The election is over, and we wish the new City Council and Ecan all the best. We need you to succeed.
The worrying thing is that the number of people who felt the need to vote was alarmingly low. The distrust of the Council reflected in the level of people who voted. Why didn’t people take the opportunity to send a message. Or did they? F*k you they said by not voting. You’re irrelevant in my life.
In a poll on why people had not voted in local body elections the first 4 reasons were:
- The lack of information on candidates.
- Lack of knowledge on the qualities of those standing.
- Lack of understanding on the role of local government.
- A feeling that their vote would not make a difference.
The real tragedy is that local government is fundamental to all our lives.
This week we are gathering again at Smash Palace after our hiatus while focusing on local government elections. It is a chance to gather in person again, to look at our model, and what we want to achieve.
We will also have Vivian Hutchinson with us, from Taranaki, with us on Tuesday evening. Vivian has written a book called “How communities awaken” with a sub-title of “some conversations for active citizens”. This book is a fantastic guide for community activism and engagement. Here is a link to a summary of the book which can be read in its entirety on line https://inspiringcommunities.org.nz/ic_story/how-communities-awaken/. After our conversations Vivian will give us a few thoughts on what might work in Christchurch.
We won’t be meeting each week, but this week will start something new. What we do next will be in the hands of those who attend.
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