I’ve lived the grand majority of my 44 years of life in two specific places: Grand-Greve, Richmond County (roughly 27 years) and Port Hawkesbury (nearly 14 years), with the remainder spent in Halifax for my university education.
My wife and I are now in our third year of house ownership in Port Hawkesbury, which we expect to be our home base for the rest of our lives.
So, naturally, we’re engaged in what’s happening in the run-up to this Saturday’s municipal and school board elections. This would likely apply even if I wasn’t covering Port Hawkesbury Town Council, Richmond Municipal Council and the Strait regional school board as my regular beats for The Reporter.
And as this weekend approaches, I’m astounded by all I’ve seen in the past four years – for that matter, the past year, and even the past couple of weeks.
To say I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly at the council and school board tables would be an understatement.
I’ve seen municipal leaders and councillors work together for the common good of the region instead of putting their individual images, pet projects or constituencies first. I’ve also seen rancor, disrespect and utter childishness unbefitting of anybody running for public office.
I’ve seen quiet council and school board meetings with empty public galleries. I’ve also seen full-to-overflowing council sessions, some of which required the presence of security personnel to keep the proceedings from devolving into a schoolyard brawl.
I’ve seen some community groups and project leaders welcomed with open arms and saluted with a collaborative spirit by municipal leaders and councillors. I’ve also seen others openly attacked, shouted down, blindsided and dismissed as uninformed pinheads by people who have been in public life (elected or otherwise) long enough to know better.
I’ve seen municipal councils and leaders work in a spirit of cooperation with members of the business community to enhance their attractiveness to local customers and engage in a spirit of friendly competition. I’ve also seen the same municipal councils and leaders enact policies that appear to be little more than an effort to drive business owners – and their customers – out of the community.
I’ve seen long-serving municipal and school board officials recognize, with a certain level of bravery and dignity, when it’s their time to leave public life and allow a new generation of leadership to take over. I’ve also seen others stubbornly cling to their seats despite having little or no new ideas to bring to the table. (For that matter, I’ve also seen some dangerously unqualified people run for – and be elected or acclaimed to – municipal or school board seats with nothing to offer outside of the “clean-slate” card.)
I’ve seen thoughtful, fact-based discussions over the proper means of governance in our area, ranging from amalgamation and shared services to redrawing municipal boundaries.
I’ve also seen these discussions become personality-driven battles, occasionally dragged into (and quickly dismissed from) the legal arena.
I’ve seen judicious spending of taxpayers’ dollars. I’ve also seen – in black and white, impossible to deny – outright wastes of public funds and misuse of privileges that, arguably, should have been restricted to emergency situations or eliminated outright.
I’ve seen well-thought-out, intelligent explanations for cost-cutting measures, including those resulting in closures of schools or layoffs of municipal staff. I’ve also seen ham-fisted, detail-free bluster that serves no purpose other than to anger an already-inflamed community.
I’ve seen the highest heights of our local education system as it reaches out to embrace diverse cultures and welcome transgender and gender-non-conforming students and staff.
I’ve also seen declining enrolment, emotional community meetings, and the frustration of school board members who ran for their positions on platforms of change and wound up voting for the same school closures they once abhorred.
I’ve seen private citizens and Nova Scotia’s Office of the Ombudsman attempt to keep our elected officials and non-elected municipal staff honest and accountable. I’ve also seen old grudges revived in an opportunistic attempt to attack specific personalities as opposed to dealing with the actual problems plaguing municipal government in our area.
I’ve seen public servants applauded for the 24/7 dedication they bring to their communities. I’ve also seen a municipal councillor’s personal life dragged into the spotlight in an attempt to blackmail him out of re-offering. I have seen families harassed, careers wrecked, and lives destroyed.
I’ve seen it. You’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it. How much more of it we see in the next four years will likely depend on how you and I see the choices on our local ballots this Saturday.
I hope you see it as seriously as I see it – and see how much your vote counts.