Image Credit: CFJC Kamloops

By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Vote unafraid

Oct 14, 2022 | 10:37 AM

I WANT TO GIVE YOU a quick look inside my mind as I prepare to vote Saturday.

As a side note, I do vote.

Chris Foulds from Kamloops This Week does not vote, famously, to maintain every last vestige of journalistic objectivity. That’s his right. It’s a free country and he can choose not to vote.

I’m okay with the public knowing I do vote and I’ll even go one step further and tell you what I look for in the candidate who gets my vote.

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Number One — I look for a diversity of experiences and perspectives. If everyone is coming from essentially the same point-of-view, there’s a lot they’re going to miss.

Number Two — I look for candidates who can exhibit patience. A large part of the job is sitting in meetings, biting your own tongue and listening to other people talk. If you can’t patiently sit and wait, you can’t be an effective councillor.

Number Three — I look for candidates who have a penchant for collaboration. The council table is no place for a lone wolf.

Number Four — I look for candidates who can present themselves with an air of dignity. Councillors — and especially the mayor — are the ambassadors for the city and sometimes the only connection the rest of the province may have to Kamloops.

Finally, it’s important when I go into the voting booth that I am appealing to my most optimistic thoughts and instincts. They’re buried down there somewhere.

Some candidates are appealing to the voters’ worst fears, preaching a message of doom and gloom and touting themselves as the only way to salvation, so to speak.

I refuse to vote out of fear.

Kamloops is still a great community with a bright future, despite us in recent years falling victim to some of the same social conundrums other cities across North America are all grappling with right now.

We are already seeing progress on addressing those issues head-on.

Just this week, the City announced a closer partnership with local outreach workers to help people out of homelessness, while a new treatment and recovery centre opened in Brocklehurst.

The provincial government still needs to show its serious about cracking down on repeat offenders, but there’s hope.

That’s why, when I head into the voting booth Saturday, I won’t vote for Chicken Little, because the sky is not falling.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.