Regarding Leadership for Campbell River Committee /When Passion is Not Enough.
I was at first disbelieving, then I was after a time, amused and then in the end I became disturbed and cynical when thinking about this group of, well, I guess you could call them concerned citizens, who have appointed themselves the power behind the Leadership For Campbell River Committee.
In life, I have learned that everything is a metaphor for something and this group is like the Roman Senate searching for it’s very own Cincinnatus...(Google it and learn)...to come riding in on a white stallion to give us all direction and purpose in our lives and save us from ourselves and the mediocrity of the democratic system. Cincinnatus became, in the end, a dictator.
I’m picturing this lot, as they were making up the list of requisites for a successful candidate, eyeing each other up and down and reaching an unspoken consensus that none of them, could actually meet any or all of the seven characteristics in the profile either...how sad is that?
In his narrative, “We’re not backing a soul,” says Stamp, the head pro filer. “Completely non-partisan,” says he, and oh yes “we’ll be presenting this to the Rotary Clubs.” He didn’t say they would be visiting any Labour Council organizations so I guess anyone caught left leaning need not hope to apply.
To quote Stamp, “We are hoping that somebody having a coffee will say, ‘I wouldn’t mind doing that.’”
Some will say, “If only I didn’t have a job and kids to feed and a mortgage, I could do this. I could become a CEO of a business that makes no profit and has no shareholders, and set my own pay scale..oh wait... it’s municipal government..it’s not actually a business and besides...we have self appointed committees to tell us what we need and who to elect. I won’t even have to think about ethics or any of that inconvenient stuff.”
As to the listed profile, the only two requirement left off were that your mother be a virgin and you must be able to walk across Discovery Passage in a Sou’Easter.
The unstated requirement is that you have to be able to follow orders after the election is over and the chain is around the neck...literally.
I have to wonder if some of the past office holders could meet the muster these people have laid out.
How did the likes of Tom Barnett, Hugh Campbell, Bob Ostler, Mary Ashley and Jim Lornie even found their way up to City Hall with out the help of this Leadership Selection Committee?
How in hell did we get along without them when we chose those people who became our key citizens?
You have to hand it to them folks, they got chutzpa (that’s unmitigated effrontery).
Reality check people – if you don’t like being mocked, stop behaving stupidly.
The fact that you have the unmitigated gaul to publicly propose this is really beyond credibility.
You are self appointed authorities in nothing, let alone in determining how we should govern ourselves and existence of this committee and your participation in it reflects a very disturbing ignorance, arrogance and hubris. Park your egos and go back to doing your jobs and leave democracy to the people.
Robert E. Kaiser,
Campbell River