Editorial
Council must now work together

The day-to-day municipal affairs of King Township were Monday night placed in the hands of seven worthy individuals.

How do we know these people are worthy? The voters told us so.

These people represent varying positions on certain issues, and that reality holds within it the prospect of good, serious and spirited debate in the days to come, to the great benefit of all in King. But over the havoc of political partisanism, these people also have a duty to their constituents (and that means all their constituents, not just those who voted for them) to work together for the collective good of this municipality.

We certainly don't call on any elected official to abandon the principles that they put forth to the electorate. We encourage them to stand by what they believe in, but on behalf of the electorate, we insist that they maintain respect for each other.

In the heat of the fiercest debate, each person at that council table must remember that the colleague they are angrily arguing with is a duly elected mayor or councillor, with a mandate from the ballot box, and a person who cares about their community with as much passion as they themselves possess. People who are indifferent about the community seldom stand for office, and the very few who do seldom get elected.

We are not naive enough to think that what we call for is going to materialize just like that. Electoral success requires a certain amount of partisanism, along with a certain amount of stubbornness to such partisan positions. As well, anyone familiar with the political situation in King knows there are members of the public who have adopted positions and will cling to them come what may. And if the arguments to the contrary become too convincing, they will simply plug their ears.

But we are well aware that those who refuse to listen are also those who chose not to put their names forward for election. A mandate from the voters carries with it higher standards of behaviour, but those standards are not excessively demanding.

When we get down to the basics, all we call upon these seven politicians to do is act like the adults they are. It is true that one of the great disadvantages of being an adult is you're occasionally expected to behave like one. When it comes to holding elected office, that expectation is also something one is paid to meet.

We congratulated the members of the next King Township council on their elections. And we call upon each and every one of them to act worthy of the trust that has been reposed with them.

Each and every one of their constituents richly deserves at least that.