Oro-Medonte candidates right to ignore group’s survey

Letter to the Orillia Packet and Times October 12 2010
Re: “Oro-Medonte deputy mayor defends stance on AWARE,” Ralph Hough, letter to the editor, Oct. 6
Like most candidates in Oro-Medonte, Ralph Hough ignored AWARE’s efforts. Outraged that a majority of candidates marginalized AWARE by disregarding her group, Ann Truyens whined “What bothered us the most is not that they didn’t want to partake in our process, but that there was total silence. They didn’t even respond.”
Harry Hughes, Oro-Medonte’s mayor by acclamation, “has a master’s degree in measurements and evaluation — a field that includes conducting surveys.” He pointed out several pitfalls in the AWARE process: interviews held behind closed doors by undisclosed interviewers without any guarantee that responses would be accurately reported and not taken out of context. AWARE’s website, Hughes said, contains “more opinion than facts.”
Private agenda groups like AWARE are an anathema to the democratic process. These cliques are little more than bully pulpits demanding subservience by candidates to the group’s agenda. Truyens claims her group is unbiased. Not true. According to its own website, AWARE uses subjective assessments — its members score candidates’ responses against AWARE’s agenda.
Voters do not need groups like AWARE to make informed choices. As Ralph Hough pointed out “The Oro-Medonte Chamber of Commerce is holding five all-candidates meetings prior to the election. These are being held in an open forum with ample opportunity for members of the public to ask each candidate questions. What could be more ‘open, transparent and unbiased’ than this process?”
Candidates and voters alike should ignore groups like AWARE. Candidates should focus on their own platforms. Voters should vote for the candidates whose platforms make the most sense. Only then will we have governments elected by and accountable to the people, instead of cabals like AWARE.
Douglas H. Brown, Orillia