REJECT "GROUPTHINK"

Reject “Groupthink” on November 15!

   AbbotsfordFIRST (AF) has put forward five candidates as a group of representatives (“Groupthink”) that it wishes to send to the Council table to represent our community’s interests. From the very start (August), when the first press release was issued, to this last week before election, AbbotsfordFIRST has presented a platform on a variety of issues, containing some unsupportable statements of fact.

   AbbotsfordFIRST and its candidates have maintained a stubborn refusal to acknowledge those factural errors, not to mention an unwillingness to make corrections when the errors were pointed out. One example will suffice. Its website states that the City has been without an Official Community Plan for three years. In fact, the Community Charter stipulates that every municipality must have an OCP, and each year a bylaw is passed renewing our OCP. That fact was communicated by email, in person, and several weeks ago at the All-Candidates Forum. Yet, a stubborn persistence continues to stay with that message: this week’s 16-page flyer (page 11) perpetuates that error, and its website has not been corrected. This reflects stubbornness, bordering on arrogance, of not willing to be held accountable, both individually and as a party.

   Abbotsford is the third most culturally-diverse community in B.C., and its economic base is similarly diverse. The citizens of Abbotsford not only need and deserve to be well-represented at the Council table, but also to have a council of approachable and accountable individuals. There is no place for party politics (Groupthink) at the municipal level, and certainly not in Abbotsford. I have expressed my views on the matter on more than one occasion; both mayoral candidates also have strong views on this matter - Henry Braun has expressed his views in a blog - The Importance of Independent-Thinking And Principle-Based Decision-Making - and I know that Bruce Banman has a similar view.

   This is not a personal plea, but a general plea to elect 8 independent voices to the Council table on Election Day – November 15^th!

If you agree, please circulate this among your acquaintances.