These are the election promises no one made

Municipal elections are held every four years in B.C. The next election is coming up fast – Oct. 15.

On the political spectrum, municipal elections are the poor cousins, the runt of electoral litters. You don’t think so? Consider at the emotions they arouse. Federal politicians get hated. Provincial politicians, ridiculed. Municipal politicians? Mostly a shrug.

This is especially true in a rural municipality sandwiched halfway between two much larger cities. I attended an all-candidates’ meeting for the District of Lake Country. Out of curiosity, mainly. I already know who I’ll vote for. I didn’t go as a journalist. I went to see how the candidates treated each other.

Mostly, I felt, with respect.

To their credit, no one attacked any other candidate. They could have. As an outsider who avoids political rallies like psoriasis, I could anticipate some heated dissension coming over the next four years.

Several candidates were clearly pro-development. They wanted to cut red tape. Speed up processes. Reduce regulations. If they were looking for a dragon to slay, it would be their own municipal staff.

Others placed a high value on protecting the natural and social environments that make this community a desirable place to live. But no one played the fear factor so prevalent in national politics: “If you elect this jerk, you can kiss your way of life goodbye…”

While I’m on a “no one” thread, I should note that no one made rash promises.

So no one promised to control inflation. Even though national polls rank it as Canadians’ primary concern.

No one made any promises about climate change. Even though last year this province suffered through “heat domes” that caused forests to explode, and “atmospheric rivers” that washed out highways and flooded farmlands.

No one promised to wipe out violent crime and vandalism – although that seems to preoccupy news media these days. No one even mentioned Vladimir Putin. (I’m sure he’s hurt.)

More seriously, no one promised to deliver grants from senior governments for new housing, roads, or facilities. Although some incumbent council members did point out that several projects had either stalled or been cancelled because the province had not provided funding.

Perhaps that’s simply a recognition that municipal governments – to amend Teddy Roosevelt’s maxim – “talk softly and don’t carry a big stick.”

I applaud those candidates for being realistic. I also found myself listening for subjects that didn’t come up at all.

Taxes, for example. If I were to judge by occasional guest editorials in this paper, rising taxes are crushing taxpayers. No candidate talked about raising taxes. Yet as community residents expect more and more services from their local government, tax increases are inevitable.

When my wife and I moved to Lake Country, almost 30 years ago, we took for granted that our tap water would have a brownish tint every spring. It was safe to drink, we were assured. But Joan didn’t wash white shirts until the water cleared later in summer.

That’s no longer acceptable.

With more people and more cars, we have more accidents. More housefires. And tragically, it seems, more theft and vandalism. Police and fire protection have to increase to match. And as a widely spread rural community, everyone had septic tanks. Now most houses are connected to a sewer system. Which needs expansion, and improvement. All of these must be paid for, by someone. Of course taxes will have to go up. Why shouldn’t they? Personally, I have no objection to paying more taxes – as long as I get a benefit. And I do. A friend recently talked about getting an X-ray for her injured cat: $720. An X-ray for her injured son: $20. That’s my taxes at work.

The only subject on which I heard unanimity was the bus service. The mayor-elect described it tersely: “The transportation system sucks!”

Not that a municipal council can do much about it. Because the bus system is run by a Crown corporation, based in Victoria. B.C. Transit brags about serving 130 communities, outside the Greater Vancouver area. Lake Country gets about as much attention as a water buffalo gives a fly.

Actual operations are contracted out, I gather, to a multinational in Glasgow which cares even less about Lake Country.

To catch a bus, I would first have to walk five kilometres. Or call a taxi, to get to the bus. It’s a vicious circle. Low ridership means fewer buses. Fewer buses means lower ridership.

Can the council that will be elected Oct. 15 do anything about it?

No one made any promises.