I Second That Motion

One major problem I have with people's perception of politics in this day and age is: the idea that we will elect a leader and he or she will solve our 'problems.' 

This is an incredibly naive way of looking at politics and here is why.

First of all, political leaders don't accomplish change on their own - that's not how democracies are supposed to work. If we had a system where leaders could just change whatever they wanted at will, that would be a dictatorship. Changes are accomplished by legislation or by regulation. Boring, I know.

So, regulatory changes can be relatively straight-forward if you're the president of a large country, but still there will be push back from people who want the status quo to be maintained. The question becomes: who is building a more convincing case and/or building more public pressure? What are the consequences of saying "yes" or "no" to either side? Is a compromise possible?

When elected officials make decisions, they are keenly aware of who is paying attention, who is in attendance, who is checked out, and who is angry. People think that showing up or sending a letter or petition is meaningless, but they could not be more wrong.

They could not be more wrong.

Each person, each organization, that demonstrates support or opposition for an idea or policy change, is on the radar of the people who make the decision. Corporations know this, and that's why they have lobbyists, whose job it is to monitor regulatory and legislative changes, and to shepherd things through the process.

But, the other key element in making change happen, strange as it sounds, lies in the arcane practice of Robert's Rules of Order. And that is the fact that you can't vote on a motion until someone has seconded it.

So a Member of Parliament could stand up and propose a Guaranteed Annual Income for all Canadians, but unless another MP stood up to second that motion, no vote will ever be taken, and no discussion will ever occur.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of politics, a voice in the wilderness is precisely that - one voice, alone.

Once a motion gets seconded, then it's time for debate, and eventually a vote.

So the question is: what kinds of change motions are we willing to support? Do we have enough people to create pressure? what kinds of change to do we value? And most importantly, is there someone to second the motion?

The idea that a leader accomplishes change with his or her magic wand could not be more harmful to our understanding of politics and the democratic process.

The truth is, in my view, that leaders create change once people have demanded it, and there is willing support among their peers in the deciding body.

Who those people are, and what those changes look like, depend entirely on the actors involved, their resources, their priorities and their relationships.

What's it like to be elected?

I admit it, I've been obsessed with politics since I was a kid.

Some of my earliest memories are of elections, campaigns and candidates.

Probably because of my family - my grandparents were staunch Robichaud liberals. They drilled into me the need for rural people to have an advocate who understood the need for "Equal Opportunity," as Robichaud's revolutionary centralization programme was called.

So, there was a very real sense in my parents' household, and in my grandparents' - they lived two houses up the road and I was there all the time - that politics mattered.

I still think politics matters, and although people are often demoralized by the current state of politics, this is why I ran for elected office (and am running again for re-election on May 9th).

But, on a day-to-day basis, what's is really like being elected ?  People ask me this all the time.

Nobody really likes to talk about these things. The pressure for elected officials to maintain a strong, authoritative persona is immense. 

We like to believe our leaders have all the answers. Or that they have a magic wand or a crystal ball. That they can be our knights in shining armour who control the weather and solve all our problems. And we do not hesitate to blame them when we are displeased.

The reality is that politicians are people elected by citizens to represent them.  And so we, your elected representatives, are really just regular people - we don't know what the future holds, and we try to solve problems by gathering information and using all the resources we have available.

This is a big task, and if it doesn't make you a bit nervous, it probably should. Being responsible for the water supply, policing, recreation, economic development and fire service for 5000+ people is a real responsibility. And then there's dealing with all the other levels of government - Provincial and Federal - who have a lot more power than municipalities do, and who may have completely different agendas that the Town you represent.

But in real terms, being elected means that when you go to the grocery store or post office, people will approach you with problems. Sometimes they will be angry.

It means you will not be able to rest on your laurels when you know that the future is not guaranteed. It needs to be shaped by people who have the best interest of the public in mind.

It means carefully considering how your decisions as an elected body will impact people - and how the unintended consequences of your decisions may achieve the exact opposite of what you hoped.

And it means listening to facts and opinions about why things aren't going well, and being able to set aside pride and defensiveness in order to make appropriate changes.

None of these things are easy. And people really don't realize their elected reps have willingly asked for a job with these tremendous responsibilities.

Ultimately, I believe that we are very lucky in Woodstock to have such a wide array of candidates, all of whom bring excellent ideas and experience to the table. And we have a very well-managed town, which I say with sincerity. Not every town is so fortunate.

But elected officials are really only one part of the ecosystem. Without the engagement of citizens - and by this I mean regularly, not only at election time - we cannot achieve the things people want to see happen. Sometimes that means organized and sustained pressure needs to come from the community.

And sometimes, in that regard, being elected can be lonely. You feel separate from the people who elected you. You have to keep some things a secret - and this is legitimate when delicate negotiations are happening. You can be under pressure from all sides. 

So, in short, being elected is the best of times and the worst of times. Ultimately, I do it because I believe that politics matter, and with the hope that I can use my voice to effect a positive change.