Many of the candidates running for a seat on Tantramar council on May 11th say the town’s new website that was launched last October should include full contact information for members of council and senior management staff.
“I don’t know what happened to the site that doesn’t show our e-mail addresses, but I will say that I personally think that all councillor e-mail addresses should be listed. I also feel that the CAO & Department Directors should be as well,” Councillor Michael Tower wrote in response to an e-mail from Warktimes.
My e-mail to the candidates pointed out that it is difficult to find e-mail addresses for individual members of council and that the names of department heads are no longer included on the new website along with their e-mail addresses as they were on the old one:
New Tantramar website
Old Tantramar website
New website (no contact information)
Old website (with e-mail address)
Council e-mails buried
E-mail addresses for members of council are buried at the bottom of a page on council meetings and it is not possible to e-mail them individually, but only as a group.
Ward 2 candidate Ken Hicks wrote a strongly worded e-mail to Warktimes in which he called for greater transparency from the town:
- “Every councillor should have their specific municipal email address clearly listed on their individual profile page. No resident should be forced to e-mail the entire council if they have a ward specific or private concern.
- “The heads of our municipal departments should be identified by name with direct contact information. Residents deserve to know who is responsible for the services their tax dollars fund and should be able to reach those leads directly when issues arise.
- “Contact information should not be ‘buried’ at the bottom. It should be a primary navigation feature.”
All of the other candidates who responded called for contact information to be listed on the new Tantramar website.
They were Alyssa Greene (Ward 1), Barry Hicks (Ward 2), K.C. Hingley (Ward 5), Tori Weldon (Ward 3), Allison Butcher (Ward 3), Andrew Black (Ward 3), Bruce Phinney (Ward 3).
Mayoralty candidate Debbie Wiggins-Colwell wrote in her e-mail: “Oversight for sure.”
So far, Tantramar CAO Jennifer Borne has not responded to the Warktimes e-mail which asked her whether the absence of contact information on the new website was “accidental oversight or a deliberate change in communications policy.”
To read my e-mail, click here.
Proof that those email accounts are a hot commodity when you’re running for re election.
Hey Bill.. remember those old TV ads for the phone company:
“reach out and touch someone”
There is no reason for us to contact our superiors.
If they have something to tell us, they’ll let us know.
You’re hilarious lady.
May I ask please what this post means? Are you suggesting that members of Council are the voters’ superiors? Or are you referring to senior administrators? I’d like to understand this post please.
Both are the voters’ superiors. Apparently the senior administrators are superior to the elected councillors, too.
I’m talking facts on the ground as they are in Sackville, as opposed to political theory.
The peons know their place, and that place isn’t to comment or ask questions!
Am I the only one who just picks up the land line and phones these people directly from time to time.. emailing is sooo uninspiring.. communication is a two-way street.. I like to chit chat and catch up with people for reals.. that’s my intent phoning. emails are making us behave weirdly.. and often making people verbose and less direct.