Since the local election campaign began last month, I have been wondering why there is such enthusiasm for town council. Five candidates for mayor and another 13 for a councillor position surely make this the largest slate in recent memory. It might just be the largest number ever.
Does the large number of candidates indicate a groundswell of general interest in local government? I don’t think so. The advance poll turnout was marginally lower than in 2011 and at the Advance we have had very few letters to the editor on the issue. I’ve taken to joking that everyone who is truly interested in the town council election is running. I exaggerate, of course, but not by much. The slate might have been smaller except for the behind the scenes work of four-term Regional District of Central Kootenay Area B director John Kettle, who worked feverishly to drum up candidates. He freely admits it, along with his distaste for Ron Toyota’s work as mayor.
Having developed what I will delicately describe as an intense dislike for Toyota, Kettle took it upon himself to recruit candidates that he thought might be able to defeat Toyota or, at the least, be elected in sufficient numbers to reduce his influence at the council table. Some of those he approached rejected him and his suggestions they run, others chose to run but not join the “team” and, in the end, four (Tom Mann, Penny A.P. Anderson, Arnold DeBoon and Lon Hansen) opted to form Action Creston. More about that shortly.
I have never been able to put a finger on exactly what changed Kettle’s attitude toward Toyota, though I have seen his frustration at Toyota’s insistence on taking regional issues back to his council and to consult with town staff. Suffice to say that Kettle has largely ignored Toyota in meetings, and taken every opportunity to undermine him and his council. At one council meeting earlier this fall, Kettle took advantage of a friendly crowd in the gallery — one that included several property developers — to chastise council for its lack of support for business, as evidenced by the number of empty storefronts on Canyon Street. He then made what I describe as a silly bugger recommendation — made because he knew it couldn’t happen — that council reduce business taxes and do it “before the election”. Kettle could never be accused of being stupid, so he obviously knew that tax rates aren’t set, or changed, halfway through a fiscal year. It was politics, pure and simple, and cheap politics at that.
Personally, I think a little humility on Kettle’s part might be in order. After all, it was his fellow directors — Toyota, Larry Binks (Area C) and Garry Jackman (Area A) — who co-operated to drop a governance study that was exploring whether the Creston Valley could become its own governing authority, or even move over to the Regional District of East Kootenay, probably in large part because its offices are in Cranbrook, which his friend Bill Bennett represents in the provincial government.
The reason for dropping the study? So Kettle could become the RDCK chair, something not likely to happen if word got out that the Creston Valley was looking at ways to exit the RDCK. With the support of his fellow local directors in his pocket, he got a quick $30,000-a-year compensation bump, which he continues to enjoy. Maybe just as importantly, the position gave him even more reason (and expense reimbursements) to schmooze with cabinet ministers from his beloved BC Liberal Party. That was a big deal for a man who I think has become one of the neediest politicians I have met. He loves rubbing shoulders with the big boys and girls.
Back in the summer I suggested to Kettle that his “best before date” as a director had expired. Kettle said he didn’t want to run for re-election. “But I don’t know what I’ll do if Christy calls and asks me to run,” he grimaced. The call from premier apparently didn’t come, though, and he agreed to step back to let his alternate director for the last year, Tanya Wall, take his place.
Whether or not Kettle would have influence over Action Creston candidates is open to question. When asked, I’ve told people that if they feel well served by a system that elects provincial and federal representatives who go off to Victoria and Ottawa to do their party’s bidding, then they should be thrilled with an effort to create a quasi-party system locally. I am not enamoured of the way the party system has evolved, and I don’t support it locally. Better, I think, to have strong individuals at the table who are willing to listen to their fellow council members. If nothing else, it reduces the likelihood that one person, or any small group, can get privileged access to the workings of local decision making.
Lorne Eckersley is the publisher of the Creston Valley Advance.