There’s a lot of complaining going on right now about practically everything pertaining to North Cowichan.
There’s one thing to do about it: vote.
As much as people love to complain, many of those same complainers are also the ones who don’t get out and vote.
There has been an advance poll, but the main vote is on Saturday, Oct. 15. Unless you’re hiding under a rock and out of touch with what’s going on in the community, that’s the time to make your voice heard.
The fact remains the turnout for municipal elections seldom surpasses 40 per cent. That’s less than half of the eligible voters in case you need it in another context.
That’s what happened last time in 2018, less than a 40 per cent turnout and with three candidates on the ballot for mayor. The position wasn’t decided by acclamation. There was a choice and the outcome wound up being decided by only a couple of handfuls of votes.
The ballot has three different candidates on it again for mayor in 2022, with current mayor Al Siebring retiring to Alberta and leaving the position up for grabs. It could very well come down to a few votes to decide this campaign as well so if you think your vote doesn’t count, think again.
The election might very well be decided by who gets out to vote, whether Rob Douglas, John Koury or Rosalie Sawrie winds up the winner. People will clearly prefer one candidate over the others, but if you don’t express that vote, it may wind up going another way you won’t like but did nothing about it.
There is also a large slate of 15 candidates running for councillor. All bring a wide array of backgrounds that will either make them good or poor candidates in the voters’ eyes. But, again, you have to vote or it’s left up to a minority that may be fuelled by some of the candidates themselves to decide the issue.
This is an important election, with so many critical decisions before council that necessitates a much larger voter turnout than usual. Anything less than 65 per cent, in our books, will be considered a massive failure in addressing the public’s needs and concerns.