Roger Varley has been in the news business almost 40 years with The Canadian Press/Broadcast News, Uxbnridge Times-Journal, Richmond Hill Liberal and Uxbridge Cosmos. Co-winner with two others of CCNA national feature writing award. In Scout movement over 30 years, almost 25 as a leader. Took Uxbridge youths to World Jamboree in Holland. Involved in community theatre for 20 years as actor, director, playwright, stage manager etc. Born in England, came to Canada at 16, lived most of life north and east of Toronto with a five-year period in B.C.
Decisions?
?As is evident from our front-page story, we're going to be involved in a lot of discussion this year about the upcoming municipal election.
If you are one of those people who shrug it off with an “I don't care” attitude, anything I say about the election will likely leave you cold or turning the page to see what else there is to read. That's too bad, because you are just the sort of person who needs to pay attention.
We all become disillusioned with politicians from time to time. Indeed, when watching the antics of politicians at the federal and provincial levels, many of us are disillusioned all the time. But as I've pointed out before, it's at the municipal level that politicians can really have an effect on your life.
Whether it's increasing the amount of property tax you pay or deciding that you are going to have to put up with car-crunching potholes on your road for another year, it's local people - indeed, your neighbours - who will make those decisions.
Before the current council is done, its members will be deciding whether they are going to allow worked-out gravel pits in the township to be filled in, putting the final touches on a bylaw covering home businesses and home industries, mapping out the future of the Kennedy House property and kicking off the community improvement program downtown.
Not very exciting stuff, to be sure, but each one of these subjects can affect your bottom line or your way of life. It's one thing for the province to tell you you can't use a cell phone while you're driving: it's another for the township to tell you gravel trucks will rumble past your homes for another 20 years to bring in gravel pit fill. Not that that is likely to happen, but council has the power to make that decision.
It's one thing for the federal government to fork over taxpayer dollars to bail out the auto companies: it's another for the township to tell you you're going to have to dole out more in property taxes to pay for new buildings at the Kennedy lands.
The people who end up running for Council in October will be ready to make those decisions on your behalf. Would you have the nerve to take on that task? Or the willingness to pick your way through the mind-boggling array of provincial legislation that covers the way municipal governments can operate? Or the stamina to wade through endless documents from a plethora of government agencies?
Not likely. So your alternative is to do your utmost to see that the best possible candidates are elected to do it for you. And the only way you can do that is to take the time to find out what your particular candidates offer in the way of experience, vision and ideas.
Yes, it takes work on your part, but if you don't at least become informed, you can't complain about the council that runs Uxbridge for the following four years.
Tell me, am I wrong?
