Holding a referendum on the proposal to move municipal operations, the museum and the library to the former Sears building in downtown Chatham is not the way to approach the Community Hub project.
For those who are not aware, a referendum is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal or law.
It is also non-binding.
Referendums are lazy outs, and are really off the mark at the municipal government level.
First off, voters elect politicians to represent them. At the municipal stage, we place our trust in 17 councillors and one mayor to have our best interests in mind when they make decisions. They’re in place for four years, so if we don’t like those decisions, we can vote for different representation come the next election.
Secondly, the use of a referendum intimates that the result will indicate what the majority of citizens want. With 30.56 per cent voter turnout at the last election and extrapolating those numbers to be utilized for a referendum vote, even if every single vote was for or against the hub project, that is still a long way away from 50-plus one, which is the true majority.
Furthermore, expecting better turnout on a single issue is foolhardy. Municipal Clerk Judy Smith said the matter would not be held as a standalone vote either, but instead, if approved, would go on the next election ballot.
“A question on the ballot can only occur during a municipal election,” she told this newspaper. Well, the next municipal election is Oct. 26, 2026. That’s two-plus years away.
So, it would be an election issue in two years’ time. Just as it really should have been two years ago.
This issue straddled the last election. The ownership group of the Downtown Chatham Centre had put forward this idea in the summer of 2022, months in advance of the municipal election that year. One would think the councillors put into office at that time would have been aware of this issue and how they would tackle it.
Hence, no need for a referendum now.
The public has had multiple opportunities to have a say on the Community Hub. Three public information sessions. Two online surveys. If the matter was of such dire importance to the electorate, why is it only 300 or so people showed up in person and a little more than 1,000 offered feedback online? Last election, we had more than 80,000 registered voters.
The numbers just don’t add up for a referendum. What they at worst show is massive indifference and at best strong trust in our municipal representatives.
We’ll see what council opts to do Oct. 21.
