To the editor,
Re: Krog re-elected as Nanaimo mayor, Manly tops vote count for councillors, Oct. 19.
Twenty-four-per cent turnout is reprehensible.
It appears the majority of Nanaimo would prefer to live in a dictatorship where they aren’t expected to take time out of their busy lives to assess the candidates and actually vote in an election.
Congratulations. Another four years of trying to save the planet at the expense of the Nanaimo taxpayer.
Annie Maxim, Nanaimo
READ ALSO: Krog re-elected as Nanaimo mayor, Manly top vote-getter among council candidates
To the editor,
Re: Krog re-elected as Nanaimo mayor, Manly tops vote count for councillors, Oct. 19.
I was going to write criticizing the citizens of Nanaimo for the deplorable 24.4-per cent turnout in the recent municipal election, however, after thinking about it, I decided I might be critical of a result and not a cause. Maybe we have too many people running for too many jobs.
While the Bulletin did an admirable job of producing an informative supplement to the community newspaper detailing some background on candidates to support interested readers who took the time to understand their choices, it was still a daunting choice that seems to have driven numerous voters to stay at home.
One difficulty seems to arise from the election of directors for the RDN. As a longtime resident of B.C., I continue to be bewildered by regional districts. It appears they were created to provide local government to areas between many of the municipalities but many newcomers to the province likely have no idea what services they provide. Either there is shockingly poor turnout in elections or they are dominated by the larger municipalities and voter confusion leads to disinterest. My suggestion would be a merging of many regional districts with the dominant municipalities within their boundaries.
As an observer of the municipal elections in the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria I have always believed that the answer to many issues in those regions is the amalgamation of municipalities and related services. Had the Lower Mainland been amalgamated before now, the fiasco and related waste of taxpayers’ money in Surrey could have been eliminated.
These days we are almost constantly bombarded by concerns about the health of democracy in the U.S. but maybe it is time for British Columbians and Canadians to look in the mirror.
Fred McCreath, Nanaimo
OPINION: Boosting local election turnout in B.C. unlikely
To the editor,
Recently one of your readers sent a letter to the editor about the great news that the latest local election produced. They spoke of the results we will get from the mayor and the promising results from the council.
For anyone who wants to be up to date, less than 25 per cent of our eligible voting citizens – at a cost of a large amount of dollars – produced last term’s mayor over again; five of the eight of the last council, and apparently expect the three new council members to fix all the problems we have been describing to anyone who honestly would listen.
A.J. Murch, Nanaimo
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin.
Letters policy: Letters should be no longer than 250 words and will be edited. Preference is given to letters expressing an opinion on issues of local relevance or responding to items published in the News Bulletin. Include your address (it won’t be published) and a first name or two initials, and a surname. Unsigned letters will not be published.
Mail: Letters, Nanaimo News Bulletin, 777 Poplar St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9S 2H7
Fax: 250-753-0788
E-mail: editor@nanaimobulletin.com