Democracy on the North Shore was comparatively well served in 2014. Voter turnout stretched above 2011 levels but we need to do better.
Despite pending Park Royal towers in West Vancouver and North Van's waterfront fight, more than 70 per cent of people avoided polls like the plague on Election Day. There has to be a way to engage voters that doesn't involve snaking Highway 1 past their front door.
Just as we urge residents to watch council meetings, appraise developments and help author the OCP , we ask politicians to be available, honest, and sometimes downright blunt.
District of North Vancouver Coun.
Roger Bassam took some criticism during the Panorama Drive parking dustup when he said it's not the role of government to solve every "minor crisis."
We're not saying he's right or wrong, but we applaud all elected officials who say what they mean and mean what they say - an increasingly rare commodity in politics.
That said, forthrightness isn't the only virtue we seek in our civic leaders.
The City of North Vancouver's municipal election was as contentious as it was competitive. But now that the election signs are gone and the last of the mud has been slung, we hope council will work together in a spirit of diplomacy and co-operation. It's true the winner of any election enjoys a mandate, but that mandate shouldn't preclude any councillor from considering good ideas - whether they're from a voter or a resident still waiting for a reason to vote.
