Letters to the editor...Politicians to blame for low voter turnout

Dear editor, Re: Clerk to examine ways to improve voter turnout (Dec. 1). It is not likely the Town clerk will be able to persuade more people to vote. The only ones who could do that would be the politicians themselves. Inconvenience, distance, time, weather, bad driving conditions are not valid reasons for not voting; they are excuses. If one really wants to vote, he will do so. Talking to people will reveal the real reasons why they don't vote. They simply don't care anymore. Why should they care when they see only the irresponsible, silly behaviour of elected politicians and have to live with the results of the foolishness? Most eligible voters feel that it doesn't matter who gets elected. It will still be more of the same. Politicians will continue to pursue their personal agendas with no consideration for what is good for the community or what their constituents want. Communities are so large that the residents don't know the candidates. Newspaper and television ads don't provide insight into a person's character. Door-to-door canvassing is non-existent. Why would anyone make an effort to vote for a total stranger who won't make an effort to meet his constituents? People are tired of having their taxes rise every year while they see no serious effort to reduce expenses. When councillors want a new facility, if they want to sue a citizen for hurting their feelings (and can't win!) or if they want to throw themselves a party, they do it whether it is affordable or not. The taxpayers have to do without things they can't afford or wait until they have the money. People are tired of being told of electricity and water shortages, seeing roads fall into disrepair, and having services reduced while the Town allows hundreds of new homes to be built every year. If the Town cannot cope with the existing population what kind of stupidity is it to keep expanding? The only obvious reason would be that the councillors want to expand their power over more people. People are tired of the passing of bylaw after bylaw which regulates and restricts them. People are tired of the silly, immature, knee-jerk decisions by councillors such as banning a citizen from all public buildings. If that citizen was guilty of uttering threats or of serious harrassment, why was he not charged? If he was disrupting business, why was he not banned from where business was conducted? Banning him from all public buildings appears to be a blatant abuse of power. If we pay attention to what is happening in other places where the method of voting has been changed, we can only expect more problems at the polls if the system is changed here. The present system worked well when people believed that their votes counted for something. That was when politicians were still trustworthy and responsible enough to deserve a vote. Confidence in, and respect for, politicians is at an all-time low. To many citizens, a vote is nothing more than a symbolic acceptance of the status quo. Eileen Hutcheson, Acton