Can someone please explain to us what some of our Chatham-Kent councillors think they’re being elected and paid to do?
In our democratic society, we vote for someone we believe will represent us fairly and have the best interests of the municipality as a whole at heart.
They are elected and then paid for four years to carry out those duties.
What they are not elected to do is to spend their time absorbing misinformation on social media, the land of false bread crumbs and conspiracy theories, where algorithms and skewed information lure people in as bad as any cult has done.
They are elected to make decisions on behalf of the public; to read their information packages before council meetings, and ask questions of administration for sure.
Certainly, ratepayers should be able to speak to councillors on issues; that is essential in democracy.
It is up to the councillors to filter through the information – and misinformation – to make the most informed decision on each issue. Sometimes what administration supplies to council is factually correct, but politically flawed. Case in point was dust suppression. Cancelling it would have saved more than $1 million. That’s a fact. But the quality of life down many a dirt road would have suffered greatly had council not done an about face on the matter.
But more often, the info from the public, seemingly more and more these days, is rife with misinformation. It has a rough foundation of facts, but then takes an opinionated side step.
To see such errors, councillors need to keep focused. Listen to all sides.
And for the love of God, during a council meeting, pay attention. Don’t scroll on your phone during a deputation; that’s insulting. And don’t bring up a constituent’s issue via a text message received in the middle of a meeting. There is a deputation process. Granting said constituent a voice via in-session text insults said process.
We have a suggestion to council for the rest of this term, and for the next iteration of council after the election: Put down your cellphones during sessions and just, please, stay off social media, especially during meetings. If you can’t ween off your social media addiction, how about limiting your screen time, just like you likely did or do with your own children?
It’s unhealthy, pure and simple.
