I am sure that the old guard at city hall who got re-elected spent the evening congratulating themselves on a job well done.
Well, from where I sit, it should have been a night of introspection for the majority of them. The voters in Abbotsford sent a resounding warning to its elected officials – we don’t trust you.
To prove that point, we have a new mayor and the water project was not only defeated, it was crushed – a project that almost all the old guard supported.
Was it the best plan? Maybe, but because it was being sold so hard by the old guard, the residents of this town didn’t believe it.
It is not the people of Abbotsford who made the mistake of voting no, it is the elected officials whose old way of thinking needs to go.
Plan A and the Heat are topics that council has supported and have been a disaster in this community.
So why would the water be any different?
When questioned about these topics, the arrogance from many of our elected officials was sickening.
The people in Abbotsford don’t think you have the best interests of this town at heart and don’t believe the decisions you are making are good.
Unfortunately, in civic politics there are just too many unknown names for real change to take place.
Gaining a seat at city council is like winning the lottery, or at least like being an appointed senator – who cares how crappy a job you do, you still get paid and unless you die or quit, you aren’t getting replaced.
There were many candidates running that should have been at the table, but unfortunately, people are afraid of change. They would rather hang with the devils they know than the one they don’t.
I wish our new mayor well, and I hope the old council starts to act in the best interest of the people of Abbotsford and find ways to reduce taxes, increase efficiencies and run this city like a business and not a public-funded trough where you think that you can continually come to businesses and homeowners to pay for everything.
I know that that is not an easy thing for a council that has been made up primarily of retired school teachers, university professors and public service employees.
Neal Diamond
