Wayne Lippert often speaks of the strong relationships he has formed with senior levels of government and local jurisdictions, but it's obvious the relationship he needs to work on is with his own citizens. Lippert narrowly won a second term as mayor Saturday, receiving 2,728 votes to Juliette Cunningham's 2,363 — a 365-vote difference. And if there had been three or four fewer other candidates not splitting the vote, Lippert could easily be cleaning out his office right now. It's a situation that tempered Lippert's enthusiasm as the final results rolled in Saturday. "I will have to work harder to make sure those who didn't vote for me are included," he said, acknowledging that a majority of those who did cast ballots didn't favour him.
Despite Lippert's mantra of openness and transparency, many residents claim city hall has been anything but that. Particularly, there are still some hard feelings over the civic complex issue and the perception of some residents that city hall wasn't interested in any meaningful input on the location or design. And whether it is the proposed development of the city-owned Hesperia lands, the operation of the airport or the future of the Okanagan Landing Fire Department, there are those who believe too much is done behind closed doors. Many of these attitudes stem from ignorance on the part of the public on how municipalities operate. There is provincial legislation that must be followed and it dictates what can be discussed in private, such as land, labour and legal. But there is no question that the three Ls get stretched at times and there are some things that don't need to be in-camera.
If Lippert is to move ahead over the next three years, he needs to do a better job of explaining to citizens how the city functions and the rules it's governed by. He also needs to push the limit when it comes to ensuring as much business as possible is done in the open. But while we can get hung up on the apparent lack of transparency, it should be pointed out that three members of the outgoing council were re-elected, and two of them — Patrick Nicol and Buffy Baumbrough — topped the polls. It is also worth mentioning that it was this council — under Lippert's leadership — that led the most comprehensive official community plan review ever. Residents had considerable opportunities to provide their input and I believe the plan reflects their interests.
It was quite clear Saturday that Tony Stamboulieh may speak for some people but he doesn't represent the vast majority. Many, including myself, thought Stamboulieh would be a contender for the mayor's job based on the significant petition campaigns he has led for the Vernon Taxpayers Association, but a fourth-place finish at 787 votes doesn't bear that out. It now looks like the public support for those campaigns — whether it was the civic complex or Vernon Jubilee Hospital funding — were specific to those issues and not an endorsement of the association. Stamboulieh vows to keep an eye on city hall during the new term, and that is something all citizens should do. But Stamboulieh's role as the voice of the people has been weakened.
One unfortunate outcome from the election is the city has lost its strongest advocate on social matters — Juliette Cunningham. It was Cunningham who diligently led the charge on affordable housing and getting a homeless shelter established. She often spoke out against a purely enforcement response to criminal activity, stating the root causes for crime have to be addressed, including poverty and mental illness. Ultimately, these social issues have such an impact on so many other aspects of the community that they can't be ignored. But it's hard to tell if anyone on the council is ready to wade into the trenches like Cunningham did.
