Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Just Between Blogs - A response to Let'sStopTheMadness (in case you missed it)

Just to be clear, when you talk about anonymous bloggers.. who are you exactly? I do appreciate your comments however as it certainly clarifies the depth of misunderstanding people have about what defines a governing body in contrast to a Trust.

I think a lot of people are frustrated by the unilateral nature of Trusts in an unincorporated district when compared to the advantages of a democratic Municipal system which allows for participating candidates from a wider sampling of the community. I think we can all agree that  Trust followers are almost religious in their blind faith, certainly NDP politically and are simply convinced that pure bureaucracy will somehow stave off development.

Certainly when I ran for Trustee twice I heard all about the draw bridge mentality that Trust followers generally hold to. My proposal to build a hydro electric tidal dam/ combination bridge between Saltspring and Maple Bay was roundly sneered upon ;-). Just an idea folks to free us from Ferry Corp. travel costs and add to our power grid.

Elections are not about failing to win so much as choosing to participate in a process that requires a broad brush of ideas to be put forth. I have never felt disenchanted at not winning an election, it is enough to participate, in fact I even voted for Kimberly and Eric when I was running against them because I felt they had a better and broader handle on what we needed as the time. In discussing this idea that more ideologically similar trustees equates to more democracy I think a lot of people understood that that was a silly notion.

I generally put forth reasonable debating points in my blogs and letters to the Driftwood editor and I appreciate but rarely get anyone willing to dissect or devalue what I am actually saying. I presume many people are beginning to comprehend that the Islands Trust Mandate is simply unable to legally address the wider services and requirements of a growing community the size of Salt Spring Island. I think a lot of people admire the comraderie of Trustees and councillors shown on Bowen Island, it is refreshingly open and mature. I think people agree with me when I say Trust meetings are inconveniently scheduled during working hours and that people who have gone ahead and videotaped  and posted these publically funded meetings are to be thanked on behalf of those of us who work during the day. I think people would agree too that free association of ideas and debate should not be compromised by Trustees who might choose to disallow a visit from other Trustees to chat with the community about their experience on other islands in the area. Most of what you have pointed out about more aggressive expressions of discontent that we see in things like the bunker video and the odd blogger rants and frustrations is directly proportionate to what people perceive is happining to our democratic rights and lack of any appeal process regarding Trust decisions.

A lot of people like myself (who fought against incorporation rather strongly last time) have changed their opinion about incorporation. Seeing the way a unilateral Islands Trust system is so deficient and expensive, people are starting to see that under a Municipal system there is a lot less acrimony simply because a council addresses a wider field of services we require. And quite frankly, councillors are generally not preemptively bound to a particular ideolological focus. Community is all about the equal interaction between elements of the social, economic and environmental concerns we all share.

2 comments:

  1. Ever since the very flawed process re the Roasting Co., I have less respect for the Trust and the Trustees.
    Their arguments for their decision did not reflect the reality.
    A petition in favour of the project with over 300 signatures had no weight with them. They preferred to base their decision on the many letters they say they received from people who pleaded that the project did not follow the ideals of the OCP.
    I am sure that those amounted to much fewer than a hundred letters.
    Maybe even less than 50
    I feel it is all getting too cliqueee
    you are either with us or against us and any bit of criticism means you will not be welcome at the next lovein.

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  2. Hello: I have enjoyed reading your blog and I agree with your position. Hope to see more soon.

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