Electioneering is heating up. The recent exchange of letters in Coast Reporter between local citizen Ron Howes and Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne is a fine example of just what we can expect in the coming months.
For the most part I enjoy these political repartees. They’re generally well written and engaging. The little digs are entertaining and frequently eye opening. After all, who wants an elected official or a voter of said official who doesn’t know the ins and outs and history of a fine jurisdiction such as Sechelt?
Where I have trouble with political fencing is when the letter writer relegates the work of a substantial number of people to “and others.” And although I suspect that was not the goal of Mayor Milne in his letter printed in the paper on Aug. 10, that is exactly what happened when he chose to acknowledge only two individuals for their input to the Rotary Friendship Park.
Reading the letter one soon sees that overall his intention was to give credit where credit was due, but in the case of the park, that just didn’t happen.
It took the work of many, many individuals and several civic-minded businesses to bring the park to fruition. Without the ongoing support of Clark Hamilton and his company, Construction Aggregates, the late Paul Saunders, Doug and Darcy Long of Stephanson Bulk Fuels, and the boots-on-the-ground work of the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast-Sechelt, the park would never have happened.
Now for full disclosure: I was the president of that Rotary club when the work began in 2007 but my contribution to the cause was miniscule compared to the folks I’ve just mentioned and Rotarians such as the late Don Ewing, who spent hours every single day working on and supervising the project.
I suspect that most of the other volunteer projects cited in the letter have similar stories of tireless workers, all of whom deserve our thanks for what they’ve done to enhance the District of Sechelt.
So to all politicians of every stripe intent on writing letters, here’s my advice: stick to the organizations that make the volunteer dreams reality. After all, most citizens aren’t in it for the glory – their true reward is making Sechelt and the Coast a better place to live. And isn’t that why you’re running for office?
