition process, I heard from people we have spoke to a
“councilor” or knows somebody that has spoken to a “councilor” who does not
agree with council’s direction on some of the issues. I see and hear comments on blogs and around town about us
having some good people on council who have lived here all their life’s who got
caught up in some bad decisions but just don’t know how to get out.
Well
maybe there is something to that, or maybe people just want to believe or they
are making excuses.
What
can a councilor do if he does not agree with the position the council has taken
on an issue? Lots.
First,
when the issue comes up on the agenda he needs to speak to it, to make arguments
against the issue, to disagree with administration or the rest of council to
vote against the item.
If
it is an issue that has been gone through all ready or an issue that is being
brought up in the public forum repeatedly. There is no reason that a councilor cannot
add that item to the next agenda, raise it again, and express either his or the
public’s concerns.
If
a councilor feels that, the Mayor is jamming an issue through or not giving
council enough time to deal with an issue. Councilors have the authority to challenge
the Chair, it is very simple (I did it a number of times during my two terms on
council) you make a motion to challenge the chair the councilor that made the
motion then gets to argue his point, the Mayor gets to respond. Which is then
followed by a vote amongst council where a simple majority can over ride the
Mayor’s position on that item. No, I am not talking about launching a coup here
or getting rude, ignorant, or disrespectful of the process, I am talking about
a simple procedure that allows a member of council to stand up and say I do not
agree with the ways things are being done here.
With
the present council it is more that likely that any of the steps above would
probably fail, but that’s ok at the minimum it would send a message to the public
that there is some dissent on council that there are some councilors that don’t
agree with the issues and directions that this council has taken. It is strange
that at all levels of government except municipal you have opposition.
Do
I think any of this will happen? No, not really with the possible exception of
a few months before the next election somebody may wish to prove to the public
(voters) that they are their own man.
