Editor,Let me be the master of the obvious in declaring the 2005 election campaign officially underway after reading both Coun. Corinne Lonsdale and Larry McLennan taking me to task for (wait for it) having viewpoints that differ from theirs.
Please allow me to reply to their concerns raised in their letters to the editor, dated Sept. 2.
I'll begin with Mr. McLennan's concerns.
Yes, Mr. McLennan I certainly do believe our community was infected with years of neglect, misery and one missed opportunity after another.
By most any standard, our community was not living up to its potential. Residents were disenchanted, frustrated and often disappointed. They deserved and demanded better. If you doubt what I am saying, please look up the Nov. 2002 election results. Squamish residents voted loudly and clearly to pursue an alternative approach. My guess is that they did this because they weren't real happy with how things were going. You seem to disagree. That's your prerogative. Good and decent people often disagree. That is okay by me. In fact it is healthy.
Mr. McLennan wrote that I "describe the planning process as if it was invented by his group". Nice try Sir. What I did say was that that current council invested considerable time and energy into a 'strategic planning process'. I was not referring to OCP planning as you stated in your letter. I wrote clearly of 'strategic' planning, something the previous council chose not to embark on. Period. Your attempt to muddy the waters in this regard reaffirms my contention that no comprehensive strategic planning was under way with the previous council.
Mr. McLennan also mentions in his letter that: "Presumably, if Mr. Dawson states something, it must be true." With respect, I wholeheartedly disagree. Rather, I contend that what I wrote is what I believe. Full stop. I wrote an opinion piece; it reflects my opinion, much like your letters to the editor reflect your opinion. I believe you knew that my words expressed my opinion but saying so in your letter would not serve much purpose for you.
Mr. McLennan's concluding paragraph, again conveniently leaves out one key word in my text to attempt to try to make a point. That, again, Sir is your prerogative. In reading your letter, I am reminded of the old adage, 'don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant'.
As for Coun. Lonsdale's contentions, let me address them briefly at this time. For the sake of time and space, I've chosen to address issues raised in her letter that were not already raised in Mr. McLennan's letter.
Examples of misery:
1.Widespread community dissatisfaction in 2002, please see files on proposed downtown Wood Chip facility initiated by the previous council.
2.Lack of attention to promotion of tourism opportunities.
3.Uncertainty that was created in the fall of 2002 over Sea to Sky University
4.Lack of focus, purpose and strategic vision for the community
5.Continued annual tax increases without appreciable improvements in services
Examples of neglect:
1.Downtown Squamish was on life-support
2.The lack of a comprehensive strategic planning process
3.Complete neglect of public input with respect to proposed Wood Chip facility forcing the citizens to take legal action against their own municipality
4.Building permit growth was minimal at best
Missed Opportunities:
1.No existing Economic Development Office (EDO) function to bring opportunities to the community
2.No strategic plan to address the economic malaise Coun. Lonsdale refers to that existed at the time
3.Minimal hope among the residents that anything would improve unless changes were made (see 2002 election results)
Coun. Lonsdale maintains that WED dollars came to Squamish only when I was elected as councillor. While I blushed briefly at the implied notion that I was responsible for this, I just cannot take the credit. The reason that Squamish was able to secure WED funds is simple: initiative. In the past two years the Squamish Economic Development office submitted numerous applications for federal dollars. Many of these applications were approved. During the previous regime, no applications were submitted for federal funds. None. Not one. End of story.
Coun. Lonsdale outlined what she has accomplished in her many years in public service. The list is quite long. However, she served for numerous terms and the list should be long. Let me clearly remind one and all that the baseline for municipal government accomplishments is not zero.
We are elected to make a difference, to make things happen for our community. My contention was to indicate that I believe we have accomplished a great deal in less than three years. And we have.
Coun. Lonsdale concludes her letter by asking what the current council has accomplished 'aside from' - and then she goes on to list an impressive list of accomplishments. Many of these initiatives will leverage considerable benefits for our community. Let us remember that this council has delivered back-to-back zero percent tax increases - the only community in the province to do so!
I will conclude by thanking both writers for sharing their viewpoints and opinion with your readers. Both Coun. Lonsdale and Mr. McLennan have good records of giving back to their community. However, we share different viewpoints, different opinions about what is best for Squamish. This is what election campaigns are all about and the 2005 campaign is clearly underway. No kidding.
Coun. Jeff Dawson
Squamish
