Side Stepping How You Voted Is Not What The Community Charter Is All About
Monday, June 17, 2013 @ 3:45 AM
The way the system is set up , the way that the voters get a chance to see how the person or persons that they put into civic office are representing them , is by how those who are elected vote on issues that affect those voters.
The vote on the Pine Valley Golf course was taken at an in camera meeting. That means that they had to vote by resolution that they wanted to deal with the sale of 40 acres of parkland in camera. The only person who opposed the resolution was Brian Skakun, who, to his credit, said that he felt the matter should be discussed at an open council meeting.
Following the in camera meeting , the Mayor at the open portion of the council meeting told the public that after much discussion five councillors voted not to sell Pine Valley while, four voted in favour.
When the Community Charter was being developed with the province , one of the main planks was to ensure that what must be incorporated into the charter was more open, transparent and accountable government. In fact the Charter substantially reduced the reasons for going into a closed meeting.
Former Mayor Dan Rogers is right, along with present council member Brian Skakun, in saying that selling off 40 acres of green space , and turning that property into commercial property should be dealt with at a public meeting of council.
The public has a right to know just how their representatives are voting, in particular on an issue as important as this one. We elect politicians on the basis of how they stand on an issue. Sidestepping the voters by holding an important decision in private smacks of government deliberately trying to keep the public in the dark .
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
Comments
Exactly! As a voter who put some of these people in their seats I have a right to know where they stand and how they voted on this issue.
The plan to keep us in the dark worked. We still don’t know who voted for and who voted against! Although I do know who I am not voting for in the next municipal election which is not that far from now.
same story as the first on this site. ho hum
I guess when they ask for our vote again, I am simply going to ask them how they voted. If they won’t tell you, it’s probably the answer they don’t want you to know.
“I am simply going to ask them how they voted”
Ask all you want. They are then put into a Catch-22 situation. They will not be able to tell you without an agreement from the group at the meeting to allow that disclosure.
In fact, in order for the Mayor to have said how many voted for and how many voted against the same agreement to disclose that would have had to be voted on.
let me guess…it was probably 5-4 in favour of disclosing those details….;=)
Good guess …. ;-)
….. if they had a motion to release the vote numbers and actually voted. I did not hear that in the report. It may come out in the Council records.
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