Becoming a politician has made me … less cynical ~ Huntsville councillor Jonathan Wiebe

This is the tenth in a 2018 series of commentaries from municipal politicians which allows them to tell you, in their own words, what is important to them, what bugs them and what makes them tick. Each week will feature a member of either the Huntsville or Lake of Bays Council. As we enter an election year, this is your opportunity to get a better picture of your elected politicians. This week: Huntsville councillor Jonathan Wiebe.

I’ve always followed politics with great interest. My earliest memory of the political process was when I was no more than nine or ten years old and my parents had me volunteering for the local riding office, putting up signs around the area for our local candidate for MP. Those being different times, of course, I was out riding around God’s green earth with complete strangers holding wooden stakes “nice and steady” while they were driven into the ground with a sledgehammer. I guess I caught the bug because I ran for school council the following year in my middle school and then again for class president in high school.

I remember attending the all-candidate debates when they were held at the local community centre and that finally being eligible to vote was such a grown-up thrill. No matter the election, the energy of a political campaign — ”election war rooms”, “getting in the trenches” or “gloves-off campaigning” — all sound incredibly violent and will no doubt teach you to hate your political opponents. The attack ads, the mudslinging, the knock-out punches during debates — I used to love watching it up close.

But nothing would compare to seeing my name on a ballot. All the hard work campaigning followed by the humbling honour of being successful in the last municipal election is something that, even if I’m unable to repeat, I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

The campaign in 2014 was quite cordial and polite. None of the low blows or “mudslinging” that I expected from the political process took place, at least not in public. I was aware though that opposing factions can form very easily and those default positions can be hard to overcome. With all that I knew of politics at all levels, the cynic in me figured it was just a matter of time before battle lines would be drawn around our council table and the typical “us vs. them” political mantra would find its way into our discourse. Although we as a group took some time to find our footing (what with five new faces at the table) that ugly, hyper-partisan side of politics did not take hold. Those rotten seeds did not root.

That’s not to say we don’t disagree. Whether it’s at Planning Committee, General Committee or even at Council, you’ll see one council member support another with verve and vigour on one resolution or amendment and then apply that same energy and thrust in polar opposition on the next. Receiving firm disagreement from your fellow council members, people you know, like and respect, in such a public way can be incredibly bruising. But those disagreements are done politely and professionally and they do not carry over into regular life.

I could point out countless examples of the ugly side of partisan politics in this day and age… if you use social media, you’ll discover an endless bounty of vitriol. Yes, government is a slow moving beast that’s less than nimble and yes there are always so many factors and perspectives to consider when making decisions. You’ll never make everyone happy, but if an elected, non-partisan council can REMAIN non-partisan during their term, that is something worth mentioning. It’s something to be proud of because it’s the something that has made me, much to my surprise, less cynical about politics.

To read more in this 2018 series of commentaries from municipal politicians, click here.

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Jonathan Wiebe currently sits on Huntsville town council representing Chaffey Ward. He grew up in Northern Alberta but has called Huntsville home for over 11 years. He works as a carpenter, volunteers throughout the area and encourages his constituents to contact him directly. [email protected]