Editor:
In anticipation of this fall’s municipal elections on the Sunshine Coast, the voters need to maintain some perspective about many pertinent issues.
I submit one critical issue is the presumed relevance of particular candidates standing for election.
Here in the Municipality of Gibsons, we have candidates standing for election who do not reside in Gibsons. Notwithstanding the regulations of the B.C. government, this allowance of non-residents to stand for election to a council of a municipality within which they do not reside is wrong.
Since these candidates live within Rural Areas of the SCRD, they pay property taxes to the province which, after several deductions by both the province and the SCRD, reduce to a maximum of 80 per cent remaining for SCRD allocation to various Areas, at the discretion of the SCRD Board.
Meantime, residents of a municipality (such as Gibsons) pay property taxes directly to their municipality and, in return, receive the collegial benefits of 100 per cent of the funds they pay.
So, why would any resident voter within Gibsons vote for a non-resident candidate for our Town Council such that, should any one of these candidates be elected, they would/could vote on council as to how monies should be spent, monies to which they have not contributed?
This current system is absolutely not fair, nor egalitarian. Yes, both federal and provincial regulations allow candidates within those elections to “bounce” around their potential ridings; but this “policy” simply cannot apply to municipal elections!
Should these non-resident candidates wish to stand for election, for credibility each of them should stand for SCRD director within their own, resident Rural Area.
Brian K. Sadler, Gibsons
