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Vol. 3 Edition 15
Power of the people
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Carolinian reclamation
Online petition launched on C-K ward boundaries
By Jim Blake jim@chathamvoice.com
governance and representation by population. During the council session that followed, Chatham Coun. Derek Robertson entered a motion asking for a third-party review of the subject. It was defeated along geographic lines, with Chatham council members voting for the motion and all outside Chatham voting against it. O’Brien said the petition is a sign of activism borne of frustration, but isn’t meant to be confrontational. “I’m frustrated because council isn’t even interested in looking at the subject,” she said. “I don’t think council members understand how strongly members of the public feel about this so we’re going to give the public a chance to let them know.” The former city of Chatham currently has 43% of the municipality’s population and 35% of the voting power on council. “Representation by population is a foundation of all government – except we don’t believe it applies to Chatham-Kent,” she said.
Chatham-Kent councillors may be forced to take a second look at local government thanks to a citizen’s petition launched this week. Lynn O’Brien, who ran unsuccessfully for a Chatham council seat last year, has launched the petition on change. org calling for a decrease in the number of wards to 10 from six. The new system would have four rural wards (North East Kent, South East Kent, North West Kent, South West Kent) a Wallaceburg ward, and five wards in Chatham. At its April 20 meeting, council opted not to investigate changing the makeup of local government minutes after hearing a presentation on the subject from Western University professor Andrew Sancton. “Ward Boundaries – Representation by Population” was the topic of first TV show of the CK Community Development Forum held just prior to the council meeting. Bruce Corcoran/The Chatham Voice Sanction gave a presentaFrom left, Chatham-Kent Secondary School students Rebekah Thompson, Chloe Aitken-Botting and Abby Shaw plant a tion on the history of the tree on municipal property near the Chatham Water Treatment Plant on Earth Day. See story on page 4. Continued on page 4 municipality, along with Run Date: Mar 26, 2015 Chatham Voice (10.333" x 2.143") Full Colour EOR#7017
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