DIETER DUDY: For every position a councillor takes rest assured that there are others who have an opposite point of view

In the words of Paul Simon, “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”.

It didn’t take me long to learn all about perspective when I first came on to Kamloops City Council. I began to understand that while I and some of my constituents had a particular view on issues that faced the city, it may well have not been shared by some others within the community.

When you first run for office your perspective is limited to your own personal beliefs, and to some degree the input from those that you associate with. There are those that fervently agree with you and help to create a platform that you then take to the public in the hopes of gaining a seat at the Council table. You are truly committed to your positions and promise to do all you can to bring about the necessary changes that you and your supporters feel are needed.

A successful run indicates that your positions on issues have resonated with enough members of the community to help put you into office. 

Once in office, reality sinks in. Each and every member of Council have their core group of like-minded supporters, but they soon realize that that support doesn’t represent the whole community and your responsibility as a local government official is to work for the community as a whole.

Every issue has its pros and its cons and even these differ depending on who is dealing with the issue. Every member of the public has their own take on policy, vision, budgets, policing, etc., and each and everyone of them look to you to not only listen and consider their opinion but in many cases to agree with them.

We live in a society of diverse cultures, beliefs, opinions, expectations, etc. and they all look to us to make decisions on their behalf, just so long as those decisions mirror their view of the issue.

As a member of Council, you are valued for your independent thinking, and your ability to consider all aspects of issues that face your community -- but you also have individual beliefs and biases that will affect how you deal with certain matters.

You may for instance feel very strongly that your community should never be involved in the retail sales of cannabis, and you likely have a reasonably strong following to support your position. You may believe that fiscal accountability translates into no new taxes, or you may think that it actually means taxing for the future. You may feel that homelessness is not a local issue, but one that needs to be addressed by other levels of government or that the opioid crisis is best dealt with through increased enforcement.

For every position a Councillor takes rest assured that there are others who have an opposite point of view. 

While we can allow our personal biases and beliefs to help us when making decisions on many issues, there is one area where we are obligated by law to have an open mind.

Public hearings are forums where the public can come forward and voice their opinions on property use and zoning. Council is obligated to listen and consider all that is addressed by the public before entering into deliberations. Once the public has had the opportunity to fully voice their take on the issue at hand then, and only then, can each member of council pass judgement on the matter.

Council is effectively put into a quasi judicial position not unlike a judge. 

Regardless of the criteria, in the end each and every member of Council is put into the position of having to render a decision. With nine members on council this can involve much debate as each member will have processed the received information according to their own interpretation.

Once in a while Council can be in full agreement on an item, at other times debate can be quite involved and in the end the result will inevitably have some not agreeing with the outcome. To Council’s credit though, once a decision has been made, it has been made as a Council and will then be defended by Council moving forward.

The public may not be so forgiving though.

In many cases where groups have either been for or against an initiative, policy, compliance issue, etc. and have had Council vote contrary to their position we will be viewed as not having listened to them. Most people, (and understandably so) feel that their perspective is the right perspective and should be the supported one. 

The issue is that Council is faced with many perspectives and must ultimately choose from them to determine which best ensures the public interest is being addressed.

We can not allow ourselves to be swayed by emotion, threats, vilification, etc., but must remain reasoned, rational and considerate when deliberating.  So, while one person’s ceiling is indeed another person’s floor, we have been entrusted in ensuring that the whole building is being taken care of.

ABOUT Kamloops City Councillor Dieter Dudy:
Dieter was born in Germany and raised in Kitimat, BC where he completed his primary and secondary education. He met his wife Deb Kellogg, who grew up in Kamloops, in Victoria and has been married for 34+ years. Dieter has had a diverse work history, having been employed in the industrial sector by Alcan, Crown Zellerbach and a number of smaller operations. Dieter spent a number of years in retail and wholesale management primarily with Woolco. He spent 13 years in the financial services industry, both in sales and management, and lastly with the local Greyhound agency as Operations Manager.

Dieter’s passion for sustainability led him to purchase and develop 10 acres in Westsyde in 1998 where he and Deb have successfully established an organic vegetable farm and business. He has since become involved with agriculture and food security. Dieter has sat on the local farmers’ market, the Sun Peaks Farmers’ Market board (which he and his wife helped to develop), was President of the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, past Director with The Certified Organic Association of BC, as well as the local certifying body.

Dieter was a former Director with the Kamloops Voter’s Society and was one of the original members of the steering committee that founded Gardengate. Dieter was a committee member on the Agricultural Advisory Committee which helped to develop the Kamloops Agricultural Plan. Dieter continues to be passionate about food security, economic diversity and fiscal responsibility.