Mesachie Lake - I was somewhat perplexed at Monday's all candidates meeting [in Lake Cowichan] when one challenger after another attacked the sitting council and promised change, then proposed exactly the same things that council has been doing for the last six years!
I can only assume that they have not been paying sufficient attention. Since the last contested election our government has undertaken a stunning renovation of the arena, a total makeover of the main street and a relocation of the library to our new town square. Surely that is an excellent beginning to the infrastructure improvements that every challenger claims is their first priority?Let us not forget that Mayor Forrest and council accomplished this without going into debt, obtaining much of the funding from other sources. A study of 152 municipalities in British Columbia has determined that Lake Cowichan has the most efficiently run municipal government in the province!Certainly there is more to be done. As many candidates pointed out we need to address sewers and sidewalks, and the community desperately needs a long term care facility so local seniors can remain near their families and friends. Once again there seems to be a disconnect between challengers and council, because there are plans in place to address these issues. Rather like Rome, the Lake cannot be built in a day.Of course there are some who feel that we should do nothing that involves them paying taxes. They do not want to spend on a future they do not expect to share. How fortunate for them that previous generations were more thoughtful, and less selfish.We have a council that seems able to work together and solve problems at a reasonable pace on a rational budget. The incumbents seem to me to have done an excellent job, and I will be voting for all of them again as they have earned re-election. That leaves one seat open for the challengers. May I suggest they spend their campaigns talking about what they bring to the table rather than complaining that the team they are joining are not winning fast enough?David LowtherMesachie LakeP.S.: Before we get a letter asking what business a Mesachie Lake resident has discussing Lake Cowichan politics I should mention that I own property in several municipalities, and that of them all Lake Cowichan has by far the most effective governance. I would love to see that continue.