A ward councillor represents everyone, says Ward 5 candidate Bob Kirwan, who was elected for the first time in 2014.
“You can say you are going to listen to the people and you can say you are going to fight for what they feel is important, but the reality is that it is very hard to hear what your constituents are saying when so few of them take the time to become actively engaged in municipal affairs,” Kirwan writes. “But you are elected to represent the people who are not engaged just as much as those who are.”
While many residents are engaged in city politics, he says councillors have to get the views of people who aren't as active, people he calls the silent majority.
“On top of this you must sort through all of the additional information, reports and evidence you have available to come up with decisions that you feel are in the best interests of the majority of the constituents in your ward,” Kirwan writes. “You can't just look at a social media post where a dozen people are aggressively telling you what to do and then go out and allow that to be the sole influence of your choice on an issue.
“You have a responsibility to all residents to make some tough choices that may not sit well with the small political activist lobby groups or special interest organizations that put pressure on you to listen to them. Your responsibility is to your ward as a collective -- not to special interest groups.”
Full text of Kirwan's letter
The silent majority deserves fair representation from their councillor
My job for the past four years as Councillor of Ward 5 has been to provide fair and equitable representation and advocacy for each and every one of my constituents and to be their collective voice on matters that are placed in front of City Council. This is something that every person who aspires to sit on City Council must understand and accept.
You can say you are going to "listen" to the people and you can say you are going to fight for what they feel is important, but the reality is that it is very hard to "hear" what your constituents are saying when so few of them take the time to become actively engaged in municipal affairs. But you are elected to represent the people who are not engaged just as much as those who are.
You must also be prepared to do much more than just listen to the people who communicate with you. You must learn how to listen to the silent majority who rarely speak with actions or words. On top of this you must sort through all of the additional information, reports and evidence you have available to come up with decisions that you feel are in the best interests of the majority of the constituents in your ward. To do this you often have to view things like petitions and social media posts in the proper context in the face of overwhelming evidence against what they are proposing.
You can't just look at a social media post where a dozen people are aggressively telling you what to do and then go out and allow that to be the sole influence of your choice on an issue.
You have a responsibility to all residents to make some tough choices that may not sit well with the small political activist lobby groups or special interest organizations that put pressure on you to listen to them. Your responsibility is to your ward as a collective - not to special interest groups.
The residents of Ward 5 have learned that no matter whether they support me or not, my commitment has always been to represent each and every constituent who seeks my assistance on individual or group matters to the best of my ability and without judgment.
They also know that I will continue to examine all information, including information from the Valley East facebook group, emails, messages, articles in the main stream media, other social media groups, contacts I make in the community, and also from other sources and reports that I have available to me in order to make decisions that I feel are in the best interests of the 12,000 residents of Ward 5 and ultimately in the best interests of the entire City of Greater Sudbury.
If the majority of people who take the time to vote in the October 2018 election feel that I have met their expectations, then they will cast their vote for me and allow me to continue as their representative for the next four years. If the majority of those voters do not feel I have acted in their best interests, then they will choose someone else to represent them. No matter what, if I am elected to a second term, I will continue to serve as Councillor of Ward 5 with exactly the same passion and commitment as I have during this first term.
Bob Kirwan
