Citing a shopping list of complaints about Victoria city council, a local watchdog group says it鈥檚 time for the province to permit voters to fire municipal councillors.
鈥淧eople are angry. They鈥檙e dispirited with local government and the City of Victoria council in particular,鈥� said Stan Bartlett chair of the Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, in his call for the province to introduce recall legislation for municipal councillors.
Other than writing letters of complaint to newspapers, complaining on talk radio or emailing councillors directly, there鈥檚 little that can be done except to wait for the four-year term to run out, Bartlett said.
Recall legislation similar to provincial recall legislation would give frustrated taxpayers an option 鈥渨hen faced with the lack of competence of a council, policies that are completely at odds with most of the public, or a fractured governance model,鈥� Bartlett says.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a provincial taxpayer, there are checks and balances. There is recall legislation, of course. The opposition can filibuster or bring down the government in a vote of non-confidence and so on, so there are some checks and balances,鈥� he said
鈥淭here are not sufficient options at a municipal level.鈥�
Calling Victoria council 鈥渁n overtly populist and partisan government,鈥� he cited issues that have frustrated residents, including council鈥檚 affordable-housing and rental-housing policies, police budget issues, Coun. Laurel Collins vying for a federal seat only months after being elected to council, $2 million spent on a Crystal Pool replacement project that may never be built as designed, attempts to ban horse-drawn carriages from downtown, and lack of a new location for the Sir John A. MacDonald statue removed from the steps of city hall.
鈥淭hey seem to operate in an alternate universe,鈥� Bartlett said. 鈥淭hey seem to be in a permanent state of distraction and ill-advised decisions.鈥�
But there鈥檚 a huge difference between politics and incompetence, said former Victoria councillor Chris Coleman.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 just about: 鈥業鈥檓 mad at them. I don鈥檛 like the direction they鈥檙e going,鈥� that鈥檚 political. Frankly, your group lost an election. You correct that in the electoral process,鈥� said Coleman.
鈥淚鈥檓 always cautious to go toward recall because it tends to be personal and political. It should be extraordinary, which is why the ones we鈥檝e seen in the past provincially have a high threshold to succeed. It鈥檚 not just about not liking somebody.鈥�
Michael Prince, Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria, agreed.
鈥淭his to me is like sour grapes democracy,鈥� said Prince. 鈥淎 group won that these Grumpy Taxpayer$ didn鈥檛 like 鈥� they clearly didn鈥檛 vote for the bloc, I鈥檓 sure 鈥� and this is kind of a blunt instrument.鈥�
Under the province鈥檚 recall law, voters can remove an MLA from office if they collect signatures from at least 40 per cent of eligible voters in the MLA鈥檚 riding during a 60-day campaign.
Bartlett said Victoria council often seems distracted 鈥� dealing with everything from Quebec鈥檚 Bill 21 to the appropriateness of Christmas poinsettias rather than focusing on the basics of potholes and downtown鈥檚 cleanliness.
鈥淚 see a downtown that鈥檚 dirty. I see a community that鈥檚 got a lot of potholes. I see a lot of divisiveness that鈥檚 being fostered out of council. It鈥檚 unacceptable,鈥� he said.
Exactly which councillors he would recommend for recall, Bartlett said, 鈥渋s up to the ratepayers.鈥�
鈥淚 think they have to be reminded that we are their employer and that they were elected to represent everybody鈥檚 interest.鈥�
Pointing to the circus that was the previous Nanaimo council, Bartlett admits the province seems reluctant to intervene in the operations of municipal councils
鈥淭here just doesn鈥檛 seem to be any end to it. I think the dilemma for local taxpayers is the province is very reluctant to weigh in on municipal dysfunction, as with the case with Nanaimo. That鈥檚 the shining example. They had a meltdown for years and the province didn鈥檛 wade in,鈥� he said.
鈥淎t what point does the province weigh in on what鈥檚 going on here in Victoria?鈥�
