Korpan Critiques Nanaimo Daily's Report Card

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Like many fellow Nanaimoites I fell on the floor and couldn't stop laughing at the Dec 7th article entitled  'City council earns middling marks'. 

While its grading scale was hilariously askew, it achieved pretty high grades itself for pure fiction.

As expected, except by the most naive reader, the Councillors elected as part of the truly old boy Daily News candidate slate in the 2011 election 'earned' the highest grades. Big surprise. No doubt polished apples were exchanged. If they didn't actually think readers were fooled by this charade it would be quite funny in a satirical sense. Otherwise, this article is pure farce.

Also expected Councillors from the competing local political party slates fared poorly in the oh so 'objective' eyes of the Daily News. Only Fred Pattje was not savaged due to no one knowing who he works for since disappointing his original masters, the so-called Friends of Plan Nanaimo political party, who disowned him for failing to be 'pure enough'. That is political new-speak for not toeing the party line stringently.

Also expected were the low grades for their hated ideological foes, the Brennanites, the salon-room socialists whose primary aim is to continually reward their left wing puppet masters with exorbitant shares of your tax money. The Daily News party just hates it when anyone can divert budget money from their affiliate causes to someone else's supporters.

The third clique, the Ruttanics, low self-esteem acolytes who bask in the irradiated glow of JR's ego, also 'merited' low marks. Though one wonders why anyone who 'just doesn't do anything' would merit a grade at all.

As one particularly astute observer of local politics wisely said: "I, as always, see the positive. Nobody got an A! :)"

With more effective concealment of their local political party nature, these three groups got their slates of candidates elected, assisted by embarrassingly low voter turnout which, while widely decried, is most beneficial to 'hidden' slate organizers. 

Without the historic council majorities of true independents, the current council cannot maintain consistent decision-making. Votes flip flop from week to week because of the constantly shifting alliances between the three equal size slates. A vote picked off one day switches the next if an opportunity arises. 

Ahhh, one longs for the days when independent councillors actually voted on the merits of an issue and chose what was in the best interests of Nanaimo's greater community good.

Now you have no excuse about voting. Because, now you know, when you don't, the local political parties thrive and good government suffers.

Gary (not that I'm cynical) Korpan