The Terrace Standard, Wednescay, January 3, 1996 - AS New year full of challenge for council . most inept council spending moncy like These and other achievements would water given the growth the city has expe- normally put local councillors ingood rienced over three years and the new tax posilion to win another term. dollars that have come with all the new But for a council that was fractious at f development. times, wingy at others, it’s a minor These councillors still have another 10 miracle so much was accomplished. It's months to further prove why they debatable whether some of these things . ; deserve your vole. happened because of or in spite of this The most difficull proving ground will council. Mast of the big accomplish- likely be the coming referendum over ments are the work of city bureaucrats, = Teyrace-Thombhill amalgamation, If you Administrators Bob Hallsor and Denise «nought the second sheet of ice debate Fisher, for example, were the architects was messy, divisive and lacking in of the council-directed city reorganiza- leadership, just wait til the future of That would channel the second sheet tion that eliminated eight positions and greater Terrace Is at stake, lobby into another referendum campaign cut $500,000 from the budget. Then there's the lingering non-sexy but and prevent them from dominating the When you gel right down to it, failing cyitical problem of taking over the air- —_gverall municipal election debate. I! to achieve the much ballyhooed three- Hort without losing our shirts, would also head off the doomsday year tax freeze would have required a Add to the mix the complications ofa JACK TALSTRA: B | Aggressive politics or even basic Victaria- bashing has never been Mayor Jack's style. Nevertheless, he shucked bis image as the diplo- malic chairman in '95 and waded into several crises when il appeared a wave of ineptitude was about to blow council off on a particularly bizarre or scenario of a slate of second sheet of ice candidates running for council, Single- issue councillors — from any pressure group — rarely make for good govern- ment over a three-year term of office. The mayor has given councillor David Hull the lucky job of stick-handling through this mess in 1996 as the new chairman of the recreation committee. _ Politics is a thankless job, with low = pay, little gratitude and ptenty of flak. Voters should remember that their councillors all do what they deeply be- licve is for the gaod of the city. They provide an important service, and as Some councillors are reliring this year, Terrace will need more good citizens to answer the call to public office in 1996, RICH McDANIEL: C- Important message to Rich: ‘‘The experiment is over. Return to the mothership.” Rich McDaniel is another councillor who certainly means well and tries hard. But some- times it seems like provincial election and a probabic settle- ment of the Nisga‘a land claim, and you've gota challenging 1996 ahead for local politicians. There will also be pressure on them to deal with the one election promise they weren’table ta keep — delivering a sec- ond shect of ice. They'll be tcmpted to find a way la get a new proposal hammered out and on the November ballot as a referendum ques- tion to appease the 1,132 voters (46 per cent) Who said Yes in 1995. Reporter Jeff Nagel takes a subjective and irreverent laok at city council's per- formance in 1995, HEN VOTERS go to the palls in November of 1996, incumbent councillors will be able to take credit for an impressive record during their term at city hall: Wi No tax increase 10 most taxpayers during their three years in office. Mi Key progress in preserving greenbelt parkland and work toward a semblance of a parks plan, Mi Creation of a paving policy to get cily strects back in shape and strike a fair balance in who has to pay for it. dangerous — course, - Sad commentary on this council that he was forcedtadosa, I Despite combative iam flashes, Talstra J scems to many to be a floater of a mayor. He docs a goad job of keeping a mecting & on track, however, and his neutral style J means the spotlight & is shared with others, | avoiding the circus- like politics that go on in council cham- bers ‘elsewhere. And when Jack does speak up, people : / tend to listen, " Talstra described his close call in the 1993 elec- tion as a ‘‘wake-up call.’’ It seemed voters wanted a more hands-on, active mayor. [f that’s the case, the alarm sounded but this student is still dozing. Talstra’s decision to import some new lawyers to town should free him up from his law practice and give him more time for politics in 1996. Besides the many minefields laying in wait, Mayor Jack will have to deal with any conflict be- tween city priorities and his allegiances to the B.C. Liberals as a provincial election approaches. Terrace-Thornhill restructure, a Nisga’a land claim settlement, and the second shect debate will all be divisive issues here in 1996. The city will need Talstra’s sensible message to get through it all, but maybe just with a bit more volume. VAL GEORGE: B- The Waffle-Mastcr. Val George is better informed than some council- lors, and has a healthy dose of common sense in him. Unfortunately, he often docsn’t have the guts es meen 10 usc it. Wishy-washy and m mediocre on many me issues over the past year, George simply doesn’t act with J enough confidence. Sent his colleagues to fight Victoria over hospital —_ financing without telling them the true scope of Mills’ situation. Val fought the fis- ical conservatives off on the issue of recreation fee in- creases, winning more moderate rale . hikes. Takes over chairmanship of the key finance com- mittee from David Hull. But the mayor has also put the two fiscally conservative Hull boys on that committee, ensuring a tight ship is maintained. Regretlably, George is impatient and often has litle time for city business. This despite his semi- retired status which held out the promise to voters of a strong presence on council. ~ RUTH HALLOCK: C+ HURT BY ongoing health trouble, Ruth Hallock ‘has indicated she won’t run again. Despite medical trouble (she was in hospital up to Christmas eve recently) the old Hal- lock fierceness and common sense came out in several debates in ’95, Her departure ends 13 years in municipal politics. With her ficry voice and her _ “one good eye’’ on the lookout, Ruth speaks out for the avetage cilizens who aren't = well-heeled developers ar businessmen. It’s a formula that [Rie worked well: Shc Miag ne topped the polls in 1993 and is much loved by voters, Although her experience and wisdom often assist council, her attendance at commitlee mectings has been poor duc to health reasons, and she hasn't been well enough informed lo be a leader. She takes over the chairmanship of the economic development, housing and regional affairs com- mitiee; which docsn’t meet frequently, Hopefully Ruth will soon be back in fighting trim for the batiles of '96 — she will be needed. FISCAL PRUDENCE PLANNING COMMON SENSE DECISIVENESS | TEAMWORK ACCESSIBILITY Report Card CITY COUNCIL IN ‘95 GOOD SATISFACTORY OVERALL DAVID HULL: A- The Mouth occasionally shoots itself off. But on balance, if David Hull can be faulted it is on matters of style and attitude, not substance or performance. As finance chairman, Councillor Hull crafted a tight budget and led the push to chop city op- erations, invoking the image of Alberta premier Ralph Klein. (He outlined his ideas for streamlin- as April, 1994). His right-wing fis- cal policy may of- fend some. But he is sensible and rational, He is indisputably the best informed councillor. Any constituent trying to find out what’s happening on a particular issue soon finds David Hull is the councillor most likely to know, His attendance at council and committee meetings — even ones he’s not a member of — is un- matched. His youthful energy and abilily to get quoted by the media on virtually any issuc are irritants to his fellow councillors. Most of them simply cannot match his investment of time due to business, health or family reasons. A good knowledge of city operations is no doubt valuable to Hull’s career as a realtor. But while most of the athers view politics as at best a necessary evil, David Hull relishes being 4 politician, He truly loves the game. Tt is unthinkable that he will not someday react for higher office — most likely the mayor’s chair. Ironically, it is his enthusiasm, his constant chat- ter, his jokes and his sometimes flip attitude toward constituents’ concems that grate on many people who sec him as ambitious, loud and arrogant. Their latent hostility manifested itself in a whisper campaign around town about why Hull retumed early last spring from a Rotary-sponsored tip to England. Hull refused to answer that question, and the inci- dent itself seems to have no bearing on his pet- formance as a city councillor. But the reaction to it is evidence that David Hull will have to work on his image if he is to continue giving taxpayers bang for their municipal buck. ing the city as early ' FAIL Vv Vv Vv Vv ED GRAYDON: C- Open mouth, insert foot, broadcast on Channel 10. Ed Graydon simply docs not do kis homework. He doesn’t prepare, plan or research enough be- fore talking about something. Most of all he doesn’t consult his col-, leagues. As a result he was responsible 7 for some of council’s & more farcical mo- ments in 1995, Graydon ~—s shows flashes of vision fighting to preserve greenspace and park- § land, and protesting j the right-wing in- sensitivity of user- pay paving plans. But all too often, he charges blind and ; : uninformed into issues, 10 be rescucd, if he’s lucky, by David Hull. The mayor prefers to watch him crash and burn as Jong as there won't be too much collateral] damage. Graydon three times in 1995 waded into waters of potentially dangerous conflicts-of-interest without doing the right thing and leaving the table. First was in January when he participated in the security alarm bylaw debate although his company Tolsec was one of two key players in the market, Second was in October when he fought B.C. Tel’s bid to break Skeena Cablevision’s cable TV monopoly on the grounds it might hurt Okanagan Skeena Group ~~ with whom Tolsec had just inked a partnership deal to jointly take over a Prince George telecommunications firm. Finally, in December, Graydon suggested the cily is missing the boat on the high-tech Iclecom- munications front, and threw out a vague proposal that the city investigate getting a consullant to look at various upgrade possibilities. This time his fel- low councillors rescued bim and referred this stinker to a finance committee meeting where they gave it the royal fush away from the TV cameras, The official councillor of the Chamber of Com- merce, Graydon dutifully parrotcd business con- cerns when the bridge reconstruction tangled traffic and cut into merchants’ profits. He came out swinging in opposition to the second arena but soon folded like a lawn chair under the lobby efforts of the second sheeters. Reflective and passionate, Graydon would be a real asset to council if he invested more effort and Started to think before he speaks. 8 believes in no mat- | ter how unpopular it is. am the centre of the mm the hail of bullets to jack user fees ‘for the pool and crank up various he’s so far out in . left field, you need Mba megaphone to jcall him back in. Ss His rambling sometimes amus- ng anecdotes are i pt to veer off on Ka@unexpected Miangents and leave the mayor at a loss mas to when he m@ should call him in. 2 As chairman of mihe city’s recrea- tion and parks committee chairman, Rich McDaniel adopted the then-mired proposal for a second sheet of ice as his personal project. While travelling on personal business, he spent cnormous personal time and effort visit- ing second arenas in other cities across B.C., collecting design plans and advice. He is to be credited for that action. But fellow councillors and project proponents had little idea what he was up to during the several weck crusade early in the car. - all Ieft second sheeters happy their project was back on the cily agenda, yet at the same time apprehensive that the whole thing might explode in a ball of fire at any moment. Ultimately it did, but all councillors had a share in the blame for that fate, not just McDaniel, who did fight hard on the Yes side. McDaniel’s committee attendance was oc- -casionally hurt by long-running medical prob- lems, though he tended to go to the limit of his health to make meetings. , He docsn’t get a chairmanship for 96, but will represent the city along with the mayor at Kitimat-Stikine Regional District board meet- ings. An unfortunate tendency to be undiplomatic with citizens who came to meetings and dis- agreed with him. Rich McDaniel needs to be- come thicker skinned in dealing with criticism from all quarters. GORDON HULL: B More carefull and introspective in 1995, Gor- don Hull is still a treasure of a city councillor for one simple reason. He possesses the rarest and most valuable quality in a politician — the guts to stand up for what he That put him at firestorm when he opposed the second sheet of ice referendum and in when it came lime arena, He’s also con- sistent; he voted to zoning and sub- — division fees for developers as well. Gordon Hull keeps his post in charge of the public works, environment and waste manage- ment committee, where his experience in the logging and contracting business is useful, ]t was there that he helped forge a paving plan that appears to be a workable solution to ihe problem of who pays for street paving. The resulting compromise makes city tax dollars go farther, and still gives incentives to homeowners who vote to pave their street. Time will tell whether it will actually work over a long term, but prospects are good as long as future councils have the discipline to stick to it. Gordon Hull is somewhat narrow-minded in his idea of who his constiluents are, with less consideration for those ‘ess fortunate or aut- side the definition of the traditional nuclear family, He also needs to be wary of issues of morality —- such as the escort issue — which threatened to suck him into the vortex of Bill Vander Zalm-style church-and-state politics. His business and family that take priority. More time for the city would make him better informed and an even better value for voters.