North Shore News |. Shore mixture as before? With one noteworthy exception (not altogether unforeseen) Saturday was definitely the Day of the Incumbents in the North Shore council and school board elections. But with an average voter ‘turn-out of only 24.9 per cent, it could hardly be called democracy’s finest hour. Juggling with these two facts, you.can come up with a variety of interesting conclusions about the way we run our affairs. The noteworthy exception, page 6, November 24, 1976 - Perhaps the only thing that can be said with any certainty is: that incumbents are usually. a little more _ familiar to voters than their challengers from outside.--- though even this theory | begins to break down when you consider such well- known and vocal council- baiters as West Van’s_ Gordon Rowntree and North Van’s Ernie Crist. Taking the various candi- dates as a whole, there were | of course, was the defeat of North Vancouver District’s veteran Mayor Ron Andrews in his bid for a sixth term in’ a few interesting twists on well-worn concepts -- but not a single really new and dynamic idea emerged from This Christmas start someone on awhole new life of ‘‘creating’’... office. Mayor Andrews’ the entire campaign. ~ enjoyment for years to come. achievements during b his | . VOTE OF CONFIDENCE? . pottery ki ttn Natligtole ign have mot or Whatever finally influ- | Beautifully made and smell enough to fit in any corner In the house... enced those North Shore voters who bestirred them- selves to visit the polling station, they obviously deci- ded to stick with the names they knew, seasoned by a minimum number of new- comers. Maybe it was a vote of confidence. Or maybe it | was -simply a matter of ; ~=playing safe in the absence of #: more exciting things to 7 — contemplate. , difference. Each one told the local voters what they expec- ted to hear, often’ in remarkably similar words. them he deserves due credit just plug It in. With a box of clay you can start right away to make lovely handmade plates, planters or sculpture pieces. Eesy glazes available. $293 the ‘Robert Brent’ pottery wheel For a more proficion? approach... with this wheel you. wilt be able to throw mugs, bowls, casseroles, etc. $395 spinning, salish weaving & macrame kits %5°°¢o ‘1 * ‘gablelooms *807> *108° %139"° fioor looms %256° *283°° *460"° “All the above LECLERC LOOMS have had a But in politics 10 years is a long, long time to sit in the top chair -- whether in North Vancouver, Victoria or Ot- tawa -- and also it rarely seems to improve the oc- cupant’s methods or man- ners. After five election victories and a decade of power Mayor Andrews may understandably have begun to feel that he had become a law unto himself. = As it is, I’m quite sure we won't go too far wrong with the worthy citizens we've solid walnut ‘Rurlin’ loom ; Our own custom-built loom, 4 harness, INTO THEIR OWN HANDS 3 ; 45”" jack type... come and see; it’s the : _.. .. chosen -- and conce the | price increase of approx. 10% but old prices very. nent in craftsmanship and Presented with a highly In all three municipalities newcomers get into their | preyait while our stock lasts so reserve yours workability. ue ersonable alternative in the the promise was to hold the stride, we may even have | now. $825 . shape of Don Bell . with ine on taxes and, somehow, some pleasantly stimulating youth, business experience and a clean six-year alder- manic record on his side -- the electors of North Van District begged to disagree. They: felt it was time for a change, and for 12 hours on Saturday they took the law into their own hands. Back to the Day of the Incumbents, however. Be- tween the three municipal- ities there was a total of 10 council and school board members. defending their seats, North Van City’s youthful Alderman Terry Grimwood “- were re-elected. and all but one --: drag more money out of Victoria -- while, at the same _time, maintaining the stand- ard of social services and the quality of education. Excel- lent miotherhood stuff, al- though the precise methods of achieving these miracles were never spelled out in any _ great detail. Additionally, in West Van ‘and North Van District, there were promises to Keep the developers in line and to ensure orderly planning. North Van City candidates undertook to ‘clean up the weekly circus act at.city hall, and to fight crime and traffic problems. ~ surprises. They (and those they defeated) deserve our good wishes for their public | spirit alone. '’ Qne can hardly say the same, unfortunately, about the three out-of every four - eligible-North Shore electors who stayed away from the - polls altogether on Saturday. It takes a little of the gloss off a candidate’s victory to reflect that 75 per cent or. more of those whom he or she represents don’t give a damn one way or the other. * “NONE OF THESE...” In Nevada they recently ‘introduced a ballot paper with an extra space after the . Of the 19 outside contend- NO NEW IDEA oe candidates’ names. It says ers for aldermanic and schgol oo ., simply ‘“‘NONE OF THESE trustee office, only six made Some candidates said it. But five of those seats “~ were vacant and had to be. filled by an outsider, any- how. Only in the single case ‘of North Van City was an_ ‘incumbent ousted by a these things better than their. rivals, and/or .aanaged to get more free ‘‘ink’’ in the local papers. Some were more personally persuasive than others on the piaiform, CANDIDATES” and you can put your X there if you feel that way. Its. purpose is to get more people to turn out and express an opinion of some ’ sort, even negative. It can be newcomer. when addressing the minis: rather cruel on.a successful MOTHERHOOD PROMISES P & candidate who wins over his What makes people vote the way they finally do (those ‘who bother to vote at all, that is) remains the most intrig- uing mystery of our democra- tic system. On this occasion it can hardly have been the platforms of the various candidates that made much we who bothered to attend the meetings. ‘Paid advertising offered few clues to the successes and failures. Some of those elected advertised generous- ly, while others got by with a bare minimum. Overall, exactly the same was true of those who didn’t make it. deliver flyers” The North Shore News offers the most efficient and economical delivery: of ‘flyers, brochures and pamphlets on the North Shore. We already cover every dgor on rival, for example, with 5,000 votes -- only to find that 7,000 people have voted ***Noone’’. But even a Nevada-style ballot paper might be health- ier -- and of more guidance to |. winning candidates -- than the chilling voter apathy that reasserted itself again last Saturday. . Handwoven blankets and shawls... . Knitted hats, scarves, socks all of handspun wool... gift ideas. open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. monday thru sat. and tuesday and thursday eve 7 p.m. to9 p.m. 110 W. Esplanade North Vancouver made right here at Handcraft House. many, many other . chargex and mastercharge accepted mak, 988-6912 BELIEVE IT : onNer. ALL THREE , PTISECTIONS _ COMPLETE AS SHOWN -. the North Shore—all we have.to do is Insert your flyer Into our paper, and pay our carriers .a bonus | for each one delivered. pe utetats tere", esate’, 0% oe sass es ery, north shore ne For more Information about a flyer distribution system that cannot be matched, phone 980-0511 Open Thureday and Friday nights ma 0 1470 Pamberton Ave., North Vancouver The Scndnaien Font Poole wee te ae ‘, a Caer Le 2 a ere «nt ”, vemconeb abe leilborielie** Willaeci ehh, amereree se ACM Sat elt felled: het, an