ROTHENBURGER – Dr. Armchair has a surefire cure for chronic councillitis
(Image: Gerd Altmann, Pixabay.com)
DO YOU HAVE a bad case of councillitis, one that keeps coming back every Tuesday?
Are you on a City council that feels logy and sluggish, that suffers from head fog interspersed with periods of intense agitation?
The good news is there’s help for that. Dr. Armchair’s special formula is guaranteed to make you feel better or your money back. In fact, it’s free. And it comes in a neatly wrapped package of five fast-acting remedies.
REMEDY NUMBER ONE: If you’re the mayor, consider that the system moves slowly and cautiously most of the time. If you have an idea, think about the journey, not just the objective. When you put a motion forward, throw in a few “whereases” to explain what it’s about. Better yet, do some consultation/ lobbying ahead of time so you can generate at least some understanding of it, and maybe even support for it, before it comes up for a decision.
If you’re a councillor, give the mayor’s ideas a chance. If he brings forward a notice of motion he hasn’t talked to you about ahead of time, or that you feel hasn’t been backed up with as much research as you’d like, don’t get all indignant and resistant. Maybe it’s worth further consideration. Instead of shooting it down with a 1-8 vote, why not refer it to a committee or recommend it for discussion at the next committee of the whole meeting, or ask for a staff report?
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, alternate TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
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Perhaps all politicians municipal, provincial, federal could wear their pink shirts 👚 everyday. And show their constituents young and old how to get things done with out bullying. You are in the public eye please set a good example.