Now that the final votes have been cast, tallied and announced, it’s time for municipalities and rural areas across the province to get back to business.
The 2014 civic election in BC has come and gone and communities in the West Kootenay can finally put all the campaign drama behind them.
Councils and other elected bodies can set their sights on doing what they where elected to do — run their respective areas and serve their citizens.
That’s a concept often lost on new politicians. The people voted them into office so they can best serve the needs of the community, a feat that isn’t always easy.
Despite the best intentions of many new politicians, changing the world — or at least their tiny part of it — doesn’t happen overnight.
All those bold promises of change and improvement will take time.
There is a political process that has to be followed and it’s time for the newcomers to go to school.
For those newbies, there will be a steep learning curve in the coming months. Hopefully more experienced, returning politicians will share their experiences to allow the newcomers to more quickly acclimatize themselves to their new responsibilities and the process, rules and regulations that have to be followed.
The political realm is a slow moving machine and once the hype of an election dies down, the process will begin to plod along. Still, the coming of new people always brings new hope.
Candidates, turned politicians, have the opportunity to change the system, one slow bit at a time. Let’s hope they succeed in reinvigorating the process as they adjust to their new roles.
As for the public that voted in the new governments, their job isn’t over yet either.
Voting was just the first step. Now it’s their job to keep informed, keep watching and hold their politicians accountable.
