Well, Now I've Really Gone and Done It!

Well, now I’ve really gone and done it! After much thought and consultation/deliberation, I have decided to put my name forward as a candidate in the upcoming municipal elections as a Councillor for Lantzville. I have decided to do this because it has become apparent that the current Council, all of whom are running again plus a few of their wives/friends, are not prepared to listen to the clear, expressed, majority wishes of the residents of Lantzville. They have taken this abrogation of their democratic duty one step further and have done what many other councils with their own agenda have done and that is to control the flow of information and make decisions based on keeping the public uninformed, off-balance and always playing catch-up.
Their job is to clearly identify issues/concerns in the community, develop a range of options for addressing these issues and then fully informing the residents as to the pros and cons of each and letting the people decide – it is NOT to push their own agenda on us. We are being treated like we can’t be trusted to make decisions in our own best interest!
My decision to run was not made lightly and will involve many hours of effort by myself and other similar-minded, concerned residents. I have been fortunate to have been introduced to five other individuals who share my deep concern about the slippage of democracy here in Lantzville and have also decided to run and I would like to share their names with you – Harry Adcock, Niels Gram, Ian Savage (candidate for Mayor), Mark Wilson and Lee Anne Veres. You will be seeing and hearing more from them in the near future - if they show up on your door-step or invite you to an ‘Open House’ at Costin Hall, please give them the opportunity to earn your vote.
This thing we call democracy can’t work on its own – it needs the people to be involved in the process to ensure that our representatives know what we want. I do not like to ‘manage by crisis’ (it makes for bad decisions and bad feelings and causes unnecessary angst). In order to avoid this, I am asking each and every Lantzville resident to commit just a little time (say, one hour per week, on average) to make this community an even better place in which to live. Are you up to the challenge?!
We have been labelled a ‘special interest group’ but I would ask you to consider what that interest is. Everything we have done has been based on respecting the majority’s expressed wishes, we all volunteer our time for our community and I have no agenda of my own other than to see an open and fair process. If there is a way that I can benefit financially from my community involvement, I haven’t yet found it!
If you generally agree with my comments/thoughts on this web log and feel that you have some time to spare to help in the campaign (even a couple of hours would be appreciated), please contact me by email at vigilantz@hotmail.com. Remember, “no place in the world today remains special by accident!”

Sincerely,
Hans J. Larsen