Letter to the Editor
Editor,
I am writing in response to Doug Miller’s letter (Voting “Rural”) of October 9 th . While Doug is a personal friend and someone for whom I have the greatest respect, as a resident of Sydenham for 24 years I heartily disagree with his premise that the way to get things done in rural Meaford is to vote only for candidates who live in rural Meaford.
This is a critical time for our municipality. We have major challenges ahead of us as we seek to protect our unique character, heritage and significant assets while at the same time encouraging growth, diversity, new technology and a new vision of what we can be. It is difficult for families, farms and other businesses to thrive here, especially in the current economic climate. Yet the potential for our combined communities is tremendous.
Yes, it is time for action but not action that is so radical and so fuelled by anger that it is exclusionary and pits people and communities against each other, that promotes continued isolation or that is reactionary, arbitrary and ill-conceived. I will not vote for a hot head or a one-trick pony just because his or her mailbox happens to sit on a country road. Divisiveness costs taxpayers money. Continued aggressiveness and adversarial leadership serve no positive purpose and will not move us forward. We desperately need strong, decisive leadership and a thoughtful, committed team that makes tough, high-quality decisions but that roots them in mindfulness and common sense, arrives at them through intelligent discourse, and is motivated by mutually agreed upon goals for the entire municipality.
I will be voting based not on geography but on strength of character and moral fibre. I will be voting for candidates who will fight hard for our future but who will do so with transparency, with a generosity of spirit, with fresh insight and with energy fueled by optimism and vision. Candidates that inspire me like Barb Clumpus, Shirley Keaveney, Glen Tichbourne and Jaden Calvert, to name a few. And I promise to them and to whoever fills the chairs at the council table next term that I will not go to them with baskets of gripes and grievances but with ideas and encouragement and maybe even some solutions. I hope everyone does for they will need our experience, our perceptiveness and our wisdom whether they, or we, be from the country or the town.
Respectfully,
Jan Singbeil , Municipality of Meaford
