Yearning for effective leadership

Elected officials need a competent team to solve the toughest problems

By Nigel Goddard

It cannot be easy to be an elected office holder. The public one is tasked with serving is very varied in age, gender, family type and national origin. Some are near the end of life and some are just beginning. Providing for these competing needs to so many diverse people is a challenge that never ceases. Knowing this reality does not stop people from being angry and frustrated for the services and goods their taxes purchase.

In every municipality there are complaints of one sort or another and we the citizens, who happen to be taxpayers, are often pushed to frustration by an often distant group of elected officials who give excuses to problems.

It is outrageous that the train and highway noise issues have not been solved as of 2019. It is outrageous the diesel fumes fill the lungs of young and old alike. It is outrageous that million-dollar quaint Victorian houses have to endure vibrations caused by passing trains. How bad are these vibrations? A Turcotte Project seismologist recorded 2mm of vibrations caused by the pile driving to help build highway 136 in the summer of 2019. The same equipment detected 5mm of vibration when trains passed by. The engineer tried to reassure me by stating that 12mm of movement was dangerous. Where are our political leaders? What are they doing? There are now over 100 commuter trains passing 5 days a week from 6:30 am to past 11 pm.

In every municipality there are complaints of one sort or another and we the citizens, who happen to be taxpayers, are often pushed to frustration by an often distant group of elected officials who give excuses to problems.

It is the responsibility of the elected officials to recruit the talent that can solve the problems. The fact that the problems of 90dBs of noise, 5mm vibration, and diesel exhaust are persisting, unabated year after year with no improvement to the quality of life has to be blamed on the elected officials.

Year after year, the office holders invite residents to public forums to discuss the problems and to learn what changes there may be to things like parks, street direction, housing projects and the like. There are several files that cause irritation to some of the citizens. Things like rough and uneven road surfaces on major roads like Claremont Avenue and Sherbrooke Street, an indoor swimming pool, a greenhouse that has been shuttered for too long, a large central city park that is being improved very slowly and, yes, the commuter train disturbances.

It is our elected officials at all levels of government who have failed to fix these problems. Heading into 2020 with these major unfinished needs is an embarrassment for Westmount’s political leaders at all levels. What must be said is that voting for the same level of mediocrity is detrimental to improving the quality of life. Our area needs a few talented independent office holders who work slavishly for the betterment of their constituents. The easy things will always be accomplished with little effort. It is however, the larger issues and projects by which we the tax paying citizens will get what is needed.

I recommend voting for a new class of motivated leaders who are bold enough to take action despite what the party whip or donors may wish. The needs of the constituents have to come first. The train problem needs a Czar to work in a way that has the necessary components from all levels of government. All jurisdictions have to work as a single organism. The Czar would be the go-to man or woman with vision and enthusiasm to give the citizens what they want and need.

‘I recommend voting for a new class of motivated leaders who are bold enough to take action despite what the party whip or donors may wish. The needs of the constituents have to come first.’

Too often politicians say things like, “Oh it’s too expensive,” or “That’s not my jurisdiction.” Such fatalistic attitudes will get us nowhere in 2020 and beyond. So often I have seen neighbours of mine who dream of a better city but sadly feel powerless to improve things. Some have expressed a desire to get elected and to fix what hasn’t been fixed. Their team will organize, mobilize and get the jobs done despite the challenges.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of its author and do not reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca, its publishers or editors.

Feature image: Mtlfiredude [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Read also: articles on the 2019 Federal Election candidates for NDG-Westmount