8 - Sunday, May 10, 1992 - North Shore News

INSIGHTS
On doing less
for 5.5% more

PERHAPS I'M just being cynical, but I’ve never realiy
trusted the motives of politicians. | figure anyone who
mouths phrases like, ‘‘I am running for dog-catcher
because } am « completely selfiess person devoted to my

civic duties,’* is either:

A. a dog-hater.

B. terminally stupid.

C. hiding something (probably a
kick-back from Purina).

This perception i have of our
public leaders extends ail the way
back to my elementary school
days when I ran for the coveted
position of crosswalk monitor.
Mostly these duties are given to
truly responsible aduits now, but
in my day a crosswalk monitor
was a dwarf version of Mussolini.

They had incredible power, and
their ranks were rife with bribery
and corruption. I wanted to be
one.

Well, [ lost. The job was snap-
ped up by a fellow who promised
on his election platform to bring a
sense of honor back to the profes-
sion.

Since then I’ve never believed
anything any politician promises
until two weeks after that promise
has been fulfilled. Largely the pol-
icy has been well-founded.

Take Mulroney for instance. |
seem to recall him ranting about
the deficit accumulated during the
Trudeau years.

Well, here we are years later,
still lurking in the corner wonder-
ing when that huge human with
the ball-pen hammer will come
to collect.

Even Harcourt who had such a
distaste for the Socred patronage
appcintments seerns suddenly to
embrace the notion of having a
few thousand of your own cronies
pushing the powerful pieces of
paper around the government
desks.

This political schizophrenia even
extends to the municipal arena.
You don't notice it as much,
because, let’s face it, most people
know as much about their local
council members as they do the
sex life of a dung beetle.

1 asked a random sample of
people to give me the name of
North Van's district raayor. The
nearest correct answer was Mark
Sager. At least he lives on this
continent.

Nevertheless, for those of you
who don’t know, we do have local
politicians responsible for local
issues.

Paul
Hughes

HUGHES’ VIEWS

The district had to learn to do
more with less, she added.

Bravo.

That’s what we like to see. A
council member concerned about
the economy.

It may be appropriate to point
out, she was the only member to
oppose the plan.

This is all very laudable, or at
least it would be, if another News
story on the same page didn’t
reveal the Great Gadsby fighting
equally forcefully for a 5.5%
raise in aldermanic salaries.

Somehow, in a column inch or
two, did the recession go away, or
what?

It seems that a 7% budget in-
crease used to provide such
frivolous baubles as an increase in
RCMP officers is an ‘‘uncons-
cionable’’ waste of taxpayers’
money. However, plopping an
additional 5.5% booty into the
Gadsby account is ‘“‘probably jus-
tifiable.”’

I know I feel better for it.

To give Ald. Gadsby credit, she
does bring up a good point. She
doesn't like to feel guilty for
justifying hikes to the aldermanic
salary.

In the same article, she explains
that the lifestyle required of an
alderman cost her business more
than she makes.

Well, I, for one, would like to
help Gadsby out. Assuming these
business losses are actual, and not
some sort of wimpy political
posturing, surely Gadsby can write

Fj SATURN
SC SPORT COUPE

BUY or LEASE WITH
INCREDIBLE LOW PAYMENTS

15,450

SSE PEER RE Hate

HATCHBACK

ve

“Wa SATURN
SL 4 DR SEDAN

QOTSL
1991 TROOPER LS

Le Tiere Beane ASS Py

A PERFECT CAR FOR
“S14 PRICED AT ONLY

OS

suz2zu.

And, you'll be glad to know,
they are just as apt to do the oc-
casional Chinese tea-cup dance
among the dicey areas as their
more press-covered counterparts.

them off as incurred expenses.
No one, after all, should be ex-

pected to suffer financially for

community service. 4 Wheel
Perhaps she can even find ways Drive

powerlocks,
power windows,

$18,995

Ald. Joan Gadsby is a case in
point. She recently voted against
the 1992 operating budget of the
North Vancouver District.

In a recent News story, she was
quoted as saying the budget was
*‘not dealing with the realities of
the recession.’’

to write off all $19,422 of her new
salary. Maybe then she’ll consider
less of an increase appropriate, or
possibly even take a voluntary cut
... in the interest of doing more
for less, of course.

On the other hand, maybe not.
s

Counterattacks scheduled

NORTH Vancouver’s
Sutherland Secondary
School will host a series of
speakers from May I1 to 15
as part of its CounterAttack
week.

The series schedule:

@ Monday, May 11: Vancouver
regional coroner Larry Campbell
will address Grade 11 and 12 stu-
dents on the issue of road safety
from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.;

@ Tuesday, May 12: Dan Culver
will address Grade 8 and 9 stu-

dents on the issues of positive
risk-taking and image-building
from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.;

@ Wednesday, May 13: a battle
of the bands at the Centennial
Theatre in North Vancouver from
7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.;

@ Thursday, May 14: former
Washington state trooper Mike
Buckingham will address Grade 10
Students on the driving issues at
12:30 p.m.3

@ Friday, May 15: ‘‘Champions"’
for Grades 8 to 12 will address the
issues of positive choices and be-
ing substance-free at [0:30 a.m.

Air-conditioning, P/W, P/locks
PAUS PREIGHT $925.00

PLUS PREISHT $2739.00