We have survived two elections. I won’t go into them too much, as things will remain pretty much the same.

Provincially, the bungling Conservatives dislodged the bungling NDP. The Conservatives will form a majority government. I was surprised, as the Conservatives were rife with infighting and had several members leave the party. The NDP, seeing this, called a snap election, thinking this was their best chance to secure another four year mandate. It was a colossal blunder and cost the NDP the election. It will be interesting to see if the Conservatives can get along and govern. Voter turnout was reported at 48%.

Municipally, the election was even less exciting. Voter turnout was reported at just under 30%. However, turnout was probably even lower, as people living in the bush, in trailers, or eight to a two-bedroom apartment wouldn’t have been counted. In other words, the workers.

Now, if the Mayor and Council were asked why there was such a low turnout, they would answer that everyone in town is as happy as clams with the direction the town is going.

More than likely, however, low voter turnout could signify distrust of local government, with voters thinking the candidates don’t listen to or represent their concerns. Whether they cast a vote or not, that was the attitude of many people I’ve talked to, and it is certainly my opinion.

I don’t worry about it too much. Regardless of the Mayor and Council, and what motivates them, I like to think the District has good people working to deliver the services and infrastructure we need. If you contact the Mayor and Council about these subjects, you will get some blank stares back, if they answer at all. These are not the concerns that motivate them. They are more motivated by business interests and tourism. In short, they are more an arm of the Chamber of Commerce, putting forth business concerns and attracting tourism. They function more as an elected Welcome Wagon. It is in this capacity that their allegiance lies, and it can’t be denied they do an admirable job in that capacity.

On a more serious note, unfortunately, Gerry Taft, who has been on council for half his life, decided not to run. I haven’t always agreed with Gerry’s positions in the past, but the one thing Gerry always did was get back to me if I raised a concern. Now, my queries will continue to be met with silence. It should be noted that the only questions I have are about infrastructure, not business or tourism. Silence is to be expected from the Welcome Wagon.