Elections are a lot like movies. Every once in a while something comes along that is so unique it changes the way we think.
Then there are those that fall into the straight-to-video category. School board elections are like this now. No heat. No light. No power up for grabs. Not much incentive to pay attention.
Most elections, though, fall somewhere between the Best Picture Oscar and the discount bin at Wal-Mart and this election is no exception.
But there is a good reason for that. All in all the Mayor and council have done a reasonably good job over the past three years.
Every road crew in Calgary is working overtime right now. Negotiations with the Tsuu T'ina Nation are inching forward. There's new money for parks and attractions and there has been a shakeup recently in the highest ranks of city hall.
Accountability should be an issue, you say? Sure it should be. Accountability is always an issue. Will be this election. Will be next election. But accountability doesn't resonate as an election issue unless it is attached to specific people or departments.
Accountability sells when voters are angry. And voters are not angry this time around. For the reasons just stated, they are in a pretty docile mood.
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So don't expect this or any other issue to grab a whole lot of attention this time. JoinDave II will not be a big hit at the box office. There are no major villains and no compelling new faces.
Does this mean that our democracy is in danger? No. It does not. Not every election needs to be an epic battle for the ages.
In a free society where people are free to choose to run or not to run for elected office, there are bound to moments in time when government is doing just well enough not to foment significant opposition. This is one of those times.
There is a good mix of youth and experience on council. Ald. Bob Hawkesworth -- recently acclaimed in Ward 4 -- was first elected in 1980. Ald. Hodges joined him in 1983. Ald. Druh Farrell, by contrast, was first elected -- along with three others -- just three years ago.
In fact, of the fifteen members who will most likely be serving on council after Election Day 2004, seven were elected before 1996 and eight were elected after.
More importantly, though, Calgary's current city council is also sensibly balanced in other areas. By my count there are seven conservatives, six liberals and two independents.
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And depending on how you count, there are one or two environmentalists, four or five transportation advocates, one self-proclaimed fiscal hawk and a half-dozen others with a sensible eye on the bottom line.
True. Council does not reflect our society exactly -- there are no visible minorities right now and only five of the fifteen are women.
But the male-female balance could change with the election of a woman in the hotly contested Ward 3 and there is nothing preventing residents of Ward 3 from electing a visible minority should they wish to do so.
So, please. Enough with the sky-is-falling-on-our-democracy already. Calgarians know when they are well served and when they are not. And when they are not, they will oppose, they will run and they will make whatever changes are necessary.
© Brent Johner. Originally published in the Calgary Herald, October 2004. Reprint rights available.
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