Dear editor,
What a pleasant surprise to hear Mayor Jangula openly declare on TV where he stands on the Maple Pool issue, announcing that he is against the City's lawsuit and voted to call it off.
Congratulations, Mayor Jangula, for this show of courage and accountability.
Some of our councillors have told us that they can't tell us anything about what they are doing on our behalf, because most of their meetings take place behind closed doors and they cannot legally disclose anything that happens in these secret meetings.
But obviously if the mayor can tell us how he voted on the Maple Pool issue, it must be legal to do so and the councillors could do so if they wanted to let the voters know what they do "in the dark," so to speak.
As I think about this "legal" issue, it seems clear to me that all our City councillors now have a duty to declare openly where they stand on the Maple Pool issue.
I do not want them to disclose any details about secret business, including any arguments about the Maple Pool lawsuit. But I do now think we have a right to expect that each of them let us know where they stood on the issue when a vote was taken.
If they have a legal right to disclose their vote, do they not have a moral obligation to do so?
This community clearly supports Maple Pool; we have a legitimate interest in determining which councillors are standing up for the community's wishes and which ones are voting against the interests of the community.
Having said that, now that we know Mayor Jangula voted for Maple Pool and against the lawsuit, it is perhaps not too difficult to figure out how the remaining votes were cast.
If Ronna-Rae Leonard and Doug Hillian voted consistent with their reputation for social justice, all the other four councillors must have voted for the lawsuit.
Let us remember their names when the next election rolls around.
Linda Foster,
Courtenay