A6-: Wednesday, November 17, 1982*% North Shore News SE ane ME editorial page Yardsticks In municipal elections the most important choice confronting voters is that of mayor. As chairman of council, he or she has the same rights as other council members. But, in addition, the mayor has an executive role as the only council member empowered to ACT — as distinct from merely advising and voting on bylaws. The desirability of relevant experience and balanced judgement in a community’s chief magistrate is, therefore, self-evident. In North Van District, three of the four mayoral candidates have council backgrounds of varying types. One served on District council in the 1960s but has held no civic office for a good many years. One was a North Van City alderman in the latter 1970s and is still a City resident. The third, __.Aliderman Marilyn Baker, a Z resident, is a third-term council member whose administrative and _ leadership capabilities are reflected by the fact that she has topped the poll cach time she has ran. Im West Vancouver, Derrick Humphreys, the incumbent two-term mayor with a solid record of achievement, is challenged by two worthy citizens have never yet held elected civic office of any kind. Given the complexities of local govern- ment today, we feel a recent apprenticeship as an alderman in the same municipality is essential before seeking the mayor’s chair. The News has not always agreed with Baker and Humphreys, and will likely disagree with them on occasions in the future. But we suggest that, measured by the obvious yardsticks, they are by far the best qualified candidates to guide North Van District and West Van, respectively, through the next two difficult years. Hold it! Wait one _ cotton-pickin’ minute, you bureaucrats threatening to can the Royal Hudson because it loses a picayune $600,000 a year! Have you figured -out how many hundreds of thousands of visitors’ bucks our unique tourist attraction brings to the Lower Mainland — not least to the North Shore? Sure, times are tough. But don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. VReR VOOCE OF MONTH Alem WHET VANCOUVER sunday news north shore news 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, 8.C V7M 2H4 ‘ Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Circutation 9860-0511 986-6222 085-2131 986-1337 Publisher Peter Speck Associate Publisher Robert Graham Editor-in-chief Noel Wright Advertising Director Tim Francis Personne! Director Mre Berni Hithard Circulation Director Brian A Ellis Office Manager Photography Manager Donna Grandy Terry Peters North Shore News, founded in 19690 as an independent Community Newspaper and qualitied under Schedule fl Part tl Paragraph tt of the Excise Tax Act ta published each Wednesday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 36856 Entire contents - 9962 North Shore Free Prese Lid. All rights reserved Subscriptions. North and West Vancouver $26 per year Mathng rates available on request No responsibility accepted tor unsobaited maternal ine tuding Manuscripts and pictures which should be acCompanied by a stamped addressed envelope VERIFIED CIRCULATION 64,543 Wednesday, 54.093 Sunday THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE MAINSTREAM CANADA By ROGER W. WORTH For Canada’s already hard pressed smaller firms, Ot- tawa’s decision to increase unemployment insurance premium'’s by about 40 percent carries not only a direct cost, but may affect the perennially positive attitude of the entrepreneurs who are so important in the job creation process. NOW, NOW, YOUVE GOT SOP LISTENING 0 THESE RUMORS ABOUT THE U.I.C FUND RUNNING OUT... AS IONG: AS YOu'RE HERE WE CAN FIND YOu - prising At a time when more than 1.5 million Canadians are unemployed, this is bad news indeed. The simple question is asked: will small companies lay off workers because employers have to pay as much a $4 per week more for each employee they have on staff? As in all things simplistic, the simple answer is no. Yet there is a very real disin- centive to add staff, and it’s that much easier to justify layoffs. Mostly it’s a matter of attitude. The problem, of course? is that many smaller firms are already on the fringe, or actually losing money. So, under the cir- cumstances, it isn’t sur- that the wunem- ployment insurance rate increase will play a minor part in the entrepreneurs’ ' decision to add or subtract jobs. The cost is significant. Companies now paying the top rate of more than $385 per week in insurable em- ployee earnings, will now pay $12.40 per week in unemployment premiums for each worker, up from $8.09. Where employees earn less, the unemployment premium is obviously lower. Employees will also be forced to pay premiums that are 40 percent higher. How U.I. hikes really hurt us But it is the attitudes of entrepreneurs, managers and proprietors of smaller firms that really count. If, as has been forecast, the economy turns around, it is these people who will create the jobs we so badly need. Only a year ago, for example, the smaller companies were still creating jobs, even while the multinationals and major companies were pruning the employment rosters. The same thing may happen if the economy reverses. A _ surprisingly resilient small business community will be first to take advantage of the ~ dealmg with reduced profits situation, -creating- jobs —as- --. expand their operations. What’s important is that the positive atitude that exists among this group of risk-taking entrepreneurs is not stifled. There is no question the unemployment insurance rate increase has deflated a lot of the en- thusiasm that existed, and probably cost us a lot of jobs. Perhaps it’s time the bureaucrats in the nation’s capital started to understand that attitudes matter. At some point, when taxes and payments to government become too-high, there is less incentive to really succeed in business. (CFIB Feature Service) Election eve smorgasbord NOURISHING morsels to help keep up the strength of North Shore voters -during the last confusing 60 hours until the polls open at 8 a.m. Saturday ... TUBE-GAZERS please note a change in the TV can- didates meetings from the information supplied for last weekend’s Sunday News. North Van District alder- manic hopefuls performed last night (Tuesday). Tonight -- Wednesday, Nov. 17 -- you'll be regaled on Com- munity TV 10 with District school board candidates at 7 p.m., followed by mayoral contestants at 8:30. Tomorrow (Thursday. Nov. 18), again starting at 7:00 p.m.. tune in to the video battle of West Van mayoral, aldermanic§ and school board gladiators OH BROTHER! Confusion reigns among numerous West Van voters, we learn. over the brothers Fleming. Numerous Tiddlycove residents, it seems, are contacting popular Don Fleming of West Van Furniture lo express interest in his candidature for mayor The only snag is that Don isn't running for mayor or anything clse He's quite busy cnough organizing his new Ambleside furniture stores The fellow who's challenging Mayor Derrick Humphreys is Don's brother BERT Fleming -- and = the interesting Fleming family item ts that: Don happens to be rooting hard for Hum phreys. with Mayor Derrick's poster displayed in his store. So the last thing Don wants is to be defeated in mistake for Bert. THE THREE R's don't unduly worry North Van District candidates endorsed by the Taxpayers Association for Good Government. TAGG's four- page election “newspaper”. crammed with small print, contains at least 21 spelling and grammatical boobs -- some, presumably, by the typesetters, others clearly by the authors. Gems include “Where To Vote -- Arbyle School” ... “Council can not expect residence to tighten their belts” and “Our artirial network of roads”. Bill Vander Zalm please note . MEANWHILE, North Van's 2,500 Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownics and their parents are mad as hell at North Van school board which is threatening to case its cash flow problems to the modest tune of $20,000 or so by charging the youngsters for cvening use of the schools where they meet to practise their good deeds Candidates) on record as opposing the charges should be able to pick up a tidy few focus by Noel Wright votes -- regardless of their spelling ability FURK-ED TONGUE: Provincial politics have slithered out of the bushes into the West Van ciection garden with a letter to the faithful from the West Van Socred Constituency Association, signed by president Margot Furk and endorsing candidates Tom Reid and Jim Mercier for council, Darrell) Frith for school board, Item One. the Socred rule book says no provincial political — in- terference in municipal elections Rem Two Margot Furk is a West Van school trustee. And A.G. Allan Williams, West Van's MLA, calls it “a serious im- propriety.” MARK WITH ‘X’: North Van mayoral candidate Terry Grimwood is reported flooding District boulevards and lawns with up to 500 posters -- a hefty bill to pay out of your own pocket ... No, there’s nothing illegal. dear reader, about NoVVA school trustee Verna Smelovsky running = for District alderman while she still plans to serve a further year on school board -- if you have a big appetite, grab all the buns within reach ... The traditional West Van Electors Association board of candidates on the Lions Gate Bridge ramp has an embarrassingly close neighbor this year -- a rival board endorsing WVEA “rejects’’ erected by disillusioned = ¢x-WVEA-er Kyle Gardiner and fricnds who figured the WVEA was getting too big for its boots.. BASIC MATH: If Saturday's voter turnout remains as low as its usual maximum of about 35%, and if average winners collect as much as half the votes, they'll hold office with the approval of less than 18% of the populace That's called getting the government you deserve. Don't you deserve better? See you at the — polling station!