Editor, The News:
The headline of the recent letter, “Politicians don’t know it all” (The News, July 16) really said it.
I was the presenter at Maple Ridge council who suggested the use of referendum questions to help increase voter turnout and although Coun. Cheryl Ashlie is free to have her opinion, referendum questions on a ballot is the greatest example of democracy in action.
My suggestion was to allow citizens to submit possible questions for the ballot and then have the top three placed on it, along with others from council.
For example, should the new council support a district-wide garbage pick-up policy?
This would be an incredible opportunity to get the public involved in the Nov. 15 election, and it would increase turnout.
Instead of this cost-effective way to determine the opinions of the voting public on current issues, council decided that the survey done after the election costing $30,000, using the same old questions, as in the past, would be desirable. I totally disagree.
The reason people do not vote is not because they forget to, but because they feel it is a waste of time.
So often people have complained, “that regardless of who gets in nothing changes.”
Graham Mowatt (mayoralty candidate)
Maple Ridge
