A move by the province to update local government elections is overdue, but the challenges are many.

One of the most challenging problems is getting voters interested in taking part in the process. Here in Langley, voter turnout hovers between 20 per cent (the standard in the City) and somewhere between 20 and 30 per cent in the Township. Most people have abdicated any responsibility when it comes to selecting local councillors and trustees.

The issue of electoral finances is also a big challenge — more so in some other communities, but a significant issue here as well, particularly in the Township. For the most part, it is those with something to gain, even in an indirect fashion, who finance election campaigns. These include developers, unions, and in some cases, people who simply want good access to decision-makers.

Most people tune out local politics, except when there is an issue that directly involves or affects them. Thus the controversy over the Mufford overpass has attracted lots of attention from farmers and residents of Milner, but almost no comment at all from the residents of Willoughby. or other urban areas of the Township. Many Willoughby residents are new to the community and unfamiliar with local issues.

When the Township claims that “thousands of people” support the overpass, as it did in a recent submission to the Agricultural Land Commission, what it is really saying is that thousands are completely indifferent to (and likely unaware of) the proposal.

In this, as in many municipal matters, local governments bank on the apathy of most residents. This attention to apathy works well, because it allows municipalities to bring in controversial policies with a minimum of fuss.

The public hearing process, in which development proposals must be subject to public input, comes at a very late stage in the overall cycle of taking an idea for land use change and turning it into reality. Thus councils hardly ever turn down a rezoning proposal, and the fact that proponents often help finance councillors’ campaigns doesn’t hurt, either.

There are exceptions. Township Mayor Rick Green knows all about them, as he sat on Delta council during the marathon public hearing into the Spetifore lands development.

Another such exception occurred when redevelopment of the McDonald Cedar mill site in Fort Langley was first proposed. A plan to use it for other industrial purposes was so hotly contested by residents that the proponents withdrew.

That led to a major consultation process — before any rezoning plans were in place, and ultimately to the current Bedford Landing development on the site. Even changes made to that large and ambitious project have come under fire, most recently at a public meeting in Fort Langley. Developer ParkLane responds to some of the concerns raised in a letter on page 9.

Local governments are accountable, but the election and financing process can be improved. Better consultation earlier in the cycle would also be a big step in the right direction.