I think Mr. Horejsi is right (Penticton Western News, April 12, Clean up the mess), current governments at all levels abuse their power.
Whether that’s making promises to special interest groups for money and votes or using our tax dollars to bolster riding outcomes.
Many in business remember that B.C. tanked during the 1991-2001 decade the NDP held the reins of government. Business people provide the jobs that keep our economy humming. We can’t all work for the government.
When you don’t like the two party alternatives it is time to take steps to change it. You vote for the electable candidate that has a proven track record of working hard for your community. Secondly, you work towards forming a more principled party for the future.
Speaking personally in my pursuit for electoral reform I can only say Dan Ashton has done everything I asked of him; provided advice and taken independent steps to further the interests of the 5,600 signatures on these petitions.
Contrast this with the NDP. Though willing to travel to the coast to personally meet with him I was unable to secure an appointment with John Horgan the leader of the NDP. If he won’t meet with me when I have 5,600 signatures and he is only aspiring to vault to premiership, how autocratic do you think he would be if he became premier?
I attended a meeting Horgan held lately in Penticton; with perseverance and difficulty I established unequivocally that he and his party are against civic electoral reform. Not surprising. Why would they want to change the system? Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Tarik Sayeed was first elected in 2014. After only two-and-a-half years of his mandate he is looking for greener pastures. When Mr. Sayeed ran for council in 2014 he knew the term was four years. The electorate has every right to expect him to honour that time commitment. Now if he is elected to the legislature, Penticton will once again be faced with bye-election costs.
While under no obligation to do so, Mayor Ashton when running for the legislature guaranteed to cover the costs of a bye-election by up to $35,000 if he was elected. I am sure the taxpayers of Penticton would like to have Coun. Sayeed’s commitment that if elected he will pay up to $35,000 in bye-election costs to replace him in his failure to honour his commitment to the people of Penticton.
Elvena Slump
Penticton