10-27-2014, 11:50 PM
As the dust settles on election night, I'm glad that there is enough turnover around the Council table to keep things fresh. It's unfortunate that elements of the election campaign turned so ugly.
To answer a few of the comments above, yes, I still think that a referendum on projects that will fundamentally change the way we live is perfectly valid. Typically elections serve as a stand-in for a referendum: vote for me and I'll do X, if you don't like it vote for the other candidate. If a few of the candidates in the 2010 election had been a little more honest about how they would vote on the LRT rather than splitting hairs, there may have been different results then. Instead, we ended up with scare tactics this time about what might be lost if we didn't continue to pursue the LRT path.
On a funding note, when will we have a politician at any level (federal, provincial or locally) admit that we have deferred maintenance for too long on our infrastructure projects and unless taxes are raised, things are going to get worse. The LRT will likely remain in tip-top shape since we have guaranteed payments and guaranteed service standards, but what else will continue to be punted down the line to keep taxes low?
Don't expect the tax conversation to get easier either. As the baby boomers head for retirement, I expect that we'll hear more stories about seniors on fixed incomes being unable to afford any tax increases.
We'll have to wait and see which "I told you so"s come true after 2017.
To answer a few of the comments above, yes, I still think that a referendum on projects that will fundamentally change the way we live is perfectly valid. Typically elections serve as a stand-in for a referendum: vote for me and I'll do X, if you don't like it vote for the other candidate. If a few of the candidates in the 2010 election had been a little more honest about how they would vote on the LRT rather than splitting hairs, there may have been different results then. Instead, we ended up with scare tactics this time about what might be lost if we didn't continue to pursue the LRT path.
On a funding note, when will we have a politician at any level (federal, provincial or locally) admit that we have deferred maintenance for too long on our infrastructure projects and unless taxes are raised, things are going to get worse. The LRT will likely remain in tip-top shape since we have guaranteed payments and guaranteed service standards, but what else will continue to be punted down the line to keep taxes low?
Don't expect the tax conversation to get easier either. As the baby boomers head for retirement, I expect that we'll hear more stories about seniors on fixed incomes being unable to afford any tax increases.
We'll have to wait and see which "I told you so"s come true after 2017.