Thank you to Doug Neuman for underscoring the need for respectful political debate in his piece from the Saturday June 3 Gazette.
Perhaps it’s just me but it does appear that politics at all levels has become more nasty in recent years. More negative campaigns, more vitriol, more mud-slinging – and of course St. Albert is not immune. Dr. Lightbody suggests this is normal heading into an election where the incumbent has declared an intent not to run however it is clear Mr. Lightbody has not been paying close attention to the goings on in this suburb. Disrespectful tones and spitefulness are unfortunately not just an election phenomenon here as any regular observer of city council would know. In St. Albert, the constant attacks and accusations from certain city councillors have moved past being a nuisance and have undermined the corporation’s effectiveness for some time. It’s even gotten to the point where Municipal Affairs has been asked to step in and help sort things out.
Lightbody suggests that council infighting has very little to do with the operations of the city but I beg to differ. City council helps set the tone for the administration. If council members aren’t respectful to each other, or more importantly to city staff, it has the potential to seriously influence the culture of the organization. This is exactly what has happened in St. Albert over the last number of years. The disrespectful tone and antagonistic behaviours from certain council members have, in part, eroded the City’s standing as a sought after place to work. In a competitive marketplace for engineers, planners, finance personnel and more we can not afford to have our council members poisoning the culture and climate of the organization.
The onus falls then on us, the voters to choose wisely in the upcoming election. To choose a mayor and councillors who engage in respectful and constructive policy debate and avoid personal attacks. The best way to sort the wheat from the chaff? Observe them in action. Watch a council meeting. Not an upcoming one where candidates will be in election mode, but rather one of the archived ones from the city’s website. Here you’ll see our current council members true colours and you can decide for yourself. For this voter, the character of the candidate matters as much if not more than their policy stances and I’ll be looking for a culture change in October.
Neil Korotash, St. Albert
