On the surface, the notion of taking a proposal to cut the number of people on Chatham-Kent council to a referendum is brilliant.
But is it really?
On Jan. 29, Chatham Coun. Doug Sulman made the motion to hold a meeting to gauge public interest on the potential culling of councillor numbers. That meeting will take place Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
We have too many councillors, with 17, plus the mayor, making it at times a very inefficient process to get things done.
But in the past, any talk of reducing that number has been stonewalled in council chambers. In effect, some sitting members of council would be out of a job if such a thing were to happen.
By suggesting it could go on the ballot as a referendum question, Sulman could potentially be skirting council and give the people the ultimate say.
On paper, that looks great, and should be considered forward thinking.
But we must point out that in order for the referendum to be valid, at least 50 per cent of eligible voters in Chatham-Kent must vote on the matter in order for the result to be binding.
The problem is we don’t even get 50-per-cent voter turnout to municipal elections around here. In the 2014 election, turnout was 42.1 per cent. Four years earlier, it was just 39.
In order for the referendum question to take effect, we need to see a spike in voter turnout by at least eight per cent – an increase of more than 6,200 voters. And every single voter would have to also vote on the referendum.
Good luck with that.
Furthermore, the streamlining of council leaves residents wondering how it would impact them in terms of availability of a representative to listen to their needs, as well as representation on key votes by council.
Would fewer councillors mean more say to urban areas, particularly Chatham? It has about 40 per cent of the total population, but roughly 35 per cent council’s representation currently.
Many questions, and only a short time for answers, given the fact the meeting is next Monday and the municipality has until March 1 to get such a thing registered and on the ballot for October.
Democracy is representation, and it is hard work
The current representation tell us that they are over worked
With an never ending list of concerns
Yes fewer council members would make it easier and quicker
Observation over the years suggests, too many items were pushed thru
That said a dictator would be the answer
Call me old fashion but we the people want representation
That is how Democracy works, it takes time and is hard work