There have been a lot of cancellations at Sidney’s town hall lately. One meeting I attended as an invited guest was canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Is this a sign that elections are nearing and incumbents do not want to make publicly known their positions on controversial subjects in fear of alienating voters?
The old adage “the less said the better” seems to be a popular strategy in this year’s run-up to November elections.
I would be surprised if Sidney councillors look forward to attending town hall meetings. These pre-election get-togethers are often more advantageous for opponents who are unsaddled with a serving record.
For the incumbents in Sidney, controversial past decisions and actions are big targets and will be difficult for them to deal with. Incumbents seem to be banking on long term memory loss to win the day for them.
In the meantime, the business of government at town hall has come to a near standstill as personal campaigns begin to gear up.
So far, this month alone there have been two council meetings canceled and a significant drop in the number of committee meetings. In September/October I wouldn’t be surprised to see reports being tabled that seemingly address past issues/criticisms thereby providing a convenient paper defence for those incumbents in need of one.
In the past, the public gallery at council meetings have sadly witnessed very little debate on agenda items.
If you want to hear where your incumbent and perspective councillors and mayoral candidates personally stand, you owe it to yourself to attend one of the upcoming public forums.
Ed East
Sidney