It’s no surprise to most city hall watchers that Burnaby suffers from what you might call a democratic deficit.
With the Burnaby Citizens Association having held complete control for three straight elections – that’s 10 years of complete rule over city council, school board and the mayor’s office – there hasn’t been much chance for folks of other political stripes to get their opinions heard.
The Greens are setting out to change that by stepping forward with a plan to run candidates in the municipal elections this fall (see story on page 1).
On first glance, we were all for it.
But then we watched the Olympic figure skating ice dance final, and we realized that we’re missing a golden (pun completely intentional) opportunity to rework the way we choose our elected officials.
We need to scrap boring old elections in favour of an Olympic-style competition. Prospective council members would be required to present two programs to the public.
Their short program – to be performed in a public venue in front of a live audience – would have to contain all the technical elements required to make an excellent elected official. These elements could be determined by a panel of experts, but we suggest contestants should show mastery of such skills as Understanding Budgets, Providing Efficient Public Transit, Keeping Our Streets Safe, Making Housing Affordable For All, and Not Being a Jerk To People Who Disagree With You.
Then, in the long program, the hopefuls who made it through the first round would be required to demonstrate their ability to pull all those technical elements together in one appealing, accessible, relatable package – with extra merit points provided in such categories as Pleasant Personality, Work Ethic, Sense of Humour, and Overall Human Beingness.
Only those candidates who are able to demonstrate sufficient mastery of all the skills would then be allowed to ascend to the podium – a.k.a. the council chambers or school board table.
This plan still has a few details to be worked out (not the least of which are: would candidates be required to wear sparkly spandex outfits, and could Mayor Derek Corrigan nail a twizzle sequence?), but we think it’s got some potential.
Because, frankly, anything that will make this city’s next election more like a competition and less like a coronation has got to be a good thing.
