By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
I think this is shaping up to be a very interesting municipal election. Osoyoos is facing a number of challenges for which quick and easy solutions at a reasonable cost, seem just plain unlikely. A new vanguard of enthusiastic yet wholly inexperienced politicians is set to take on the familiar, experienced old guard.
The word on the street for a few weeks now was of a “stealthy menace” threatening to upend our local government, not by force but perhaps by subterfuge. The theory being that supporters of the sadly misguided and ideologically naive (or were they?), so-called “freedom convoy” were planning to infiltrate the lowest rungs of governance and hijack the agendas across the province.
I have to say that it did catch my attention, not least of all because hey, who doesn’t love a great conspiracy theory for pure entertainment value. It’s a bit ridiculous of course, four councillors and a mayor all with equal voting power (yes the mayor gets to tie-break).
But clearing the conspiracy condensation off my glasses I think it would be difficult, but not impossible, to pull off such a hijacking of council because you would need to get a majority in power – at least two councilors and the mayor, or three councilors.
Although at this point I would be remiss to not point out the convenient makeup of the Osoyoos First slate – one mayoral candidate and three for councilor.
And really the question is: to what end? This isn’t Vancouver or Langley.
Surely the institutional structures, the procedures, the accountability and transparency required would stymie any real substantive misdeeds. Although having said that, Osoyoos’ last CAO was, as Times Chronicle understands, fired by a simple majority vote held behind closed doors, for which the current council has offered not a scrap of explanation, but I digress.
At this point it’s not clear what Dustin Sikora’s support for the freedom convoy really means for Osoyoos should he be elected. How deep does it run in his psyche? Just what is his ideological inclination? His website states he’s Pro Law Enforcement, Pro Family Values, and Pro Tradition. Vague and pretty obvious things to say, especially on law enforcement and family. Pro Tradition on the other hand… that’s trickier and a far more slippery slope.
Does “tradition” include embracing the racism, misogyny and repression of the past, does it include keeping statues of the architects of residential schools in prominent places? Or does it simply mean cranberries will be served with the turkey at the Sikora house for Christmas?
It’s been suggested that it’s not only possible but quite reasonable to separate support for the convoy movement from an active role in local municipal affairs. It seems reasonable but I still find myself struggling to get my head completely around it. Yes, yes a very different set of issues I agree. But it takes a certain chutzpah to plunk down over $20k on that dark freedom horse. Surely that was based on more than a momentary whim. So really the proverbial question stands: can the wheat be separated from the chaff?
Certainly with almost four weeks of campaigning left, there is ample opportunity to ask the questions that need to be answered – by all candidates. The Osoyoos complaints on social media continue to ramp up, but I wonder just how many of those complainers actually voted in the last election considering turnout was around some measly 30 per cent figure.
At the end of the day I do have a certain appreciation for what the political newbies are trying to achieve and I would like to believe they have the best interests of Osoyoos first and foremost in their minds. And they probably do. Let’s just hope transparency is valued over subterfuge.
