How could citizens get a voice in selecting Banff's interim Mayor?
The Municipal Government Act provides a way for Councillors to select an Interim Mayor from among the Councillors. There are a couple ways this could work:
The expedient option. Councillors could talk before the August 9th meeting, line up support for a candidate and pass a motion without much debate. Please note, you can watch the August 9th meeting live.
The public-facing option. Mayoral candidates could speak to their intent to serve as mayor in the live council meeting and field a few questions from other Councillors. Council members, fully informed, would vote. Practically, we could limit questions and answers.
I favour the latter, the more transparent process. Such transparency benefits our civic culture, especially in this time of online zoom meetings. An Interim Mayor's public promises made at the August 9 online meeting would cement her/his commitment as Mayor. It also would place responsibility on Councillors to ask thoughtful questions, even questions delivered to Councillors in advance by constituents. Fundamentally, it aims to respect the will of the electorate as represented by the other Councillors.
What can you do?
1. Ask your Councillors if they will commit to an open process for selecting our Interim Mayor.
Below are the Town Councillors’ email addresses.
Grant Canning
grant.canning@banff.ca
Ted Christensen
ted.christensen@banff.ca
Brian Standish
brian.standish@banff.ca
Corrie DiManno
corrie.dimanno@banff.ca
Peter Poole
peter.poole@banff.ca
Chip Olver
chip.olver@banff.ca
2. Please submit your questions to me, and, though I can't promise to be able to ask all the questions, I'll aim to represent constituents when it’s my turn to speak on August 9th.
I'm proud to do this on your behalf.
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Freedom to speak on issues of public concern
When the Town censored the name of a person who complained that I might have a conflict-of-interest, the Town and the cloaked complainant undermined our democratic rights. It's a fundamental tenet of our ancient common law system of justice that the accused has the right to face the accuser in the public square.
Weeks later, the accuser still has not publicly identified themselves. I've heard people speculate that it's the developer Liricon, or their agent, or a friend, or a Town official, or someone wanting to run for election in the upcoming municipal election. The name's a mystery, but the intent is clear: to choke off public debate on an issue about Liricon's upcoming Railroad Lands Area Redevelopment Plan, the biggest development to hit Banff in decades.
For background on this, read the July 14th Rocky Mountain Outlook story, and the written attachments to the Agenda from the July 12th Council meeting.
In several meetings about this development, my duty as Councillor has been to act as the eyes and ears of voters, to ask tough questions that help ensure:
transparency is provided;
ethical standards are met by Council and Town officials;
our legal duties as a municipality in our national park are followed (per the Incorporation Agreement); and
voters’ interests are safeguarded.
Throughout my term as Councillor I’ve noticed a political culture where competent Town administrators provide partial information to Town Council and in turn the Council enables an atmosphere of deference to the Administration by hesitating to question the Town's capable planners, engineers & accountants. This deferential political culture encourages secrecy instead of transparency, favours some interests over others, and fundamentally inhibits good governance.
Our Councillors are not provided training in governance, something common for public companies and non-profit boards. The behaviours which result lead to complaints from many town residents that Administration leads and Council follows. Such a caricature is not accurate nor fair, because Council has often led in strategic ways and most Town Administrators are professionals who acknowledge, even respect thoughtful questions and scrutiny from members of Council. I have endeavoured to ask such tough questions at budget, of auditors, of our policies and bylaws, of operations and engineering projects.
Asking tough questions strengthens both parties, just like in good sports matches, where healthy respect and a dose of competitive spirit leads to Olympic-level performance. Neither citizens nor strong Administrators want Councillors to be weak, but sometimes a culture of deference devolves to meekness and subservience.
Among concerns I have with this political culture of deference is that it can suffocate public debate. If Town staff think it's more efficient and expedient to leave Council out of the discussions, then inappropriate relationships and processes can become commonplace. An administrator might only offer one option to Council, be it the price of a project or a name on a bridge. A developer, say, concerned about tough questions from a Councillor might try to keep that Councillor from speaking, from representing constituents.
Developers may be lured into friendly relationships with Councillors or Administration, but they risk much if they play that gamble. In Canmore recently, over a thousand citizens rose up against the huge development proposals at Three Sisters. Banff’s Railroads Land Area Redevelopment Plan is similarly significant in potential impact for residents and businesses in Banff.
Banff voters can do something effective for improving Council: in the next ten weeks, leading to the town election on October 18th, voters can engage with candidates.
I will not run for Council again, but in the final two months of my term, I will continue to uphold the promise I have kept: to be a Councillor willing to shed light on our civic affairs and speak up for diverse residents. I've been honoured to serve and continue to be grateful to you, the residents, for your support, words of caution, correction or wisdom.
What can you do?
In August and September, please apply to Banff’s Town Committees. It's important to have fresh voices and new, strong talent.
Also, encourage strong candidates to run for election, and support new entrants in their campaigns. The home-ice advantage for incumbents means new entrants need extra support.
I hope citizen groups, and teachers and health care workers will consider organizing candidate debates. The conversation-cafe approach last time, hosted by the Seniors’ Society, was effective.
Further, in the first week after the election, consider calling the newly elected and any re-elected council members and tell them of your interest in serving on Committees. One of the first things a new Council will do, a week after the election, will be to hold an "Annual Organizational Meeting" when Committees are appointed.
Whatever you can do will be important and helpful to our entire community.
I have great faith in democracy and believe we need open, public discourse.
Sincerely,
Peter Poole