Now that the municipal election is finally over we can breath a sigh of relief and go back to our day to day lives.
Or can we?
It is estimated that there are 5,758 eligible voters in Revelstoke, of those 2,608 voted in Saturdays election. That is 45 per cent of the population.
For some perspective Salmon Arm saw 42 per cent of their eligible population vote, Kelowna saw 33 per cent of their population vote and Golden saw 23 per cent of their population vote.
It seems that Revelstoke has a good level of civic engagement! And we should keep that going.
Many of our newly elected councilors have talked about change such as updating bylaws as well as the official community plan, addressing the need for affordability and housing, among many other things. As all except the mayor have never served on council before, they are about to realize that the system is more complicated than they might think, however, with perseverance, change is possible.
And that is where you come in.
Unfortunately it isn’t enough to show up at the community centre every four years and cast your vote.
So, now that the election is over, what should you, an informed and engaged citizen that wants the best for yourself, your family and your community do?
Stay up to date on current events (I admit that this probably sounds biased coming from me, however, knowledge is power), look outside of your social media network for information, read or watch people with different opinions than yourself and if something doesn’t seem right…
Ask questions be it by emailing a city councillor, commenting in a Facebook group, reaching out to the newspaper or bringing up your concerns with your friends over board games. Conversations are necessary.
Attend council meetings
Participate in surveys and other community feedback forms put out by the city as well as the federal and provincial government-the results from the recent city cannabis survey were heavily considered when the framework was made
Make suggestions. Have something you are passionate about? Share that passion. Council may not have even thought about the problem or the solution you present.
Support local organizations that are working to make the community a better place. Do you have a library card? Are you a member of the Illecillewaet Greenbelt Society? Or the Art Gallery? Or the museum? Or one of the many other organizations in this city that need both financial and volunteer support? Find some volunteer opportunities here: communityfuturerevelstoke.com/volunteer-postings
Let’s keep this momentum going and all work to make Revelstoke even more awesome.
What else could someone do to be an engaged citizen? Let me know!
