It stuns me that Penticton city council appears so upset with the turnout for the prison opinion poll. Professional opinion pollsters shoot for a much smaller representation with a purported accuracy of 19 times out of 20.
I feel a 24 per cent turnout is very commendable. And they were not all seniors, whom many helped build this community and are still working to support themselves and the community.
There are many reasons 76 per cent did not register their opinions. Perhaps it was because they were on vacation, bedridden, ill, physically or mobility challenged, could not afford the cost of going to the farthest part of the city to vote, or simply gave up because council was not forthcoming with credible information to make an informed decision. Whatever the reason, I find the most despicable post-polling comment was from Coun. Vassilaki, who stated that those in the 76 per cent should be ashamed for not doing so. Any councillors who shames 76 per cent of their constituents, in my opinion, and though they may otherwise be fine people, are a disgrace as representatives of the community.
Now this great community may be faced with another divisive prison issue. It appears city council may be supportive of the Penticton Indian Band’s prison proposal on PIB land that is situated within the boundaries of the city near the Cantex site. Will the council be supporting taxpayer-funded water, sewage and other infrastructure of such a proposal? After all, there is little difference between this proposal and the one on the Cantex site. Talk about sneaking in the back door. Yes grandpappy, I think a few of our councillors were born stupid and lost ground ever since, and that may well be their strong point.
Sheldon Hansen
Penticton