A majority council vote is not gang activity and has not been portrayed this way when the votes were in favour of Mayor Westbroek’s preference.
Shame on those who consider that one person’s vote should have more weight on council than another’s. Each of our five elected officials has an equal vote.
As was discussed during the election, part of the mayor’s job is to show leadership. The mayor is supposed to be a team builder and Teunis Westbroek said he is. He has a strong group of councillors to work with and he now has the opportunity to demonstrate his leadership abilities.
I sincerely doubt that Teunis was blindsided by the council’s vote on who to appoint to the regional district representative position since the general topic was being openly discussed in the community prior to the day of the council meeting. Even the way the recommendations were presented in the council package was an indication to me that the mayor was aware.
It serves no purpose to try to pit council members — including the mayor — against each other by taking sides and suggesting that the next three years will be long and full of ill-will. Each of the five individuals elected by us has promised to represent all of us. Each will work diligently and yes, it is a fact that opinions will differ at times.
As council business is presented at meetings, brief statements are often made to give a sense of why a person has voted in a certain way. I know from personal experience that there is often much more behind what is said in that brief opportunity to back up a decision to vote a certain way. If you want more information, call them and ask. Then write your letter to the editor if you feel you still need to.
The regional district position is provincial legislation which stipulates that the position is elected by council. There have been many instances in other jurisdictions where the position is not held by the mayor. If mayor Westbroek sees this as a personal slight, is that a good basis for decision making on which of the five elected officials is best to fill the position at this time?
Wendy Maurer, Qualicum Beach
