With the days of summer upon us in Cape Breton, the municipal election on October 15th will sneak up on us quickly. And without an opposing mayoral candidate to Cecil Clarke yet, our next council will be very important in keeping him in check.

Note well: Cape Breton doesn't have 4 years at a time to throw away

Let's talk about what we need from our next council members. And while we're at it, we'll do it in plain speak.

Sometimes trying to understand the mumbo jumbo that comes out of the mouths of the CBRM's important-folks is about as easy as slicing off a piece of frozen Maple Leaf bologna with a butter knife. It's a hard go.

So here are thirteen different things our next district councillors can start promising. After all, we don't want Rob Calabrese to bring us 1,000 Trump Bumpers only to have them turn the U-Haul right back around.

#1 Vote "No" Sometimes

Someone needs to let council know that they weren't elected as a cheering committee for Cecil Clarke. Their job is to make wise decisions for the betterment of their districts and the CBRM as a whole. If you're asleep at your desk, or think that Cecil Clarke should get his own street named after him before Sidney Crosby,  you're doing it wrong.

The current group made it sound like only Mae Rowe, Ray Paruch, and Eldon MacDonald were paying attention. Listen and discuss. Decide for yourself. Take more time if needed. But don't just agree because Mayor Clarke has a great haircut and shiny medals.

#2 Don't Vote Without Being Prepared

The old timers would give their kids the strap if they acted so foolishly. The old timers on the current council seem to have forgotten those stinging lessons. Eldon MacDonald described to council how he was given the Archibald's Wharf sale agreement the night before having to vote on it. He struggled to stay awake all night trying to get through it - and wasn't able to do so.

And yet council went ahead and approved it anyway. Eldon didn't. If you don't know how to ask for an extension on your homework, let's bring in the CBRM Youth Council to give you a one line issue paper: Just ask.

#3 Don't Collect Travel Expenses You Don't Have

Travel expenses are for... well... umm... travel expenses. Each of the current councillors are on the back end of another four year run, and this wasn't addressed. How many of you are collecting cheques for travel that you haven't done?

In this election, commit to filing all your actual expenses. If you don't have any, you don't get compensated for it. Fair enough?

#4 Don't Burn Down Your District in the Media

If you want to give constructive feedback, you should. But you should remember what your role is and who you represent. You can use Councillor Kevin Saccary as an example. Rather than communicating his concerns about the Synergy Louisbourg project, he decided on two occasions to burn them down in the Cape Breton Post. Let me tell you about it here, here, and here.

And it was probably a violation of CBRM ethics. If you want the job of council member, commit to doing it professionally. If all you want to do is write letters to the editor to go after groups in your community, you don't have to run for council to do that.

#5 Focus on Your Own District

Saccary lends us another example here. Let's be clear. Being a councillor (if you're going to do it right) isn't an easy job. You're going to spend a lot of time staying up to date on local issues, participating in council duties, and communicating with your district's community members.

So don't become a board of director's junkie. Limit your commitments to stuff that directly relates to your own community.

So why is a councillor whose district runs from Caledonia to Louisbourg sitting on the Port of Sydney Development Corporation? FYI - There will be no retreats. Get out of there and focus on your own job and the people of your own district.

#6 Communicate with "Gadgets"

That doesn't mean to talk to your TV remote control. However, if you can't figure out how to use an iPhone or smartphone to post to Facebook or goCapeBreton, then you lack the most basic of skills to be a councillor. And it's not that you don't know how. It's that you weren't resourceful enough to ask the CBRM youth council to give you a 15-minute presentation on how to do so.

Communicating in public keeps people informed. It shows that you are active and keeps people in-the-know about the issues you are working on. And it makes you accountable for the information you put out there. Bonus points to Councillor Eldon MacDonald who uses Facebook to update members of his district.

#7 Don't Disrespect Your Community

Mayor Clarke gave a speech where he referred to those critical of him as those in the "cheap seats". Do you think that's a fair characterization of members of your community? If you do, then you have a lot of learn about objectivity.

There will, of course, be people who are unreasonable and give you a hard time. You don't have to entertain foul or abusive behavior. But you certainly had better be prepared for criticism. You represent the concerns of the people of your district and the CBRM at large. And you can't represent those concerns if you aren't listening or are disrespecting those that bring them forward.

Take a quick peek at the MoneySense rankings. There are lots of reasons for people to raise concerns about the CBRM's report card. They probably aren't going to get that new bike this year.

#8 Don't Quit on Us

Cecil Clarke really took this rule to heart. Instead of following through on his campaign commitment to resign if he didn't do a good job, he ignored it and gave himself a round of applause. In October, he'll find out how many of you are clapping along with him.

On the other extreme we have former councillor Darren Bruckschwaiger. He actually quit and was rumored to have travelled to work out West. There's nothing wrong with making decisions for your family. But you, as a voter, have to keep that in mind now that he's back in town and wants his (aka Mr. Flynn's) job back. 

If you're going to run for councillor, you need to be committed to putting in the entire four years of work. You can take the example from some of the other councillors. Rumor has it a few were still on council back when the French first lost the Fortress of Louisbourg. I'm kidding.

But commit. Don't quit.

#9 Insist on Transparency

It seems the mayor racked up some records during his time in office. One of them was secrecy. He liked to hold what is called in camera meetings. This, by the way, means private and not for the eyes of the public. It might be better called no camera meetings. Because we don't get to see or hear what happens inside.

So you have to decide if you'll be a councillor that thinks it's ok to spend so much time keeping things private from the citizens of the CBRM... or if it's ok for the mayor to keep things like the MacNeil Report (spoiler: critical of the container port project) hidden from council for about 7 months.

If you are ok with those things, please don't run for council. Bruckschwaiger may be able to refer you to a recruiter in Alberta if you're looking for work.

#10 Don't Let Rules Get Ignored

It isn't your job to be easygoing, or to look away for a few minutes when your friends are up to no good. You'll be one of just a handful of people that will be responsible for making decisions for the entire Cape Breton Regional Municipality. We're in challenging times. Those decisions will have an impact on the entire future of our island.

When Saccary tells you that the accounting between the Port of Sydney Development Corporation and the CBRM is just like a husband and wife dipping into each other's bank account, you have to reject that. When the same Port Corp has articles that say no elected officials are to be on its board, then you insist that is obeyed. If you're on it, you get off it. And you bring your colleagues with you. And if your Economic Development officer says that there is a conflict of interest in a deal the mayor is pushing, you don't sit back and watch while his job is taken away from him - something which is apparently the basis for a legal complaint filed by John Whalley.

#11 Don't Sell the Farm

If a candidate announces to oppose Cecil Clarke, and Clarke loses, there will be very good reason. Archibald's Wharf alone could be enough to seal his fate and send him to the soup lines down at the Unemployment office.

When public backlash came against that deal, it was ignored. Mayor Clarke could not have done it without councillors. They did not fight for the public. They got a copy of the deal at last minute. And then voted for it anyway.

Do a little searching for yourself. Find out how much the structures on the Archibald's Wharf green space cost to build. Take a look at what is now considered the North Sydney boardwalk. And check the terms of the CME contract to see if they met their investment commitments in time to avoid a CBRM buy-back clause from being possible.

If you're going to sell CBRM assets, make sure you are selling them at fair market value. And make sure that you're listening to the voice of the people in those communities before handing them over to private corporate folks.

#12 Don't Let the CBRM Act Like a Bank

You might be as pleased with the McKeil tugboat docked in the Sydney harbour as the Harbour Port Development Partners (or "Sydney Harbour Investment Partners" as they are called at workhorsecreative.com). But we set a very bad precedent with that deal. And perhaps we'll hear more details about it soon - as the John Whalley lawsuit gets underway.

Instead of a successful company buying or leasing land from another successful company, CBRM got in the middle. Mayor Clarke decided he wanted to take out a $1.2 million dollar loan to buy that land from a local company. Then we would lease it back to another company. We carry interest on that loan. And we lose the tax potential by buying it ourselves.

Now there are lots of things they will tell you about how that deal made sense. But with the level of debt and the things the CBRM can't afford, right down to the potholes, is a very strong indicator that we don't need our mayor playing banker.

#13 Try Out Leadership

You matter. You have the power to influence. Your community needs you. If you don't understand or embrace these things, please don't run for council. There are others more qualified than you who can take on the commitment.

If we measure the health of Cape Breton only by our population, we are in big trouble. But there is a large number of factors working against us. So you can't just sign up to be a seat filler. You need to pay attention. You have to dig into the details. You have to be willing to share your concerns and bring forward your own ideas.

Mayor Clarke struggles to find an answer to "If not the port, then what?". Not having an immediate answer isn't a problem. It's a hard question. Very hard. The problem is not having the mindset to keep seeking other alternatives whatever they may end up being.

Forget everything you think you know about what defines Cape Breton. The reality is: If you're still here, you haven't given up. But there may be a time when either you or your family or your friends have to do so. If you want to play a key role in preventing that from happening for everyone still in our community, you can't just be a follower.  You have to show a willingness to show some leadership abilities.

If you don't think you have it in you, please stand aside and let someone else who does represent your district instead.

Why don't we make it an even 15?

What are some other important commitments you need from your district councillor? And if you are a candidate holding the spot now or ready to challenge, what else can you offer?

The Ides of October will be here soon. Make no mistake. The outcome is vital to us all.

Video Source