Being a politician can be thankless. So as we enter into the last few weeks of the federal election campaign, and we contemplate how to prioritize the issues that are important to us and the future we want to see and how the political parties and the local candidates factor into our voting decision, let’s take a moment to thank our current Member of Parliament Pamela Goldsmith-Jones and her team, and the people who are now putting their names forward to represent us in parliament.
Being an elected representative is, bar none, a tough job. The most obvious challenge is that you are there to represent a constituency in all its wonderful diversity yet you must vote on legislation and policies that sometimes contradict some of your constituent’s interests or opinions. It’s an impossible task to satisfy everyone’s opinions all the time and the vitriol an MP must sometimes endure can be hurtful and even threatening. A shameful result.
I too have been bitterly disappointed in some of the government’s decisions and directions but also encouraged and optimistic with others. It’s never homogeneous and should never be personal.
The job of MP is particularly taxing if you are from the West Coast. Many MPs live a dichotomous existence with one foot in Ottawa and the other in their constituency.
It can be exhausting flying back and forth, sometimes on a weekly basis, and taxing on your personal relationships. Many MPs, particularly with school-age kids, end up moving to Ottawa full time. Others try to maintain a presence at home but often the gruelling travel regimen forces them to relocate predominantly to Ottawa. And some constituencies, like ours which extends from Powell River to Pemberton to West Vancouver and all points in between, are so massive that simply doing the basic constituency work itself is a logistical challenge and time-consuming exercise.
In my experience, Pam and her staff were an incredibly responsive team. She facilitated and advocated for many meetings and issues, over the phone, in person and in Ottawa for both myself when I was mayor and many others in the region. The list of constituency issues and concerns that she and her team were responsive to are endless. This is the hard work that largely goes unnoticed and under-appreciated.
I read a survey several years ago that asked two questions: What is your general opinion of politicians and what is your opinion of the politicians you personally know. The predominant answer to the first question was resoundingly negative: politicians are self-serving, on the take and ego- driven. Yet the answer to the second question was astonishingly contrary to that. They are upstanding, well-intentioned community leaders who sacrifice a lot to do a very hard job.
Thank you Pam. You are an outstanding human being who did a very hard job with grace and integrity.
