No-show politicians disappointment at CIB

Armchair Mayor column for The Kamloops Daily News, Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Communities in Bloom judges were here this week.

Now let’s talk about who wasn’t here. The mayor, for example.

First, though, let’s deal with “Thomas,” who thanked mayor and council on our website a couple of days ago for “blowing money on this garbage.”

Thomas, maybe you’d like Kamloops to go back to the days when it was known as just another pulp mill town in a beautiful natural setting but with an urban streetscape that left much to be desired.

Maybe you’d rather save a few bucks on taxes and close our parks, rip out our flower beds, let the streets turn to potholes, and shut all our recreation and cultural facilities.

Maybe you just don’t get the connection between a beautiful city and a safe, livable city.

No, Thomas, you couldn’t be more wrong. Communities in Bloom is both a visible reminder of how far we’ve come, and motivation to keep going. It gives us a plan.

The Kamloops CIB committee should get a 10-bloom national award for being the best in the country. It’s packed with people who know what they’re doing — they know how to be gracious hosts and how to present the city at its best.

They deserve better than to have what they do called “garbage.” They deserve the support of the entire community. That’s why political support is so important.

I don’t necessarily think a few no-shows during the two days judges Wendy Maurer and Jim Baird were in town will damage our chances of winning the award for the bloomingest city in Canada.

But, given that community participation is always a big part of Communities In Bloom, I think it bears saying that we could have done a little better in that department.

Let’s start with Mayor Milobar, who was missing in action. Communities in Bloom is a big deal — the mayor needs to be a part of it.

I usually have trouble finding fault with the mayor, but he wasn’t there when the judges were looking at the entries in the pot-planting competition, including his own. He didn’t attend the Beautify Kamloops presentations. He didn’t host the judges as the mayor of the city usually does. He wasn’t at the wrapup banquet.

This is because he decided to take the week off. Work-life balance is important. I don’t begrudge anyone, even politicians, a holiday but when you’re mayor, you pick your spots. When you’re needed on the job, you stay on the job.

Coun. John O’Fee ably filled in for Milobar here and there as deputy mayor, but when a councilor stands in for the mayor it simply draws attention to the fact the mayor didn’t come.

Speaking of deputy mayors, O’Fee won the council pot-planting contest that’s part of the whole CIB schedule. Not bad, since he never went near the pot.

The contest is a fun thing, with members of council teaming up with sponsors who pay the costs of the plantings, and with a member of the City’s parks staff to see who creates the most ostentatious, sometimes most outrageous, pot planting.

Though various councilors did attend other functions, several were unable to participate in the contest to much extent this year, which is unfortunate. Disappointing for sponsors, and for the parks staffers who do the work.

(My own council contest partner, John DeCicco, went the extra mile, transplanting stuff from his home garden to spruce up our entry, though it was a losing cause. And it should be mentioned that Coun. Tina Lange worked flat out with the CIB committee during the judges’ visit.)

Again, we must keep in mind that councilors aren’t full-time employees, and they sometimes have other things to do that conflict with their civic duties. But. . .

Another thing about non-attendance. CIB can’t happen without a lot of good corporate sponsors. Less than a third of them showed up for the banquet, and it was obvious by the empty tables. Financial support is important, but so is being there. That room should have been packed.

And, by the way, Kevin Krueger wasn’t there, either, though Terry Lake was.

Meanwhile, kudos to the Graffiti Task Force, which played a pretty big role in putting the best possible face on our city for the CIB judges, but was inadvertently left off the list of acknowledgements at the banquet.

Maybe the only reason any of this is worth mentioning is that anything less than 110-per-cent  participation is unusual for our community. When Kamloops has something going, Kamloops shows up.

So, Thomas, please rethink. Don’t be a no-show. Maybe you should listen to “wildlifegirl76,” who commented after you, “Thank you, Mayor and Council, for making our community beautiful. This fills me with pride and makes we want to continue to live, spend and volunteer in my own community. A wise investment.”

mrothenburger@kamloopsnews.ca