RE: "Ratepayers suffer due to council dysfunction" letter, Feb. 4
Dear Editor,
Ms. Breakey’s Letter to the Editor continues to perpetuate the myth that Couns. Samanntha Wright, Kevin Hanson and Crystal Kissel have somehow been wronged by “the majority” of council and the CAO, and that they are somehow limited in their ability to do their jobs – this is wrong.
Residents of Rocky View County (RVC) are indeed being represented, including residents in Divisions 3, 8 and 9 – although you could easily make the case the sanctioned three should spend more time focusing on their residents and less time on themselves. The three vote on issues that come before council and they absolutely have access to staff, including the CAO, through the reeve or deputy reeve. The theory that not sitting on an intergovernmental committee somehow limits a councillor’s ability to represent County residents is misguided at best.
Clearly, the road to reconciliation is one for the sanctioned councillors to go down. All they were ever asked to do was make an apology for breaching the code of conduct that they themselves voted for. The idea that this is somehow the responsibility of the county’s CAO is nonsensical and, in my opinion, an irresponsible statement coming from someone who should understand the CAO's role.
Another glaring error is the idea there is an “us against them” attitude when it comes to voting. Nothing could be further from the truth, and a review of past council meetings will support this. Democracy dictates the majority vote wins and the minority loses. It's a shame this is being looked at as a personal attack.
It is also entirely inappropriate to suggest these three are somehow being picked on. They are being held to account for their actions, which one would hope is a lesson we all teach our children. When you break rules, there are consequences. This is how life works. Putting aside the code of conduct breaches for a moment, we have one councillor that is in contravention of the Municipal Government Act on two counts. For council to ignore these transgressions is irresponsible. We were all elected to act in the best interests of the county as a whole. Allowing anyone, especially a councillor, to break policy – or even worse, to break the law – would be to fail in that regard. The fact that the other two sanctioned councillors are supporting this behaviour is reprehensible.
And speaking of court, I reiterate that it was the sanctioned three who chose to go to court over all of this instead of apologizing and moving forward for County residents.
To close, I would just like to assure all RVC residents – again – they all have full representation from the current council. The erroneous comments and fear mongering by certain small and tirelessly predictable factions is taking away from the accomplishments the current council, sanctioned three included, has made since being elected. I would encourage everyone to filter out the nonsense and see the fabrications, mistruths and rhetoric for what it is.
We’ve got a fine County to live, work and play in, and I assure you we are working hard to keep it this way. Feel free to drop by a council meeting anytime and say hello. We’d love to have you.
Daniel Henn
Councillor, Division 7
