Re: McKellar council mail-in vote
The McKellar council has decided to again bring a motion at the next council meeting regarding the mail-in vote. This method of voting was defeated earlier this year. I am sure that the council had a lot of pressure to repeal that motion by the cottage associations.
The year 2000 was the last time McKellar had of going to the polls to elect council. There were 425 who voted. I am not sure of the total voters eligible that year.
We have had three mail-in votes up to this point. It is a very costly situation and certainly the first one was not advertised enough and some local people missed out. The last one in 2006, there were 3,023 eligible voters, with 1,201 voting. Changes in the rules were made regarding the use of proxies etc. However, there were a lot of mistakes made during the start of this new voting system. In some area municipalities this caused them to reconsider the mail-in vote.
Mckellar Township did not mention having a problem, as we have so far used it the last three elections. It seems in my opinion to be a fair way for those that pay taxes to the township to have a say in what is going on without having any inconvenience. However, it also seems that our democratic system is being short changed as those voting don’t get to know those they are voting for as individuals, only voting for one or two that their associations hand pick to make sure they get the votes on council going their way.
That might be a little cynical, but in my opinion true. In the municipalities that have a large cottage population, there are areas of concern that the local people have that are of a different nature then part-time residents might have.
Anyone on council should have the total population of the township and their needs up front and center in their decisions, not just those who they know have the most voting power. This attitude has been proven especially in the way the council has been making decisions in the last year or so, so local residents signed a petition to have the sidewalks replaced on Catherine Street in the “village” – a very simple request and no action or explanation.
Lots of action and money spent on walking trails, opening township road allowances as well as township roads closed for years for ATVs, snow machines – commendable, but what should the priorities be? Some extra snowplowing taken on in the last couple of years, a great step in the right direction.
There is a special circumstance in one area in particular that the council could help find a solution for, but so far has not regarding roads and, in particular, snow removal.
This has been asked for because it should be a priority of the council after 50 years of paying road taxes and before more stringent rules are put in place by Municipal Affairs.
The council lined themselves up with the Cottage Associations in an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing that was on going last year.
It is my opinion that the council has scarred the reputation that the township might have enjoyed for fair negotiations in dealing with developments. Any future developments that might arise will have second thoughts after this latest fiasco.
The decision that was made by council, in my opinion, was based on the cottage association’s desires, not on the economic development plan they had spent so much money on. If even partial costs of the OMB hearing came out of those sitting on council, we would not be having so many hearings called.
I believe that the vote by council on the mail-in vote versus the polling station
will be decided not by the advantages or disadvantages, but because of the pressure by the associations.
It has good points, especially for those unable to get around as easily.
In my opinion at the McKellar municipal level with four councillors and reeve, it is very important that they have minds of their own and make decisions accordingly, not by pressure or votes that might come their way assuring them of a seat on council.
We need our cottagers, many have retired in the area and have helped with the economy in the district by using the services established, making it better for the year round residents as well. Great friendships have been made also, and I hope that continues to be the case.
Regardless of how this situation on voting turns out, I hope the democratic system that we have enjoyed in Canada for all these years does not get chipped away because of changes that might allow too many loopholes in the elections for convenience purposes.
Myrna A. Fenton
McKellar Township