Do you want to know why people hate politicians?
It’s pretty simple, really. Politicians run on the merits of an issue or package of issues assembled into a platform. Then they get elected by people who care about those same things.
The minute the politician sits down at their seat at the council table, they realize their issues are just a couple of chromosomes floating around in the living thing that is a city.
And when the first budget is developed, the politician learns that adjustments can’t be made to one area of the municipal organism without creating a ripple effect of consequences. That’s because a municipality is a complex network of interwoven issues governed by the competing resources of time, attention, money, and people. Pretty quickly, politicians realize that doing what they promised to do means creating consequences that will upset people.
But it’s inescapable: a politician must make decisions. Decisions mean doing things. Doing things creates consequences. Consequences create upset. That’s why people hate politicians.
I have always thought the best balm for this upset is to educate citizens about the interconnectedness of our issues. I try to bring our toughest decisions and hardest conversations into the light, sharing the facts as I know them, and explaining the complexity of their context as best I can. It is tough work, but I’ve hammered away at it because it’s worth it. Knowing how and why our city works will help our citizens equip themselves to be problem-solvers who can participate in the changes we need to make as a community.
There are three main takeaways I’ve tried my best to communicate.
The first one is simple: we can’t consider a single issue in isolation. Simply put, single-issue politics is a luxury only lobby groups and unions enjoy. Our city is a complex organism, and we must embrace that to properly consider the needs of all citizens. Doing otherwise is not just unproductive, it is unfair.
The second takeaway is a bit more difficult: don’t let yourself be manipulated by love, hate, or fear. Once you recognize a single-issue lobby, I encourage you to examine the rest of the group’s communications through that lens. Apply it, and you will recognize the strategies they are using to advance their goals. Sometimes they are strategies that are smart and effective. Sometimes they’re manipulative in the extreme and downright inconsiderate to the populace. Social media has made the situation even more complex.
Here are two facts you might not know:
• In 2019, Saint John’s crime rate was lower than the Canadian average and lower than the rate in Moncton, Fredericton, Halifax, St. John’s, and P.E.I. Oh, and it also dropped by 3.37 percent. Think about that next time you see the Saint John Police Force’s armored vehicle rolling out into the community with no siren on.
• In 2014 (the most recent year reported by Statistics Canada) there were a grand total of 1,509 fires in the entire province of New Brunswick. Between 2004 and 2019, structure fires in the city dropped by 57 percent, while medical calls (a non-core service) increased. In 2020, with a focused effort, medical calls were reduced, with Ambulance NB taking the lead. Think about that next time you hear complaints about the closure of the Millidgeville Fire Station.
The third takeaway is hard: please don’t let yourself be bullied into accepting a certain point of view. It takes a lot of energy and self-confidence to accomplish this one, and trust me — some days you won’t succeed.
For insisting that our budget will never be sustainable if nearly half of it is dedicated to paying salaries and benefits, I have received threatening notes.
For insisting that we can both value the contributions of workers and insist their productivity be measured, my son has been physically assaulted.
For insisting that we already pay a fair wage for protective services and that to pay more would mean starving taxpayers of the essential municipal services they pay for — taxpayers who, on average, earn less than one-third the salary of a first-class first responder — I have received more than a few messages suggesting that were my family to call 911 for help, emergency services would be withheld.
People ask me why I hate unions. But even in the face of those unacceptable tactics, my answer is always the same.
I don’t hate unions. I don’t hate police officers. I don’t hate firefighters. I love our city.
If we work together, sharing insights on our issues and learning about each other, we will be more capable of compromise. The magic of compromise is that it results in a decision that moves us forward. Without it, we dig into our respective positions and go nowhere.
A collaboration mindset gives us the tools to understand that not getting everything we hoped for isn’t a loss. It means someone else is able to get something too — and that’s a wonderful thing.
You might even call it a win.
Don Darling is the mayor of Saint John.
