With the announcement from Wendal Milne that he would not seek re-election, it leaves a huge hole around the council chamber. Milne has proven to be a patient and ethical man with the community’s interests coming first. Those people are hard to find. He had no personal agenda, just the wish to do the right thing in his community.
No one has stepped up yet to declare their run for the mayor’s chair and it will be interesting who comes forward. There are rumours about of a previous mayoral hopeful, an ex-CRD director and a present councillor all vying for the chain of office. Milne was elected because of what he stood for and he was backed by some of his present councillors. What happened? He was not a puppet mayor and perhaps that didn’t sit well with some who feel they are actually running the show.
In most communities there is always a shadow council who try to influence from the local coffee shop. These are not the people elected to run the show, they are the outside “hecklers” and negative influences. Perhaps they should run for real office and do something positive for the community rather than just gripe about the decisions and actions of council. There are also the behind-the-scenes scenarios and behind councils’ backs dealings being played out by some.
A four-year stint in public office is a long time and any mayor or councillor needs to be prepared to give up a good chunk of their life for the public good. They also need to be prepared to be a strong ethical and honest leader with the backing of all of their council. It’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination.
There are only about seven more regular council meetings until the November election and you can be sure there will be a lot of electioneering going on, in fact it has already started.
