The Municipal World, July 2009 edition, finally confirms what I have been saying since I was elected to Council. The writer George B. Cuff (article – Governance Zone) explains to ALL Councillors in ALL municipalities that to have dissent is healthy. He does not point fingers at any Councillor, he is simply stating what he believes to be true. That one of the greatest enemies of good governance is the notion that a successful council or board is marked by the absence of dissent, and that many people believe that if the votes on council were not unanimous that they were dysfunctional. He further goes on to explain that voting one’s conscience is what local government is all about. He goes on to say that voters expect their representatives to be more concerned with voicing the perceived views of the constituents, rather than those of their fellow elected representatives. Mr. Cuff explains that dissent is based on the notion that we are all not made alike, nor have we been socialized through the same experiences as our neighbours or those elected along with us to serve our community and that quite simply, we come at an issue from our own vantage point, and we may not see an issue the same as our colleagues. He goes on to talk about “Group Think” and that what upsets him the most is the fact that clear-thinking adults park their brains at the door of the chambers in order to “keep the peace”. As though that were the higher goal than representing their citizens. He goes on to say that a number of councils and councillors who have bought into the silly notion that arguing against a position that has been recommended to council is akin to treason and that nothing could be farther from the truth. He assumes that on any issue brought to council that there is absolutely going to be divergence of views among council and that some views maybe changed with discussion and deliberations, but generally for some, no amount of “facts” will change the minds of some, nor should it. He is not impressed with council making speedy decisions and then later saying that they were not really in favour of the decision. He suggests a healthy council features differing opinions, heated discussion from time to time and that it is okay to have opposition when the vote is held. Mr. Cuff, FCMC is their governance zone expert and has been involved in local government from 1970. I applaud Mr. Cuff for writing this article and I hope that all councillors across Canada take the time to read it as they need to understand that good governance does not include “group thinking”.
Again, this article is not intented to offend anyone, it was just a great article that I beleive should be out there for all public to read.
