By Emily Stonehouse
It’s not news.
The need for younger individuals to sit in places of power.
And in our community, those places of power look like municipal councils. They look like boards and service clubs and volunteer organizations.
James Matthews has a piece in the paper this week about council’s remuneration during their stint in politics. It’s far from a full-time wage, for what is essentially a full-time job, albeit often in reputation alone.
While a local councillor may only take a few hours out of their days each month to sit around a table and defer back to staff more often than not, their minor celebrity status makes it hard for them to pop into Foodland without hearing a complaint about Minden’s newest pothole on Newcastle Street.
And that’s a hard way to live, I’ll give them that.
I myself once worked for the Township of Minden Hills. It’s not for the faint of heart. I remember one day, I had to head into Haliburton to run some errands there. 26 kilometres from Minden. Approximately a seven song-length drive down the road.
I was stopped not once, but twice in Haliburton. “Shouldn’t you be supporting Minden’s economy?”
When we step into these positions of power, particularly in a small town, there is an onus of responsibility for the preservation of that community. And that’s a lot of weight to carry. Particularly on young shoulders.
Now don’t get me wrong, while I respect and appreciate our current sitting councils – particularly in light of the measly remuneration received (they don’t do it for the money, that’s clear), I strongly encourage young professionals to get involved in any position of power.
And while the financial status is one reason that perhaps only draws retirees to the roles, another one is quite simply the hustle and bustle of life.
When I first moved back to this community, I made an effort to join every board and organization I could. It gave me ties and anchors to a community I felt I needed to reintroduce myself into.
But as time went on, the dust began to settle in my world. The anchor sunk deeper and deeper into a place that quickly became my forever home; marriage, kids, dogs, a house.
And those things that tied me to the community shifted gears. It wasn’t the boards and organizations that gave me purpose, suddenly, it was my family.
And that’s just the season I am in.
Myself, and many other young professionals.
Being in a position of power in a small community needs a series of stars to align; financially stable, additional time, and a confidence that won’t be waned when you’re reamed out at Foodland.
Often, young professionals don’t carry all those stars. And that’s not a dig on them, that’s just the season they are in. And a part of that is quite simply because it’s never been done any other way.
It’s always been the same people on council. Same faces. Same ideas. Same mindsets.
Perhaps it is not exclusively up to people in positions of power to include young professionals. Perhaps it is a mindset that the community as a whole needs to adopt.
Perhaps we make room for people to have flexible schedules. To understand they need to be financially compensated for their work. To support our council members in the community, and not tear them down any time they slip up. Which they will. Especially if they are new to the role.
A shift in mindset for who we need to represent us; a reflection of our patchwork quilt of community. And our community has people in all seasons of life who deserve to be seen.
