Dear Mayor Shepherd:
I am as disappointed as you are with the pathetic 20% voter turnout in the recent civic election, but I don’t think that your suggestion of a modified ward system is the answer. Although dividing the city into wards may stimulate greater interest in voting, it will be only be an insular “my neighbourhood first” kind of interest which will pit one neighbourhood against another and, as such, be unhealthy for the overall community. Instead, I would like to make the following suggestions which go more to the root of the problem:
· Don’t allow the city to continue to grow as rapidly as it has recently. Studies have shown that it takes time for new residents to be assimilated into the community and for them to become informed about issues and personalities.
· Don’t allow the city to grow too large as there is generally an inverse relationship between community size and civic participation.
· Involve the residents more directly in decision making. The voter turnout on the Westside was 42% which to a large extent was due to the fact that they had a referendum on the ballot. (Good decision, Westsiders, not to join Kelowna!)
· Encourage the formation of civic slates of candidates organized on the basis of their positions on major issues.
· Build more affordable housing for young families with children instead of luxury condominiums for retirees. Our demographic is becoming badly skewed towards the older segment of the population, many of who have little interest in the city beyond the ten to twenty years that they live here. This needs to be balanced with residents who have a longer-term commitment to the community.
Although she had next to no experience or qualifications for the job, 24% of the vote for the mayor’s job went to your opponent. Please let that be a wake-up call that a sizeable segment of the population is not satisfied with the status quo.
Sincerely yours,
John Zeger
