Municipal elections should be about the community in front of us

By John Meloche Taxes. Roads. Development. Public safety. Recreation. Infrastructure. Local jobs. City services. Transparency. Whether elected officials answer residents and whether taxpayers are getting value for their money Yet as election day approaches, local politics can increasingly start to resemble the deeply polarized politics we see provincially, federally and south of the border. A candidate attends an event. Someone discovers an old photograph. They speak with a politician from another level of government. They agree with one organization on one issue. Before long, a partisan label is attached and everything else about that candidate becomes secondary. That is where voters need to be careful. There is ideology, and then there is what I’ll jokingly call “idi-ology.” Yes, the spelling is intentional. “Idi-ology” is not about calling anyone an idiot. It describes the increasingly common habit of allowing one issue, one association, one disagreement or one political label to do all of our thinking for us. It creates the single-issue voter. Values absolutely matter. Political philosophy matters. Someone can quite reasonably favour a small-c conservative approach that emphasizes careful spending, individual responsibility, public safety, accountability and limited government. Someone else may place greater emphasis on public investment, social programs or a different approach to government services. Those differences deserve debate. But municipal government rarely fits neatly into partisan boxes. Is fixing a deteriorating road Conservative or Liberal? Is improving a dangerous intersection left-wing or right-wing? Is asking whether a $4-million project represents good value for taxpayers partisan? Is wanting to help fix the homelessness, mental health, drug use and food insecurity crisis in our cities left-wing or right-wing? What political party owns cleaner parks, responsive City Hall, responsible development or better recreation facilities? These are practical questions requiring judgement, research and compromise. Our community Facebook groups and neighbourhood forums have become particularly important during local elections. They can be tremendous resources. Residents share information, challenge candidates, uncover issues and raise concerns that might otherwise receive little attention. But those same groups can also become echo chambers. A screenshot gets posted. A provocative headline is added. Someone makes an association between two people, then another association, and within a few comments an entire political identity has been constructed for someone who may never have said any of those things. That isn’t scrutiny. Scrutiny means examining what candidates actually believe. Read their platforms. Look at their records. Ask them questions. See whether they provide substantive answers. Look at how they behave when someone disagrees with them. Determine whether they understand municipal government and whether their promises are actually within a councillor’s authority to deliver. And perhaps most importantly, look at the entire candidate. If you agree with someone on nine important municipal issues but disagree strongly on a tenth, you may still decide that tenth issue is a deal-breaker. That is your right. But make that decision consciously. Don’t allow somebody else’s Facebook post, partisan label or carefully selected screenshot to make it for you. Healthy democracy requires something increasingly rare: being willing to hear an idea without first asking which “team” it came from. A good councillor should be capable of speaking with Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, business owners, labour representatives, environmental advocates, developers, police, social-service organizations and residents with completely opposing opinions. Conversation is not endorsement. Listening is not agreement. And disagreement does not require hostility. This municipal election, challenge every candidate. Ask difficult questions. Question their numbers. Examine their judgement. Hold them accountable. But resist reducing any candidate to a single issue or political association. Our communities are far more complicated than that. Our vote should be too. Support thoughtful local democracy. Read beyond the headline, participate in your community groups, ask questions directly, and ultimately vote for the person you believe has the judgement, temperament and ability to do the job.