Real challenge begins now for Cranbrook mayor Scott Manjak and his council supporters

Now that the referendum to extend the boundaries of the city of Cranbrook is over, and voters have said No to the proposal backed by mayor Scott Manjak and a majority of council members, they now face their real challenge after suffering two defeats on this issue during the first year of a three-year term.

After attempting to gain approval for the boundary extension to the area called the East Hill through an alternative approval process, and seeing that plan soundly defeated when the grassroots Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society led by president Sharon Cross obtained more than twice as many response forms from voters as were required to stop this process, council approved the referendum.

Despite the support of the local chamber of commerce, three former mayors and several councillors, a massive advertising campaign by a Yes side group reported to have cost more than $100,000, plus advertising by the city and the efforts of Manjak and  councillors Denise Pallesen, Jim Wavrecan, Angus Davis, Diana Scott, and Liz Schatschneider to sway Cranbrook citizens to vote Yes, they lost.

Following a recount, 2616 voters had said No, while 2581 voted Yes. There were 5228 ballots cast and 31 were rejected.

The CLC Society reports that it spent less than $5,000 on its No campaign. Councillor Bob Whetham supported the No side and voted against the alternative approval process and the referendum at council. His courageous position has now been vindicated by the voters of Cranbrook, and it is something his council colleagues need to recognize as they face the real challenges before them in the next two years of their term. He represents the wishes of the majority of voters in the referendum.

Simply put with a nod to Bob Dylan, the times they are a changing in Cranbrook, and it is now time for Manjak and his council supporters to accept the new reality and move forward with plans to address the many issues facing the city as it is,  without thinking about creating a second city on a hill.

When I moved to Cranbrook just over 20 years ago, it was referred to as the "pothole capital of Canada." It still is in many respects and citizens have been complaining for 20 years or more. Instead of simply paying lip service to the issue, Manjak and council could start to address it seriously and present the citizens with a proposal to fix the roads.

Council needs to get serious about  the need for an overpass (or underpass) over the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, a problem that has been ignored since Cranbrook was founded over 100 years ago. It is time to meet this real challenge now.

Obviously, there are challenges facing Cranbrook centred on the provision of proper environmental services for the future.

There are challenges to be met to address the needs of the homeless and to provide affordable housing for those who need it, and a proper home for the supporters of arts and culture. Cranbrook needs to attract new industries.

Most importantly, this mayor who promised an open and transparent administration and his supporters on the council hopefully will now realize that the greatest resource a community has is its people, with talents and abilities and good will, just waiting to be used to make Cranbrook a better place for everyone.

Ultimately, the real challenge  is to open the doors of communication and enter into a dialogue with the citizens, so that in the future the YES factor will dominate public discourse in this city with a focus on the things that bring us together, rather than those which divide us.

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BULLETIN: Cranbrook votes "NO" in East Hill Boundary Expansion referendum giving mayor Scott Manjak and council majority second defeat on this issue

Cranbrook voters rejected a proposal put forward by Mayor Scott Manjak and majority of council to expand the city's boundaries in a referendum held here Saturday November 14.

Following a recount, 2616 voters had said No, while 2581 voted Yes. There were 5228 ballots cast and 31 were rejected.

City council decided to proceed with a referendum after its attempt to use an alternative approval process to expand the boundaries in the East Hill area was resoundingly defeated when a grassroots group Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society, led by Sharon Cross, got more than twice as many response forms from citizens as necessary to stop the process.

Manjak and Councillors Denise Pallesen, Angus Davis, Jim Wavrecan, Diana Scott and Liz Schatschneider supported extending the boundaries. Councillor Bob Whetham opposed the plan.

More to come!

To hear the other side rejected by anonymous yellow flyer producers in Cranbrook boundary expansion

 I had just calmed down from Cranbrook mayor Scott Manjak`s totally unacceptable offer to remove submitted response forms from citizens who may change their minds during an alternative approval process, and accepted the reality that this council has no intention of releasing a $500,000 taxpayer paid for growth management plan before a November 14 referendum on boundary expansion, and I receive an anonymously produced yellow flyer in a local newspaper.

The yellow flyer, obviously distributed by supporters of boundary expansion contains the broad sweeping generalizations with no supporting facts about the future of Cranbrook if boundary expansion is defeated which characterizes most of the material produced by the self proclaimed official Yes side, but it is a nameless, faceless piece of yellow paper. The choice of colour is appropriate.

However, it is point number nine in the anonymously produced  yellow flyer that deeply disturbs me. It says: ``It`s fun to criticize democracy when it doesn`t go your way and it`s a much better idea to waste taxpayer dollars on a ridiculous and costly referendum.``

From the outset of this sad, sorry tale in the political life of this small city in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, which has now received national attention, the supporters of boundary expansion, including a majority of the council, have attempted to marginalize those who would dare to oppose them as being less than democratic. On the contrary,  the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society, a non-profit society, with the names of its directors available, has been totally democratic in its actions since council tried to use the alternative approval process to expand the boundaries.

The government of the province of British Columbia enacted legislation to permit a municipality under certain conditions to use an alternative approval process rather than go directly to a referendum. Cranbrook council exercised its right under the provincial legislation to go this route in the first instance, and the citizens of the city were able to exercise their democratic right under the same legislation to oppose the council action by submitting a response form indicating they did not approve.

The council received a lesson in the power of grassroots democracy when over 3000 eligible voters submitted response forms basically telling the mayor and his council supporters that if they wanted to expand the boundaries, they must call a referendum as prescribed again by provincial legislation when  ten percent of the eligible voters submit forms under the alternative approval process. (1475 were needed.)

The citizens of Cranbrook, close to 4000 of them strong, although not all were counted, were not criticizing democracy by openly signing their  names to the form, as the anonymous yellow flyer supporters of boundary expansion would like us to believe, they were exercising their democratic right as provided under provincial law to be heard. It is insulting to them to be criticized by council members and others for exercising their democratic right to be heard.

If taxpayer dollars have been wasted on a ``ridiculous and costly referendum`` as the anonymous yellow flyer producers suggest, then theitr argument is with the government of the province of British Columbia who put the process in place.

The citizens of Cranbrook who moved the process to the referendum stage have clearly demonstrated that famous axiom in countries based on the English common law system ``audi alterem partem.`` (Hear the other side.) They have not been criticizing democracy; they have been practising it!!!

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Citizens for Livable Cranbrook Society create defining moment for city

The Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society has created a defining moment in the history of this small city in the southeastern corner of British Columbia as citizens now prepare to vote in a referendum on a boundary expansion proposal supported by Mayor Scott Manjak and the majority of the council.

City council decided on September 14 to hold a referendum after its effort to gain approval for the boundary expansion using an alternative approval process, supported by first term Mayor Scott Manjak and the majority of council went down to a resounding defeat when the grassroots group obtained more than 3000 signatures opposing the council's action. The group received more than twice as many as the 1475 required to halt the council decision. The referendum is scheduled for November 14, 2009.


Manjak and Councillors Denise Pallesen, Liz Schatschneider, Angus Davis, Jim Wavrecan and Diana J. Scott, who voted for the AAP totally misread the citizens they represent, but upon reflection, it may have been a good thing for Cranbrook in the long term as citizens pro and con the boundary expansion are now energized and involved in the local political scene. This mayor and council were elected almost a year ago by about 30% of the eligible voters who turned out on election day. Councillor Bob Whetham opposed the AAP.

There can be little doubt that no matter the referendum result, the next municipal election campaign, although just over two years from now, will be already underway, and a major issue will be the type of community the citizens want, and the people they want to lead it. The defining moment for Cranbrook will continue for some time, and that's good.

The lines are now being drawn as the boundary expansion campaigns get underway with a "yes vote" group of "concerned citizens" setting up a campaign office, hiring a campaign manager, launching a web site, running a full page ad in local newspapers, handing out yes buttons and holding a "catered lunch" to launch its campaign. That's in the first week. A co-chair of the group is Brian Sims, who announced that he has taken a leave of absence from his duties as president of the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce to be involved.

If I owned the land in question, I would be absolutely delighted to have a group of "concerned" citizens launching such an aggressive campaign really on my behalf. And I am sure everyone would love to have a city council that spends taxpayer dollars on advertisements urging the people it represents, even those opposed to its decision, to vote yes in the referendum, do the same for their pet projects. After all, the whole boundary expansion issue has arisen as result of an application from companies that own the land.

Had the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society not opposed the AAP, the mayor in one of his advertisements would not have offered to remove submitted forms from those who changed their minds, I would never have become interested in the issue. Obviously British Columbia law is not clear on this one, and it should be and that is matter for the legislature.

At the council meeting of September 14, speaking in favour of a motion to proceed to a referendum, Manjak referred to the local chamber of commerce as "our community partner", which represented the community's "business leaders." I have nothing against a chamber of commerce, but I am concerned about a mayor referring to it as a "partner" in effect giving it special status. As a result I visited the local chamber's web site and discovered that the city's chief administrative officer is a member of an "advisory" group to the board of directors and attends its meetings. Councillors Schatschneider and Pallesen are also listed there although the latter is noted as representing "DBA" which is the Downtown Business Association.

Apparently the chamber is supporting the council's boundary expansion decision, but according to a recent letter in the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, all members are not happy with that decision.

I would respectfully suggest to the mayor and council that it move to strictly an arm's length relationship with the chamber of commerce, as they really only have one partner. It is the citizens of Cranbrook that elected them to office, not any organization within the city that may or may not always have the same interests as a council must have in serving all the people.

Had the grassroots group not taken action, I would not have been looking around. I received an email from a reporter this past week who had been reading my blog, and it said in part that my "journalistic juices" must be flowing. Indeed they are.

Most importantly though, I hope the citizens of Cranbrook will stay energized at this defining moment in the life of their community.