keoadmin
01-06-2006, 08:48 PM
LVEC - Referendum NIMBY?
From I.M. Pertinent
We could all learn a few lessons about political spin from the good folks over at KCAL. You remember Kingstonians Concerned About LVEC - the group that claims, on its website, not to oppose an LVEC per se, only an LVEC on Anglin Bay then continues to ruthlessly oppose an LVEC. But back to that group in a minute. KCAL is pushing for a referendum on the city's new entertainment centre, claiming, in essence, that Mayor Rosen misled the public into thinking he was going to rebuild the Memorial Centre then changed his tune once elected. I don't recall that being the case. I do remember Mayor Rosen promising to table a report within 100 days outlining a plan for replacing the M Centre. I don't remember a single promise, or even an implication that the Memorial Centre would be part of the mix.
Following KCAL's referendum logic, if Kingstonians really need to cast a vote specific to construction of a glorified hockey rink, why should they not get the opportunity to cast a vote on each sewer pipe and road construction project as well? Why not attach a list of projects to each election ballot and only work on those that prove popular between elections? Every three years, we could decide, by ballot, what roads gets paved - or don't. Such a process could result in significant savings to the city since districts with high voter turnout would reap the benefit of neighbourhood improvements while areas of the city with the lowest number of voters would get nothing, but it's not an effective method for keeping our infrastructure in decent shape and our economy moving. If Rosen were proposing to build the Taj Mahal or to change fundamental democratic principles or accomplish something that's never been done before, that might require a referendum. But gee whiz folks, the guy's trying to build a hockey arena, and, KCAL's hysterics aside, a fairly modest one at that.
Back to KCAL. The following are actual excerpts from actual emails sent back and forth among KCAL members over the last few weeks. I've removed the names in order not to inflict undue embarassment on individuals. What the emails show is the extent to which KCAL has made killing a community project into a sport. Here's what KCAL members had to say - and do - about the recent CKWS poll asking if the fate of LVEC should be decided by a referendum. KCAL offers a very good explanation for how the poll result - 68.42% in favour of a referendum and 31.57% opposed - came about and raises some serious questions about what this group insists in an altruistic goal of keeping LVEC off Anglin Bay:
"I did some more voting. Anybody a mathematician? The figures when I started were 67% yes to 33% no. I voted four times, and the figures changed to 68 and 32. I wanted to see how many times I had to vote yes to get the figures changed to 69 and 31. It took nine votes. Question - how many votes have there been so far? (This person claims to be an engineer)
"Hi [name deleted], Aproximately 2% of the total votes so far is 9 (the ones you recently cast). So, approximately 450 votes have been registered so far.
"Thanks [name deleted] - I am not apologetic about voting 14 times in this poll - I voted for all the members of my family, including two doggies I am going to get next month. They know which side of the slice their bread is buttered on!" (And KCAL has the nerve to complain about Friends of the Entertainment Centre getting petition signatures from youth in the community?)
At least there is one voice of reason in this email exchange:
"If someone can vote 14 times in this poll, then we can all turn over and go back to sleep. The poll is worthless, and whoever "loses" it will be able to point that out, and invalidate its import. If they don't, I will. There is no point in trying to make political capital out of bull****: some of it will stick to us if we try. If one person has voted more than once, then others could have done so, on both sides of the question. The result is meaningless nonsense that nobody should waste any more time even thinking about it." (Oh I think we've been fed that political capital recipe once or twice before.)
From I.M. Pertinent
We could all learn a few lessons about political spin from the good folks over at KCAL. You remember Kingstonians Concerned About LVEC - the group that claims, on its website, not to oppose an LVEC per se, only an LVEC on Anglin Bay then continues to ruthlessly oppose an LVEC. But back to that group in a minute. KCAL is pushing for a referendum on the city's new entertainment centre, claiming, in essence, that Mayor Rosen misled the public into thinking he was going to rebuild the Memorial Centre then changed his tune once elected. I don't recall that being the case. I do remember Mayor Rosen promising to table a report within 100 days outlining a plan for replacing the M Centre. I don't remember a single promise, or even an implication that the Memorial Centre would be part of the mix.
Following KCAL's referendum logic, if Kingstonians really need to cast a vote specific to construction of a glorified hockey rink, why should they not get the opportunity to cast a vote on each sewer pipe and road construction project as well? Why not attach a list of projects to each election ballot and only work on those that prove popular between elections? Every three years, we could decide, by ballot, what roads gets paved - or don't. Such a process could result in significant savings to the city since districts with high voter turnout would reap the benefit of neighbourhood improvements while areas of the city with the lowest number of voters would get nothing, but it's not an effective method for keeping our infrastructure in decent shape and our economy moving. If Rosen were proposing to build the Taj Mahal or to change fundamental democratic principles or accomplish something that's never been done before, that might require a referendum. But gee whiz folks, the guy's trying to build a hockey arena, and, KCAL's hysterics aside, a fairly modest one at that.
Back to KCAL. The following are actual excerpts from actual emails sent back and forth among KCAL members over the last few weeks. I've removed the names in order not to inflict undue embarassment on individuals. What the emails show is the extent to which KCAL has made killing a community project into a sport. Here's what KCAL members had to say - and do - about the recent CKWS poll asking if the fate of LVEC should be decided by a referendum. KCAL offers a very good explanation for how the poll result - 68.42% in favour of a referendum and 31.57% opposed - came about and raises some serious questions about what this group insists in an altruistic goal of keeping LVEC off Anglin Bay:
"I did some more voting. Anybody a mathematician? The figures when I started were 67% yes to 33% no. I voted four times, and the figures changed to 68 and 32. I wanted to see how many times I had to vote yes to get the figures changed to 69 and 31. It took nine votes. Question - how many votes have there been so far? (This person claims to be an engineer)
"Hi [name deleted], Aproximately 2% of the total votes so far is 9 (the ones you recently cast). So, approximately 450 votes have been registered so far.
"Thanks [name deleted] - I am not apologetic about voting 14 times in this poll - I voted for all the members of my family, including two doggies I am going to get next month. They know which side of the slice their bread is buttered on!" (And KCAL has the nerve to complain about Friends of the Entertainment Centre getting petition signatures from youth in the community?)
At least there is one voice of reason in this email exchange:
"If someone can vote 14 times in this poll, then we can all turn over and go back to sleep. The poll is worthless, and whoever "loses" it will be able to point that out, and invalidate its import. If they don't, I will. There is no point in trying to make political capital out of bull****: some of it will stick to us if we try. If one person has voted more than once, then others could have done so, on both sides of the question. The result is meaningless nonsense that nobody should waste any more time even thinking about it." (Oh I think we've been fed that political capital recipe once or twice before.)