Candidates are declaring. Our three North Shore municipal councils, blessedly, are now all on their summer break. Silly season – the run up to the Oct. 15 local government elections – has now begun.
Many of our incumbents and a host of newcomers will be out door knocking and turning up in your social media feeds offering their vision of what the next four years and beyond should look like. Putting one’s name forward and running a campaign is an arduous task and a public service in itself. We salute everyone who is taking that leap.
But if a candidate is promising you a gold-plated SkyTrain, 1990s home prices, or Pavel Bure coming back to play for the Canucks, ask them how they plan to deliver. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. Real leaders will have an understanding of the limits of their power and be ready to discuss nuanced policies that can still impact the many issues we face today.
The world has seen a streak of populist leaders getting elected by appealing to people’s grievances, and then failing in specular fashion while in office. It’s more important than ever that we march into our elections fully informed and with sharpened critical thinking skills.
We have published hundreds of stories about the goings-on of our local councils since 2018. That would be a good place to start. We will have plenty of campaign coverage to come.
The quality of the councils we elect on Oct. 15 will be directly related to the quality of the research we do now. Let’s do right by each other and get informed. It’s the neighbourly thing to do.
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