Municipal Election 2022

New Mare in town!

All British Columbian's now have one thing in common: we've got a bunch of new municipal Mayors running around (referred heretofore as Mares for satirical impact).

Here in 100 Mile House we didn't even have to vote for our Mare because no one ran against her. A startling number of people seemed somewhat upset at the lack of choices once the nominations had ended. But not to fret, we can be sure that no matter who you vote for, the municipal operations will carry out mostly the same agenda.

Out of 1569 eligible voters, 416 people came out to cast their ballot. That is a 26.5 percent turnout.

It seems there are still a lot of concerns about the representatives but not enough for people to have overwhelmingly participated in the process.

Some citizens submitted anonymous comments to the Village Voice about the election:

"What do you mean there was no mayor to vote for on the ballot?"

"I didn't care until I found out what was going on, and now I'm just upset."

"If more people had been paying attention, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Meh, doesn't matter anyway. It’ll carry-on just the same."

"I'm glad that it just keeps running no matter what I do or don't do."

From flat-out indignant apathy to nihilism, gratitude and everything in between, one thing is clear: 75 percent of the eligible voting population didn’t find it relevant enough to take the time to go and cast a ballot. That seems like a race worth winning, doesn't it? Perhaps if the majority of people are not interested in that system of governance they would be interested in a different system? Voting is never a bad idea, but what is it if nothing substantial can ever change because the people by and large just don’t support it? Does it become a popularity contest? Check out the Coffee with Council article in the July Issue. Is it because one’s choice matters? Or is that a bunch of malarkey and the truth of the matter is this is the best system we've got currently. Is it the only hope for our children's future or will an improved option emerge?

Here at the Village Voice we are going to continue to follow the results of this election as the Council gets to business. We wonder what the municipality can do to change a fledgling municipality full of run down, unused or underutilized buildings, in a Village rife with conflict and social challenges and tales about administrative corruption.

Two contributors on assignment for the Village Voice had a wonderful chat with two of the counselors at the "Coffee with Counsel" event hosted by Maureen Pinkney and Dave Mingo in the summer of 2022. The story was not a new story at all … that “their hands are tied and they need people to help them”. The Municipality is relying on private interest and volunteer groups to help create the situations needed in order to help this town survive and thrive. However, the sentiment among volunteer groups and private interest (as well as citizens) however is that: this Municipality is essentially closed for business.

What’s the truth in between the lines?

Never doubt a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has

Village Voice contributors and some of their affiliates are dedicated to working together and participating in opportunities for Real People to make a difference in the South Cariboo. And luckily, it doesn't take an election to do that! Through the dedication and hard work of people just like you we can create all kinds of wonderful things in our community and that's where the municipality comes in: to either support the seeds of Real People’s grassroots initiatives or stall and stomp them back into the ground instead.

Luckily for all of us, we can continue to do things together with or without the Municipal government that has been formed subsequent to the election. And seeing as more than two-thirds of the population doesn't even seem interested in whatever they're doing, maybe they'll be interested in some of the awesome new initiatives such as the Garden Parties, Village Voice, a co-work & culture hub proposal (ie; old “Boomers” restoration) … all things which have nothing to do with the election of 2022.