It's time for voters to occupy the ballot box

How many of us have these concerns, yet bemoan the fact that civic election voter turnout is so low? Robert Bransford touches down on a touchy subject in Saturday's Vancouver Sun:

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The Occupy Wall Street movement spreads across the globe, yet most people don't bother to vote in civic elections, which affect them most

Do you wonder if your kids will ever be able to afford their own home? Are you a renter wishing you could afford an apartment that's just a little bigger and in a more convenient neighbourhood?

Are you finding your daily commute is taking longer and longer?

Is traffic now congested on local streets when you drive to the grocery store?

Have property taxes and the cost of utility charges for your home climbed to a level where they are now a noticeable financial burden?

Do you often feel as though decisions are being made without your knowledge or input about changes in your neighbourhood that are literally reshaping the place you call home?

Do you worry about the sprawl that continues to gobble up land as it follows the growth of freeway expansion extending up the Fraser Valley?

Have school closures in your neighbourhood over the last few years made you wonder about the future of your community?

If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, then let me ask you: What you are going to do about it?

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/time+voters+occupy+ballot/5591874/story.html#ixzz1bXreRg7h
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And Benjamin Alldritt, the North Shore News' Inquiring Reporter, asked five people on the street:
"Are you interested in this year's civic elections?

But while there’s no shortage of politicians, there are likely precious few voters paying attention. In the 2008 elections, fewer than one in five North Shore voters made it out to the polls.

Will things be different this year?

Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/news/Inquiring+Reporter/5583747/story.html#ixzz1bXsHOMGY

Three young people approached "on the street" replied:
"They (civic elections) do matter to me, but I should probably learn more. I don’t think local politics is very interesting, but I don’t know why."

"Generally not. I did notice someone going around handing out leaflets yesterday, but most of them just end up as litter."

"I didn’t know they (civic elections) were coming up."

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These three responses were in great contrast to two older adults/seniors. Why do you think this is, and how can we encourage our young people back to the ballot box? How does civic politics need to change? Better yet, how do our politicians need to change?

In North Van, slow growth would be a welcome development

There is a lot of truth in this letter to the editor.

Dear Editor (NS News, Sept. 7th):

There is no shortage of voices from the density wilderness, but the majority are overpowered by those of the pro-development lobby: made up of developers themselves, municipal councillors, and City Hall bureaucracy.

Most councillors gladly accept donations from developers at election time. It is no surprise, then, that they happily nix the Official Community Plan and obligingly rezone at their behest.

Likewise, our bureaucracy is dependent on development fees and the higher taxes that can be collected from higher density developments to support their overstaffed departments and handsome salaries. Municipal unions also donate generously to most councillors at election time, meaning councillors and bureaucrats are very much on the same page.

The general public is too busy earning a living to take much interest in civic politics. They readily accept the myth that new developments provide affordable housing for young families, seniors and low-income earners of the North Shore, in addition to the myth that it is greener than low density.

Conveniently overlooked is the fact that higher density will mean thousands of additional automobiles idling at traffic bottlenecks, especially at the approaches to North Shore's two bridges.

What is really needed here is a slow-growth party to field a slate of candidates come election time.

Reimar Kroecher North Vancouver

Building for density without the proper infrastructure in place, first, is asking for trouble. Growing development along the Sea to Sky Corridor can also be added to the mix of growing density. We are simply at the mercy of our two bridges across the strait.