CODE OF CONDUCT
David Brown: August 10, 2014
This is another thought provoking post from David Brown who defines the characteristics of his ideal candidate(s) for City Council. It is a topic which should be on all our minds as we drift ever closer to the November 15 municipal election and there is so much at stake.
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR AN IDEAL COUNCILLOR
Read, consider, and let us all know what you think.
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
Good amount of thought here. I encourage anyone to read it.
The “skeptical councillor” is a good ask. My own semantics were leading me down a more complicated path. We have too many councillors and a mayor who don’t recognize the value of skepticism, or any sort of process that involves cognitive skills. They know who their friends are, but they wouldn’t know a good idea from a bad idea, could not distinguish a rational argument from a pile of bullshit, and (to paraphrase) wouldn’t know an opportunity if it came up and buggered them in the street.
I used to think these types of people could be persuaded, but, really, the act of persuasion turns them off. These people can only deal with simple, dumb ideas. This is why so many dumb ideas prevail. These people want decisions presented to them, or they want “no-brainer” decisions.
Unfortunately, we elected a majority of council who are more or less this type of person. They are nice, they are friendly and they are extremely vulnerable to authority figures who make their decisions for them or stroke their ego by giving them simple choices. Yes, electing a majority of council with a healthy dose of scepticism or any other kind of mental agility would very much improve the situation.
Here’s the product of an active mind with high ideals. It’s interesting how we choose leaders like civic, provincial and even federal with no efforts on their part to qualify with a list of qualification or even a resume as those who apply for a job. When I was elected by my strata owners group to represent them on Strata Council, I was reminded by the property management agent that council members where only on council when we were present at the meetings, otherwise we were just owners. Perhaps more civic legislators should be on a Strata Council before they think they qualify to be city councilor.