Further to the letter of Jan. 21 from Richard Fausten, I would like to respond by saying that he and not I have missed the point of my letter.
The point of my letter is one of how our democratic process works and not about whether or not the public has a right to express their opinions, which they certainly should have and do have.
The laws that govern us are created by those that we choose to elect. Those who are elected are not civil servants and thus not subject to dismissal.
For our city council they are in fact elected to govern (rule) within the limits of the Municipal Act for a specific term. Public opinion may or may not sway the way decisions are made.
At the end of the term the electors will again have the democratic right to elect the successive civic officials to govern and hope for the best.
It is also interesting to note that the two members of the previous council garnered about 56 per cent of the vote for mayor compared to 32 per cent for our new mayor, which sounds to me like an endorsement for the actions of the previous council members. My conversations with residents lead me to believe that it is only a vocal minority that are opposed to having water meters, and/or paying for the excess use of water.
Ron Mellett, Grand Forks
