There was once a time when electing individuals to govern your community was more akin to the way lawyers select a jury.
You would select from among a specified number of peers, presumably those who are sympathetic to your overall vision.
The party system has certainly made the process less time-consuming for voters. In the case of civic slates, a like-minded group of individuals presents themselves under one banner and, if they collectively speak for you, it can make your choice simple across-the-board. If not, it effectively narrows your options.
However, political parties also bring with them one much-discussed negative, particularly as we close in on the 2018 fall elections – when one party dominates and conducts all meaningful discussion behind closed doors in caucus, prior to making decisions that affect our communities and wallets for years to come.
Some point to Surrey’s council (with nine of nine members elected under the Surrey First banner) and to White Rock’s council (with four of seven members elected under the White Rock Coalition banner) as cases in which the electorate has felt shut out of the decision-making process once their votes were cast for a newly extended term four years ago.
Some will argue that this process has led to improvements in their city. Others, less so.
The issue for voters who are discontent with this party system is that it is becoming less and less likely for a true independent to get elected at any level of politics, particularly in a massive municipality like Surrey (est. pop. 520,000) but even in tiny White Rock (est. pop. 20,000).
Without the backing of a political machine, how does an individual get noticed in the din?
The solutions must come from the voters, as the politicians can’t be relied upon to make improvements to this system. The current one, after all, is the one under which the successful ones were elected to power.
Voters must take more notice of the candidates who are brave enough to step up, whether on or off a slate. If they find the right party, but a wrong individual, they must resist the urge to vote them all in in one fell swoop.
And if an independent candidate – or seven, or nine – says something that’s worth heeding, you as a supporter should engage other potential voters and create a groundswell from the grassroots.
In short, the onus is on you.
