Orillia’s also-rans should stay engaged

By TEVIAH MORO ORILLIA PACKET AND TIMES October 27 2010
When Pete Bowen failed to land a seat on city council last time around, he didn’t slip into oblivion.
Instead, Bowen made a point of staying engaged with city business by joining committees. Most notably, he’s headed up the Downtown Orillia Management Board (DOMB) as chair.
That helped him gain experience in the field of municipal business and perhaps even maintain his stock with voters.
On Monday night, Bowen was elected as a Ward 2 councillor.
His story is a good one for Orillia’s also-rans. Nine candidates made the cut, but 19 did not.
Some races were closer than others. For example, Colin McKim and Kelly Clune were nipping at the heels of Andrew Hill, who placed second to a runaway Tony Madden in Ward 4.
Gord Launchbury missed a seat in Ward 2 by more than 100 votes, but he doesn’t plan on disengaging himself.
In fact, Launchbury told a reporter just after the results were tabulated on Monday night he wants all those who ran but didn’t win to stay involved through city committees. “And I’ll be there,” he said.
In the most competitive election in recent memory, it was the candidates in aggregate that elevated the level of debate, and ultimately, drove people to the ballot box.
It would be a shame for some of the “losers” to not stay engaged. There is always a smattering of vacancies on various city advisory committees. Their civic minded-ness would go a long way there.
Advisory committees should continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the next council’s decisions. Over the years, such committees as planning advisory, parking, environmental and recreation have made for a vital check and balance.
Their role — perhaps amplified — should dovetail quite nicely with mayor-elect Angelo Orsi’s desire for greater community consultation and engagement.
Indeed, a rookie mayor and so many political neophytes poised to govern our city should rely on all the help they can get.