Things are not always what they seem

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Guest Post ........Liturgy of Mediocrity":

Being at each other’s throats has always been going on. The difference is the media is all over these old theatrical performances, and money can be made. Some of these performances are internal political maneuvers. This is nothing new. Consider all this new media like a hearing aids. The noise has always been there, it’s not muffled anymore and we now hear it louder and clearer than before.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 6 August 2014 07:59

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Humour me  this morning. Let's focus on our town.Not Brampton.Toronto,Richmond Hill or any other place.  Just Aurora.

We listen to the lament of a lack of  public interest in government. We deplore the low turn-out at the polls and. Of course we all know who to blame and how it should be done.

Think about this.  The sign on the highway says we are 56,000 people.

Planning data  calculates two adults and 1.5 children per house. This  is not research. Figures  are not exact. We are  amusing   ourselves remember. After all, who has one and a half children?

Suppose voters number thirty-five  thousand .

Now take away those who are not Canadian citizens and  therefore

not entitled to vote.

Then take away those in the age bracket of eighteen to twenty-four with the right to vote but not likely to do so.

They're still living at home and don't pay taxes. They're  rotten kids who never listen to their parents. And by now their parents  are sick and tired of  nagging and just wish the kids would find their own place and leave. And besides that  parents don't feel the damned house is theirs anymore.

That's an entire group just naturally without interest in municipal elections.

It  does not reflect lack of interest by people who work hard to make a living and pay all the bills.

Children of voting age may be away at school may or may not  be inclined to come home to cast a ballot.That could be a thousand maybe.

Tenants are on the list. Rent reflects a factor for municipal taxes but  the tenants don't pay it directly. They can fold their tents and steal away at any time. They have no investment in the community.

New homeowners who come  from the city  may take a couple of years to feel like they belong.
If they don't have children and work in the city, chances are they may never think of the town
as home.

Absentee landlords are on the list.  Business operators who don't live in the town.

The voters list is only a number. It does not necessarily reflect  numbers of those who might be expected to vote.

Voter  turn-out , fairly stable in a Mayoralty contest ,is not therefore a reflection of lack of interest
among  those with a stake in the community.

It's due to a list not entirely relevant
If I were a  Councillor in a town like Markham with my own office and staff paid for by the municipality I could use that resource to delve into such issues.

I could come to Council very much better armed to challenge  bureaucracy and red tape.

Instead if what we have now;

A seamless tent that draws no line between administration and governance.

The community is not well served.