Re: 鈥淪aanich council pay hikes a study in waste, excess,鈥� column, March 31.
I am writing to express my frustration and disappointment in the column by Lawrie McFarlane detailing the pay increase for the Saanich council. In particular, I am bothered by the use of 鈥減igs at the trough鈥� 鈥� a term I have seen in the past when describing elected officials.
As an elected official myself, I expect that type of commentary from an online troll commenting on a social media post, not a journalist. I expect more from the sa国际传媒 than name-calling.
A recent Facebook post has made the rounds again that encourages enraged senior citizens to get a gun and 鈥渟hoot a worthless politician鈥� in order to go to jail so that they can receive free food and shelter.
When I was door-knocking, I聽encountered a young man who thought that my presence at his door was an opportunity for him to call me names, make broad generalizations and vent his anger.
I told him I was walking away, as no one deserves to be spoken to in that way. He was shocked. And I did walk away.
In the future, please elevate the sa国际传媒鈥檚 reporting and refrain from such basic and simplistic commentary.
Jane Vermeulen
Councillor, Township of Esquimalt
