It was unavoidable. At some point, I knew I would start making excuses. With my outside voice.
I've been writing - but not posting about - the upcoming civic election. Three separate and largely complete stories in the can... but in each case I've backed away from actual publication.
My apparent loss for words has prompted several readers and politicians/organizers to ask me, "What's up?" It hasn't been writer's block per se, more like an overactive sense of discretion. Imagine!
In any event, Sunday afternoon at the Canada Games Pool I ran into Michelle Young of the Kamloops News. As our respective families splashed, she teased me about my radio silence. And that's when it happened.
"I'm just too busy to write," I whimpered in response, "and of course, I'm not getting paid!" But as my words fell flat into the hyper-chlorinated pool water, it suddenly occurred to me that my children may have come by their chore-avoidance whine honestly; apparently it's my legacy.
Publishing a blog becomes a chore at times, especially when my inexperience and lack of discipline as a writer/editor becomes an obstacle to, rather than a catalyst of, the expression of opinion and ideas that will stand on their own. Barry the editor and Barry the writer both want to cover the election, but the two can't agree on how to explore the subject.
Truth be told, I've painted myself into a corner. I've said before that I'm not a journalist, but all the same in past years I attended forums, chased the issues, and even joined the occasional campaign; I was well-informed. This year I resolved to let the news - and the politicians who make it - find me. Not a journalist, remember? This time around, I'm a tourist.
The result? I'm experiencing a crisis of political faith. I've never been so bored outta my friggin' skull!
This has been the most plodding municipal election I've ever seen. None of the issues or candidates have really caught my attention, and I'm not sure I know many of them better than I did before the election started. Is it always like this?
Can't be... look at Salmon Arm.
In the Heart of the Shuswap, voters are fully engaged. Over the course of (count 'em) five nights of full-to-capacity public hearings, council voted down the SmartCentres (a.k.a. Wal-Mart) development on the flood plains west of the city. Since then however, pages of backlash in the Lakeshore News suggest that the every candidate for council will in some way be judged by his or her position on the issue.
In Salmon Arm, the SmartCentre has become a wedge issue; regardless of how councilors have voted in the past, this issue could realign and reassign their traditional support. Do we have a wedge issue in Kamloops?
Dale Bass has identified one of the key concerns of the election (and the dominant concern for the North Shore) as "ongoing social issues". But while social issues may be on people's minds, if that was the number one priority one would expect the food bank cupboards might be brimming, rather than bare. Here in Kamloops, we seem to be living a wedge-free existence.
Despite the lack of action, lack of wedge issues, and lack of informed bloggers (or maybe because of those things), I have an election gift for you. It's a special Uninformed 2008 Municipal Election Version of Baker Likes, with a focus on the positive. These are the people who got through to me during the course of this election, and in some cases, over the course of their previous terms on council:
Baker Likes:
- Ken McClelland - I know Ken personally a little, and have always been very impressed with his grasp of issues and willingness to listen. He is unashamedly pro-business, and given this city's history of folding up like a cheap tent when recession winds blow, that's exactly the kind of leadership I'm looking for.
- Peter Milobar - Peter has run a campaign that puts the capital "Buh" in "Boring." His ads in the newspaper led with... sewage? Can you imagine a bigger buzzkill? Maybe not, but it's tough to argue with capable leadership when it focuses on the real (rather than imagined) responsibilities of city hall. Believe me, I've tried.
- Murphy Kennedy - Murphy is a likable candidate who fell into the same trap as some others before him; he tried to create issues where none existed. In retrospect, maybe he should have made it about him and Peter, and turned it into a good old-fashioned likability/popularity contest; I'm pretty sure that approach has worked here before.
- Bill McQuarrie - While it hasn't commanded a lot of media coverage during the election,
I still get the sense that a lot of Kamloops residents have unresolved
feelings about the backyard burning issue.
Given how boring the campaign has been, one wold think that most of the
incumbents will be returned. But if the turnover is significant, this
issue will be the culprit. Mr. McQuarrie doesn't appear to be a one-trick pony however; at the Media Candidate's Forum (I cheated, and watched it on Shaw cable) he also took a chance by reminding the crowd that the provincial and federal governments collect taxes to fund social issues, so the municipality should stick to its knitting; local infrastructure.
- Pat Wallace - I've heard other candidates and politicos complain that the only reason Ms. Wallace is a councilor is that she needs to supplement her pension. So what? Aren't we all motivated by something? She has a tonne of experience, and ends up on the right side of most issues. Pat Wallace rocks!
- John O'Fee - John has impressed a lot of people this last term with his ability to speak graciously about his old federal foe, Betty Hinton. I like his focus on neighbourhoods, which is a more appropriate and right-sized challenge for this municipality than "eliminating homelessness" as per Tina Lange (maybe we should cure cancer while we're at it). And he's been part of the airport solution to boot. I'm always impressed with John's willingness to reason and argue, even when I dislike his vote. He'll get mine.
- Nancy Bepple - I like Nancy's chances to make the short list this time around. She's an interesting combination of green, innovation, and fiscal savvy. Consider a recent entry on her blog, which states,
"Kamloops has among the highest water and sewer rates in the province.
In fact, for every $1 in city taxes, the average homeowner in Kamloops
pays an additional 61 cents for water and sewer.
The fact that Kamloops water and sewer rates are among the highest in
the province is nearly impossible for the average taxpayer to know
[...] Kamloops taxes are compared to other cities, but no equivalent
comparison is done for the water and sewer charges. Transparency, the
hallmark of good accounting practises (sic), is ignored. [...] we as taxpayers should demand equivalent accountability from local levels of government as at the provincial and federal levels."
I've heard lots of people bitch about how the real taxation we pay has been obscured by utilities, but this is the first time I've heard a call for a provincial auditor of BC municpailities. I Like It.
That's it! To share your thoughts about the Kamloops municipal election, Pat Wallace, Nancy Bepple, John O'Fee, Bill McQuarrie, Murphy Kennedy, Ken McClelland, Peter Milobar, or
any other candidate present or past with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops
readers, just click on "Comments"
(below).
Based upon the search strings that visitors have been typing in to Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. (which are then reported to me, the author of this site to which some of those searchers are directed), residents of communities all across Canada are anxious to find out what is happening with their local Convergys call centre.
For those of you who arrived here looking specifically for that information, welcome; despite the lack of a definitive announcement regarding which call centres will be affected, I'll do my best to point you to where you can find more information.
The back story is that Convergys President and CEO David Dougherty recently indicated that the company plans to move at least a portion of its Canadian operations to Asia. In his January 29 conference call with analysts (which is available for you to listen right now, online from the Convergys web site), Dougherty explained that currency pressures (namely, a Canadian dollar that has risen substantially since many of the company's Canadian operations were first opened) are forcing the re-location of some operations to other countries, such as the Philippines.
I provided a little more information the other day in a comment to the original post, but it doesn't appear that many visitors have found it buried in the comments, so here it is again (for the most part) below.
According the Convergys web site, the company also runs Canadian call centres in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Brandon, Winnipeg, St. John's, Digby, Halifax, New Glasgow, Truro, Ottawa, Welland, and Windsor. Canadian operations employ over 12,000 people.
In his call with analysts Mr. Dougherty also mentioned that Convergys had hired a business development officer to round up new Canadian business, a strategy that might help the company insulate itself from a rising loonie which has thus far generated primarily negative impact. In fact, Igor Sarenac was named as Vice President, Business Development for Canada on January 16.
In a side note, it became apparent today that very few (if any) of the people I know in Kamloops are aware of the cloud hanging over Convergys' Canadian operations. Here I thought I had simply overlooked mention of it in the local Kamloops papers, but now it seems that the story simply hasn't been picked up locally.
Considering the number of Canadian communities in which Convergys operates, the story hasn't received much coverage (online , at least) elsewhere either. The first mention of it I've managed to identify in the Canadian press appeared in the Ottawa Citizen's Execs share scary thoughts for scary times on February 13. Then earlier today (Friday) in Welland, ON, the Tribune published Convergys shutting down in Canada?; Company closing unprofitable sites. Since the original Ottawa Citizen's article, a couple of bloggers (here and here, etc.) have made reference to it, but that's about it. Is our economy really so strong that this is not a story?
Wherever you are, if you have heard further reports about - or from - your local call centre, please click "Comments" below to share the news with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers.