Innisfailians owe a debt of gratitude to byelection candidates Patrick Teskey and Don Harrison.
Both spoke out at the May 20 online candidates forum on the current council’s disastrous 2018 vote on urban chickens, a decision that really speaks to what all citizens need the most today from their elected officials during the most trying and devastating crisis facing the country and world since the Second World War.
“The biggest thing, if the town is going to ask for someone’s opinion on something like that and spend the time and effort to do it, you need to listen,” said Teskey during the forum.
The critically important issue then and now is trust, which trumps every other for this byelection, and in any other election during and after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Most folks are scared for their health, safety for their loved ones, jobs, finances and futures.
They depend on leaders to show the way with truth, integrity and reliability. Elected officials must live up to their word. It is the most important component of true leadership.
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Five council members failed that simple test on Nov. 13, 2018 when they turned their backs on the citizens who voted and depended on them to live up to their word. Only Coun. Jean Barclay and the now departed Doug Bos kept their word.
All of this came after council ordered what they proclaimed would be a thorough public engagement process to include an online vote, not legally binding but the word of the people nevertheless.
It was proclaimed as the mother of all public engagement exercises, a cornerstone of everything the current council promised after the controversies that plagued the previous council and administration.
The public voted overwhelmingly in favour of pet chickens by a margin of two to one. All that was needed was council’s rubber stamp, which surely would come because council members promised to respect the will of the people, right? Nope.
Council’s 2018 urban chicken vote was déjà vu all over again, an arrogant middle-digit salute to Innisfail citizens who only expected honesty and integrity from their publicly elected leaders. Worse and more hurtful still, was the feeling for many it was really back to the same old gang as before, after many worked so hard through the Citizens For Innisfail committee to force change with the old council and administration. But it was, meet the new boss, same as the old boss, as the famed Who song goes.
The challenge now for the byelection winner is to seize this moment. He must remember the past and move forward with the integrity and respect for public will that five council members failed to do on Nov. 13, 2018.
More importantly though, citizens will also have their moment.
They will have the chance to hold the five to account at the ballot box in 17 months time.
Johnnie Bachusky is an editor with The Albertan.
