Lots of drama, too little participation

Wow! Whatever the federal election may have lacked locally in terms of drama was more than remedied by our municipal election results Saturday night. In the County of Kings, for example, incumbent Janet Newton edged Patricia Bishop in District 2 by eight votes to regain her seat at the council table. In District 10, Chris Parker kept his spot, but he was in tough against newcomer Audrey Haig-Stewart, who pulled in 525 votes to Parker's 551. In District 9, Basil Hall defeated Bob Best, but again, the margin was scant. Hall collected 489 votes to Best's 474; a real cliffhanger that left everyone in suspense until the final tally was posted. To be honest, the numbers were a long time coming, but once they started it was hard not to watch. Sure, Sarah Palin was doing her best Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live a couple of channels over, but let’s face it; how incidental. Local politicians get the job done and create a framework for our daily lives. They draft policy, explore land issues, determine taxation and govern the day-to-day in a way no other political entity does. They’re as grassroots as it comes. Despite this, voters in our region didn’t respond or otherwise get too enthused about this election. Turnout was meagre, and that's disappointing because it’s possible many citizens here don't have a representative voice at the table. I’m not saying the winners weren’t deserving. I’m sure each campaigned hard. The fact is, though, of all the districts in Kings County, the highest percentage of voter turnout compared to eligible voters was 34. The lowest was 14 per cent in District 11, where Eric Smith held his seat against John Morrison. In District 2, Newton was a winner, but only 30 per cent -- 854 of 2,810 voters -- cast a ballot. Seventy per cent of the electorate stayed home. In District 10, 33 per cent of eligible voters got involved, meaning 2,164 of 3,240 people passed on this one. Elsewhere, Hall defeated Best unofficially (final tallies will be released Oct. 21), but of 3,753 eligible voters, 963 ballots -- or 26 per cent of the total -- were cast. That’s dreadful. And I've cited only a few examples of the kind of voter apathy that characterized the day. I’d like to congratulate the winners - in the county, on School Board and in the Towns of Berwick, Kentville and Wolfville - but with the bulk of the electorate essentially ignoring this election, it's fair to ask if some outcomes might've been different had there been greater voter interest. Quite likely. And yes, I'll admit candidates are charged with getting the vote out. If they didn't do it, tough luck I guess. Ultimately, though, something has gone awry. Even though there will strong and committed voices around the table in the various communities, I suspect people will question them repeatedly over the next four years and wonder if they are truly representative of the collective will.