Candidates still offering only half a loaf

As we count the days until Saturday, I’m not sure voters are any more enlightened than they were a few weeks ago.

Very few candidates, with occasional exceptions like the ones I’ve been mentioning, have actually said what they stand for.

Mostly, they write and talk in generalities. They play to whatever audience they’re in front of. They paint with broad strokes.

I wrote earlier that election campaigns are for putting flesh on the bones of political promises, that as this one progressed we were likely to see some actual practical ideas emerge.

And yet, where are the ideas? Every once in awhile, someone will come up with one, but nothing that provides much in the way of a clue as to a vision for Kamloops, or to the style of the candidate.

To those few who have tried to stand out from the crowd, I applaud you. To the rest, I ask on behalf of voters, where’s the beef?

I have in front of me a considerable pile of campaign brochures, newspaper ads and my own notes, and this is what I see:

“Dedicated to the people of Kamloops.”

“No political agenda.”

“Build city-wide support for projects anywhere in the city.”

“I will work hard to ensure that your tax dollars are spent in the best interest of all our citizens.”

“Trustworthy.”

What a relief — we certainly don’t want politicians who are divisive, in it for the politics, are untrustworthy, or working for special interest groups.

Point is, what candidates are pledging is what Mike Holmes would call minimum code. They’re promising to do what we would expect of anyone who sells us a loaf of bread.

When we go into a grocery store, we’re shopping for groceries, not for ideas and vision. Civic elections — different game.

What voters are looking for is HOW that loaf of bread is going to be made, with what ingredients; that is, how candidates intend to accomplish what they say they want to do.

If they’re going to build consensus, how will they go about doing that?

If a would-be councilor wants to see “a strong, vibrant business climate,” how can that be done?

And here’s one for the mayoral candidates: if elected, and keeping in mind the mayor receives a full-time salary, will you be a full-time mayor?

This is a legitimate question, since Peter Milobar owns a liquor business plus divides his time between City Hall and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District as chair of the board. Deiter Dudy also owns a business — will he sell the farm, if you’ll excuse the expression, if elected?

There’s one very good way of figuring out what kind of a job a candidate will do in office. Take a look at community experience, and figure it out from there. Lots of community experience, lots of community know-how. Thin on community experience, thin on know-how.

By the way, last week I made note of the fact that people wonder about the need for previous experience on council before a candidate should consider going for mayor.

By my recollection, for better or for worse, five of the last nine mayors of Kamloops had no previous experience on council. But they had community and/or business experience.