My colleague opposite and I want to weigh in on "Hotel Gate."
Two weeks ago, we learned that at least five Coquitlam city councillors, including Mayor Richard Stewart, stayed at a pricey downtown Vancouver hotel during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference instead of commuting back and forth from their homes in Coquitlam. The total cost to taxpayers was estimated to be at approximately $4,500.
I understand that it was only $4,500 out of a $200-million city budget. But this isn't about $4,500 just like the Bev Oda affair wasn't about a $16 glass of OJ or the Mike Duffy scandal about a $90,000 cheque.
This is about elected officials and their sense of entitlement.
This story has raised the ire of taxpayers across Metro Vancouver as is evident by the coverage it received: It was the top story on CKNW radio for almost a day and a half and front page of The Province.
But Stewart remains resolute, saying he did nothing wrong. In an email exchange that I had with him, Stewart said that he encouraged council to stay downtown so that they could "fully engage" in the conference. He complained about long days and claimed to be "stingy as anyone with tax dollars."
I disagree with Stewart that council couldn't be engaged at all events - even on the one 16-hour day - and commute the 30 minutes each way from Coquitlam. Yes, it's tough and they might lose a couple hours of sleep but nobody said their jobs were easy.
But even if we give Stewart the benefit of the doubt on staying downtown, I would offer some more "stingy" ideas:
Councillors should have shared hotel rooms.
Not all councillors needed to attend all events or stay downtown three straight nights.
They could have shopped for cheaper hotels instead of staying at the expensive conference hotel.
This controversy has died down but this story should remind us that voters need to start paying closer attention to our municipal governments. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the province's new auditor general of municipalities at work. We need to start holding city council members' feet to the fire.
