To plunk or not, that is the question. Plunking or ‘bullet’ voting as a strategy when you have a minority group who wants to elect a special candidate may be effective, but being the contrarian I am, no minority group will have me.
After reading their platforms and how they answered the Chamber’s questions, I have narrowed down my choices for voting on Election Day. Meeting, talking to and observing how the different candidates reacted to the crowd at the meet-the-candidates’ night was quite interesting. There were definitely two camps in the room: incumbents and hopefuls. Okay, three camps if you want to count the group gathered around the free snack table.
Perhaps it was just the incumbents being used to meeting the public and answering questions but most of them seemed full of confidence in being re-elected. There was nary a ‘mea cupla’ about how the city and some projects were mismanaged in the past ten years or how the tax bills and service costs seem to be on an ever-upward curve. Yes, we have accomplished some great things but the over-all job market and economy has not improved nor kept pace with the cost of the services council and the city bureaucrats seem to think our stagnant population wants and needs.
So certain are they that most of them will be re-elected, some incumbents are already vying for Committee chairs, a process that is usually awarded by the ranking in the polls. Normally, the highest ranking gets to be Deputy Mayor and head General Government which includes the budget portfolio, second and third highest vote-getters chair the next two important committees: Community Services and Public Works & Engineering. The pecking order goes on down the line for committee positions and responsibilities. That the incumbents are thinking about position may be a little premature. There are people in the second camp who might just bump some of the incumbents way down the line, if not off council.
None of the newbies on the list of candidates stated that they wanted the status quo, which is understandable for someone seeking a spot on council. They all want change and improvement. Zero tax increases is a favourite with a number of them whereas most incumbents do not seem that willing to tackle the administration and force the issue. Some are supportive of the detested (by some councillors) Taxpayers Association; others have a penchant for union support which might run contrary to holding the line on taxes since much of the cost of running the city is payroll. Memorial Gardens and Lakeshore Drive were talking points for the new seat-seekers.
The Motherhood Issue was the Energy East Pipeline proposal on which council has already committed a quarter of a million dollars to express our concerns about a potential break polluting our water supply. Personally I am a little confused on this issue. Not about the environmental disaster of a pipeline break anywhere, but just how realistic is it that it would get into our water supply at Delaney Bay on Trout Lake? Yes, the pipeline crosses the lake at the outlet, but a break there would only affect everyone downstream. What we should be worrying about, if we need another thing to worry about, is the transports and trains having an accident near Delany Bay. With all the potential for sewage leaks around the bay as well as the fuel spills from watercraft, airplanes and snowmobiles, a pipeline break seems to have less potential for trouble to me.
But back to ker plunk. Should I vote for only my top seven candidates and let others pick the three remaining by default? If I add those three incumbents might I bump one of my newcomers off the list? And where will they finish in the poll? How can I get my person to be deputy mayor? How can I get a non-jock onto the Community Service committee? George suggested a system where the Mayor would appoint the Chairs of Committees which would be interesting but that would add a whole new dimension to who would run for that high office. I suppose what we really need is some system of proportional voting at the municipal level as well as in the upper tiers of government.
Until that happens, I will have to vote for the top ten and hope they will all work together for the common good.
