No matter what Penticton city council looks like after tomorrow’s election, there’s one overall goal the community should focus on.
That’s creating a culture that continually engages council, city staff and residents in conversation to avoid the series of debacles that have crippled this council.
To be sure, the divisiveness caused the the Skaha Park waterslide lease can be laid squarely at the feet of city council. City staff certainly had some involvement, but the final decision to rush through the agreement, which had been kept secret from the public, was entirely a council decision.
As was Mayor Andrew Jakubeit’s decision, after a month of significant protests, not to invoke the mayor’s privilege to bring the agreement with Trio Marine back to the table. That, in itself, would have alleviated some of the divisiveness that followed.
But it also has to be said that not all council decisions can be based on what is popular with the people. There are always going to be tough decisions.
City Hall has done a lot, especially over the past year or so, to improve ongoing discussion with the community. No matter who is elected, that needs to continue.
The community needs to continue to pay attention to what our elected officials are up to, and hold city council accountable. But personal attacks and blind, uninformed hatred add nothing to the conversation and don’t move our community forward.
Saturday night, Penticton will have a brand-new council-elect and with three of the current councilors stepping away from the table, it’s bound to look and sound very different than the current assembly.
There’s going to be a lot of learning going on. And there will be mistakes and decisions the public won’t agree with.
So, let’s hold their toes to the fire, just maybe not actually in the flames…