Editor:
Municipal elections are the last bastion of direct political influence that is available to the electorate.
Federal elections are usually decided before the polls in B.C. have even had a chance to close. The byzantine maze of ideologies, big money and influence are largely the makings of provincial elections and unfathomable to the majority.
Municipal elections are, however, much more personal. The electorate has some knowledge of the contestants as individuals from the community, their personalities, political qualities and their history. Their actions affect the streets that you walk and drive on, the air that you breathe and the education of our children. To assess it all carefully and to vote appropriately is to do a great favour to yourself and to the community.
Many of Delta's issues stick out like a sore thumb and have done so, unfortunately without address, for a very long time. The increasing disappearance of true farmland (only seven per cent of B.C. is arable), the plight of the river crossing, the lighting and safety in the tunnel, the nature of bulging development, transportation and transit, the casino, the fouling of the air we breathe… These issues have not been properly dealt with over the past decade or more and all impinge on the well-being of voters and their families.
As unresolved issues now get to a critical point, the choice of who might be trusted to deal with them is the essence of this week's election. Will it be more of what we have had or is there a feeling that new blood might be there and have the vision and the will to firmly address the issues in the best interest of the voters?
Municipal elections deserve the most of attention. They determine the state of your own backyard.
Alan Roberts
