To the victor go the spoils, cheered New York Senator William Marcy on news of the victory of Andrew Jackson to the White House in 1828. Marcy wasn鈥檛 kidding 鈥� after Jackson assumed power, close to 10 per cent of government officials were fired and replaced with candidates loyal to the new president.
Despite Marcy鈥檚 zeal, there鈥檚 something to be said for magnanimity in victory, a point particularly true in B.C., where a single political formation (in one incarnation or another) has governed the province for nearly five of the past six decades. The B.C. Liberal party will tack on four more years to this streak.
Because of this lopsided advantage, the real test facing Premier Christy Clark shouldn鈥檛 be over how she divvies up the goodies, but instead how she rises above that time-honoured practice to exhibit the political leadership required for the greater good of the province.
That would be the same leadership Clark showed when she established the office of the auditor general for local government in the face of considerable reticence from some of those same local governments.
On Friday, Clark will present her new cabinet. As is customary, ministers will receive their marching orders.
There will be the obvious to-do tasks: liquefied natural-gas plants, 10-year labour deals with the B.C. Teachers鈥� Federation and replacing the Massey Tunnel. But in the wake of the election, Clark is also in a position to cherry-pick some of the best ideas from other parties, and cherry-pick she should.
According to an Ipsos Reid exit poll of 1,400 British Columbians, the top issue influencing voters was open and honest government. On this issue, voters chose the B.C. New Democratic Party by a 10聽per cent margin (47 to 37 per cent).
The fourth issue was trust in a particular leader or party. The Liberals lost those voters by five per cent.
It鈥檚 easy for political operatives to sweep such inconvenient truths under the rug when they鈥檝e just pulled off a miracle, but B.C. Liberals do need to take note: They鈥檝e lost the trust of a significant block of voters.
One of the factors contributing to that distrust is a lack of transparency and accountability in government, which is why it鈥檚 never too late to say 鈥淲e get it鈥� 鈥� particularly on those issues that go to the heart of how government functions and how our democratic system operates.
Fixing B.C.鈥檚 democratic deficit starts with restoring the true role of MLAs. British Columbians need to know they have a voice in Victoria on the issues that affect them in their daily lives.
Yet, MLAs can rarely speak up for those who elected them if their words run counter to their party鈥檚 position. There are no free votes in the legislature. According to journalist Sean Holman, from May 2001 to April 2012, 99.75 per cent of all the votes cast in the legislature toed the party line.
MLAs also need to lead from the front and not dig in their heels over issues such as pay and the posting of their expenses online.
Taxpayers have a right not just to know the numbers behind the province鈥檚 finances, but to have the straight goods on what those numbers will mean in the way of taxes, rate increases and tolls.
A government that truly wants to be open doesn鈥檛 respond to access-to-information requests with answers that are too cute by half. What has become known as 鈥渙ral government鈥� needs to be consigned to the trash bin of bad ideas.
While their reports may sting, public watchdogs are supposed to have some bite, which is why their roles need to be respected and their offices given the necessary budgets to do the job.
Whistleblower protection for public-sector employees is long overdue in B.C.
And then there鈥檚 electoral-finance reform. It鈥檚 time to cleanse B.C. politics of what one political observer called 鈥渢he sewer scents鈥� by finally banning corporate and union donations to political parties.
B.C. has been on the cutting edge of democratic reforms in the past: fixed-date elections, recalls and citizen-inspired initiatives. There鈥檚 no reason it can鈥檛 continue on this path.
Since politics is often about comfort zones, what should make these ideas all the more appealing is that each is a position already staked out by Alberta鈥檚 right-wing Wildrose Alliance.
Dermod Travis is the executive director of Integrity B.C.
