EDITORIAL – Time for the keyboard critics to put up, shut up, or run
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS people run for public office is that they think they can do a better job than the people who are already there.
Or, at the least, they believe they have the qualifications, experience, vision and time to make their community a good place to live and work.
If you are among them, here’s your chance. Municipal voters will go to the polls this coming October to pick a new City council and there’s going to be at least one vacancy — Mayor Ken Christian has announced he won’t run again.
If you’re not all that familiar with the job, it pays about $100,000 a year for a 50- to 60-hour week and comes with a parking space and all the abuse you can handle. If this appeals to you, start saving and collecting donations — you’ll need $30,000 or so to run an effective campaign.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Is there a law that says one can’t express opinions or provide feedback opposite to the sanctioned narrative? Is there a law limiting the quantity of expressible opinions? And in some cases, excessive exuberance and a lifetime spent in making split-moment decisions may not land well in “public office” where lethargy is the preferred method. Moreover, sometime personal circumstances may hinder well-meaning intentions. And then, having dealt with current and past local politicians and administrators there is also the realization that being the dissident would be a very tough, and frankly pointless position to be in, day in, day out.