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It’s not their views on policies as much as their principles (see here for the difference). More importantly, a councillor needs to listen to his or her constituents and represent their interests in the Council. An inaccessible councillor cannot possibly be a good representative. Unfortunately, we have a couple of these in Milton.
What makes a good councillor
2 Responses to “What makes a good councillor”
Hi Zeeshan
I continue to enjoy reading your posts. In response to this one, what do you think a councillor should do when a group of his/her constituents asks for support for something that is in opposition to his/her principles? For instance, what if a councillor strongly believes that a range of available housing types is necessary for a healthy community and there is a shortage of condominium type accommodation in the ward but a group of residents in the area near a proposed condo development requests his/her support in opposing it?
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Zeeshan Hamid replies on January 4th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Hi @Wendy Schau,
Thanks for the compliment on posts!
About your question, if two people do not agree on principle then a compromise is often unlikely. However, typically people agree on underlying principles. They differ on their approaches.
Assuming that there is an agreement on underlying principles, condo-type housing is one method of achieving it. If I were to challenge it then I fully expect you to ask me for alternate suggestions that help you achieve your goal of providing a range of available housing. I am a strong believer that one doesn’t get to shoot down ideas without offering alternatives (I am always more than willing to work with people in identifying alternatives). In this case if I cannot convince people about my approach then I will give up my views in favour of my constituents, provided that I do not confuse opinions of a loud minority with that of a majority.
However, if you disagreed on principle then you have to stand up for your beliefs and defend it during the next election. If you compromise on your values and principles then they were not your values to begin with! If you happen to find yourself in an unfortunate situation where a vast majority of your constituents do not share your a majority of your principles then you are not the right person to represent them (you may attempt to lead them into seeing your point of view. I wish you luck). This is the right thing to do. It avoids the danger of being driven by loud minority opinions. Anyway, those who voted for you expect you to act in a consistent manner. You can only do that if you live your values.
This is one of the reasons why I have never voted for someone unless they openly state their values (it still irritates me how many people vote for individuals without knowing anything about them). One should elect people who share same values (instead of people who make populist, often unrealistic, promises).
Hope that clarifies it.
Zeeshan Hamid
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