Anyone with an aquarium knows that to create a successful tank, it is best to have a variety of fish.
Councils are like that too.
You don’t want all one kind of fish.
Ideally, there will be business fish and blue-collar fish, renters and fish who own; those who take the bus and those who drive; those with children and those who are retired.
A council with Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) representatives and a mix of genders, abilities and orientations would more accurately reflect everyone in the community.
It is hard to know how well councils in the province reflect their constituents.
Not even Elections BC collects demographic information about elected officials at the provincial or local level.
Our current council is pretty homogeneous, let’s be honest. There are two women out of seven councillors, for example. (Is it a mere coincidence that they have been two of the most aggressively targeted in smear campaigns?)
Kathy Sinclair, a city councillor in Kamloops, is one of three women on that nine-member council.
“If we have people who have always been traditionally represented around the table, continue to be the main people represented, then things don’t change,” she told The Squamish Chief.
She pointed to how the lived experience of women on her council meant more of a focus on childcare options in the community.
Women, Sinclair said, often don’t think they are ready to run or qualified to run. She felt that way until encouraged by a female mentor.
Before the 2018 municipal election, she and other female councillors organized a ‘women in politics' panel to encourage a more diverse range of candidates to run.
“For democracy, if you have good ideas, share them. It doesn’t take any special qualifications or skill. For sure, it’s good if you are somewhat educated about the issues that you’re getting into, but if you have a passion for it, I definitely recommend that that you run and give it a shot,” she said.
Sinclair was first elected in 2017 in a City of Kamloops by-election and re-elected for a four-year term in 2018, but perhaps tellingly, she won’t be seeking re-election this fall.
While she once saw a long future for herself, perhaps even running at a higher level, the last two years of online attacks — an echo Squamish can relate to — has worn her out and turned her off.
Let’s hope the same isn’t true here and that a wide range of people steps forward to run.
She stresses, though, that “it’s been an incredible experience.”
We need as many fish in our sea as possible to represent all of us in the likely turbulent years ahead.
Nomination packages are available at the front counter and on the District website.
The nomination period starts Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 9 a.m. and ends Friday, Sept. 9.
