It is often heard and said that in a democracy you get exactly the government which you deserve.
Even though the majority of us in Penticton must have voted for the current mayor and council members, I truly do not believe that we have got the local government that we are deserving of. Although I, sadly, do not have total recall of the platforms these individuals expounded upon in the run-up to their being elected, I am most certain that they did not present themselves in the misguided, arrogant manner in which they have performed since having been elected.
No sense elaborating upon the numerous contentious issues at this point, as the citizens of Penticton can hardly help but be aware of them. The most recent of Mayor Jakubeit’s way out decisions, excluding the proposed proliferation of parking meters, to hire an overpriced dupe to be his and council frontman/woman, really takes the cake.
I, for one, have always been of the belief that one of the first and foremost responsibilities a of a city mayor and council members is to be interactive with (engage) the citizens of their city. As Penticton is not such a large city as to make it difficult to work with the people of the city rather than affronting them arrogantly with ill-conceived and unpopular initiatives seems, to me at least, pretty much of a no-brainer.
Thanks for your attention.
Tom Crawford.
Penticton