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LETTERS: Secrecy undermines democracy

Editor: Re: Mayor mum on deputy position, April 17.
29987whiterockChesneyall-candidate
Coun. David Chesney

Editor:

Re: Mayor mum on deputy position, April 17.

Appointments of elected officials should be made in public, not in-camera.

And politicians should not be muzzled about them.

Imagine if Prince George’s first woman mayor, Carrie Jane Gray, couldn’t speak out about not being appointed to any committees when she later served as alderman in the ’60s. The then-mayor had declared “women members didn’t contribute anything,” and, “as long as I’m on council there won’t be any women on committees.”

Gray was able to pave the way for fairer participation.

There is a very short list of what a city council must decide in a closed meeting, in section 90(2) of the Community Charter. White Rock would do well to open things up, use their discretion for the long list of discretionary topics in section 90(1).

Now we are left to speculate why outspoken Coun. Dave Chesney was muzzled and left from civic appointments. Was it because he not only speaks, but listens?

Irene Plett, White Rock

• • •

I am very shocked that Mayor Wayne Baldwin has singled out Coun. David Chesney and excluded him from the deputy-mayor rotation. Why was this action acceptable to most of council? Why was this decision made in secret? Is this a democracy?

Former mayors Catherine Ferguson and Judy Forster were open with the city; not acting as though they were bestowed with unquestioning allegiance and fealty.

The mayor’s actions, coupled with his arrogant discounting of the strata’s garbage-collection concerns, cast him in a very poor light. This is not acceptable.

Louise Bjorknas, White Rock

• • •

When 1,982 people voted last November for David Chesney to become a councillor, they expected he would bring a new voice, new ideas and maybe a new perspective to the job. And so he did for a few months, until council decided at an in-camera meeting that it would deny him the usual right to rotate with his colleagues in the position of deputy mayor or to serve on committees. This constituted a limiting of his duties.

When asked by Peace Arch News about the reason for this, council stood behind the fact the decision was made in-camera and therefore was not available to the public.

There was a lone dissenter. Coun. Helen Fathers said it was unfair and wouldn’t support it, which could suggest council’s reason may be trivial, biased or otherwise invalid. We don’t know, so speculation runs wild.

I am not acquainted with Chesney and met him only once, on the campaign trail, but I’d planned to go to one of his monthly meetings in the library where he hosts ‘community conversations’ on the first Saturday at 10 a.m.

I am disturbed indeed about this turn of events. There is a word for this, and we didn’t expect it to ever rear its ugly head in White Rock council: ‘Undemocratic’.

Mary Garner, White Rock

• • •

An open letter to Mayor Wayne Baldwin and council.

We read with dismay of council’s decision to approve the deputy-mayor rotation and committee assignments proposed by the mayor. The rotation list blatantly cut Coun. Dave Chesney out of the action. Although approved at a public meeting, the proposal was made in-camera and no explanation was forthcoming.

Mayor Wayne Baldwin, it was reported, said he could not explain why Chesney was kept off the lists without violating his oath. How convenient! You make a decision to meet in-camera – the 10th time this term – and hide behind that to make a mean-spirited decision, the reasons for which cannot be discussed publicly.

The Community Charter behind which you hide states that the powers, duties and functions of a municipality are to be performed by its entire council and that every council member is responsible to consider the interests of the community and participate in committee meetings.

Doing your best to circumscribe Chesney’s ability to do so is an affront to the 1,982 citizens who voted for him, expecting that the democratically elected councillor would be a fully participating member of council.

If there are legitimate concerns about Chesney’s ability to do the job for which he was elected, please respect the intelligence of citizens and share those concerns with us.

Your handling of this situation demonstrates a shameful abuse of power and a disregard for the values of transparency and accountability that are hallmarks of the democratic process. We are profoundly disappointed in your performance and urge you to reconsider.

Hélène & Don Cameron, White Rock