“Politicians will never vote themselves out of a job”

This is simultaneously one of the silliest arguments I’ve heard about why councillors shouldn’t be involved in this discussion and also an argument that proves my point about the necessity of community engagement/public consultation.

I’ll address, first, that it is not at all a conflict of interest for me to have an opinion on regional (or any other) governance issue. Just as I’m permitted to have an opinion and express it on the regional budget or any other matter that impacts the community at large, I am also permitted to have an opinion on regional governance, amalgamation, and/or how many elected officials there should be to serve Niagara’s communities.

But, also, as I’ve stated many times before, I’m not seeking re-election, so it’s a moot point.

So, the silliness of “politicians will never vote themselves out of a job.”

First of all, once elected, there is no guarantee that any of us will have this job for as long as we’d like. Every four years, you all have the opportunity to remove any of us from this role and put someone else in it. My opinion that Regional Council should be a particular number of people has no bearing on whether I decide to continue or you decide to let me continue in this role.

Second, most of the elected officials in Niagara who I know are ethical and of high integrity. We would absolutely make a decision to remove some of the elected roles if we felt that was the best decision. The only sticking point I see, at the moment, is that there is no data, financial analysis, or meaningful public feedback* that fewer elected officials is the correct decision.

*Saying there’s “overwhelming feedback” is not the same as sharing the actual feedback, so everyone has the opportunity to see that it does, in fact, exist and judge the veracity of it.

Which leads me into my second point about community engagement/public consultation.

If the elected officials who currently fill the seats that are being considered for elimination are not to be trusted to make the best decision about how many seats there should be, then it stands to reason that those decisions also shouldn’t be made by elected officials who stand to benefit (less pushback or advocacy work, for instance, for the province to deal with) from there being fewer voices at the table.

It is my view that the people whose opinion matters the most is yours. Collectively.

If a proper community engagement/public consultation exercise is undertaken, and the public says they want fewer elected officials, then there should be fewer politicians. And, in that community engagement/public consultation exercise, it’s also important to lay out all of the implications of fewer elected officials.

I continue to be on the side of let the public decide.