Politicians must do what’s right

There is a saying that goes something like this: Are you doing what’s right for the team or are you doing what’s right?

I have been sitting back thinking about how I should or would comment on what has happened in the U.S. and what is happening in Niagara with our politicians.

First in the U.S. The election was not necessarily about voting for what was right but voting for what was right for the team.

I know many really good republicans who voted their party even though they knew what they were getting. I also know of many democrats who did the same thing when the primaries were happening.

So, I won’t blame either candidate for the outcome of the election but I do have issue with those politicians within the party who allowed this to happen.

Sometimes we get so caught up in winning that we forget why we are doing what we are doing in the first place. The U.S. got what they wanted and now they have to live with the consequences of why they allowed it to happen in the first place.

On social media I see lines being drawn where no one is listening to the other person’s point of view with comments like, if you don’t agree with me, then you are against me.

I also see people turning a blind eye to some very hateful and divisive language. Language that I know none of them would put up with in their own houses.

I am afraid the same thing is happening in Niagara.

Just look at the issues that have risen in the Niagara region.

You have an activist who has brought some pretty compelling evidence that maybe, just maybe, someone should be looking deeper into the dealings at Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

I have seen the report and all he is asking is that the truth comes out.

But, many councillors circled the wagons trying to discredit the activist and instead of doing what was right, they did what they thought was right for the team.

When citizens or staff members bring concerns to senior management or elected officials they need to stop and listen.

They need to take every accusation seriously and not begin the double-talk of ‘I hear you and we are looking into it.’ Or that that is an internal issue and it is none of your business.

Well I am sorry, anything that happens within our system of government is everyone’s business.

I know elected officials hate to hear the term, “you work for me.” But that is in fact the truth. You, Mr. CAO of the NPCA, and your board of directors, you work for me. You, Mr. Regional Chair, and all of you councillors, you work for me. And you, Mr. Mayor, and all of the local councillors, you also work for me.

If for some reason you think because you were elected that you have a mandate to treat citizens with disdain and dismissal, well, you need to give your heads a shake.

Whenever I do work in a longterm care facility I open with this statement, “You are a guest in the resident’s home. They are not a problem in your workplace.”

When someone gets elected to office the term used is that you are a “public servant.”

That is to say your job is to serve the public.

And when the public asks for that service or for clarification as to why you are doing what you are doing, the public deserves a respectful, honest and timely answer.

We are not a problem in your workplace.

So, stop circling the wagons and stop doing what is right for the team when you know for a fact that what the team is doing is wrong and do what’s right.

That is what you were elected to do and that is the trust we put in you, so please stop letting us down. — Ted Mouradian is a professional speaker and author, writing on workplace employee management issues. He is a former chairman of the St. Catharines mayor’s committee on community and race relations and president of the 2 Percent Factor Inc. He can be reached at ted@the2percentfactor.com.