Dude, watch your response.
It seems 91大黄鸭 Mayor Colin Basran has raised the ire of many local Facebook folks by the way he responded to a resident wanting to know the status of John Hindle Drive and the widening of Highway 97 through part of the city.
In his request to Basran, who he referred to as 鈥渕y dude,鈥� Easton Doran said work on nearly every major road project in 91大黄鸭 is 鈥渄iminishing鈥� his quality of life.
And he said he鈥檚 鈥渄isgusted鈥� by what he feels is the city putting 91大黄鸭鈥檚 economy first, tourism second and residents last.
鈥淐olin Basran, want to weigh in, my dude?鈥� Doran asked.
So Basran did. But many didn鈥檛 like his response.
He told Doran the two road projects asked about are being managed by the province.
鈥淏ut if it makes you feel better to bag on the city, I鈥檓 happy to be your punching bag,鈥� wrote the mayor. 鈥淪orry I鈥檝e made your life so miserable over the years.鈥�
Basran signed off saying: 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 not your dude.鈥�
Well, when the response鈥攚ithout Doran鈥檚 original email attached for context鈥攈it Facebook, the you-know-what hit the fan.
鈥淲hat an a**hole response,鈥� fumed Kathy Charlesworth. 鈥�(Basran) definitely needs to be called out on this one.鈥�
鈥淲ow, that鈥檚 awful. Someone who is an elected official should know better,鈥� exclaimed Ashley Palmer.
Others called Basran 鈥渦nprofessional,鈥� 鈥渁rrogant鈥� and 鈥渃ondescending.鈥�
鈥淗ow rude and defensive, mixed with sarcasm,鈥� wrote Juanita Straub.
Another writer, Sam Nichol, called Basran 鈥渁n entitled moron,鈥� who delivered a 鈥渢ypical douche response.鈥�
And the criticism went on鈥nd on鈥nd on.
The mayor did find one defender however.
Pat Fountain liked the response.
鈥淚f I had to listen to/read comments from every whiny little b***h with their First World problems, I鈥檇 have a bad day or two also. Get a life,鈥� wrote Fountain.
The exchange between the mayor and Doran鈥攐r rather the response to it鈥攊llustrates the bind every elected official, and public sector employee for that matter, faces. Whether they like it or not, they are always 鈥渙n,鈥� always a representative of the organization they work for.
In this day and age of social media and immediate public shaming, flipping off a constituent is never a smart move by a politician, not matter how annoyed he or she may be by the question, accusation or inquiry.
But what Basran wrote was not that bad. It was a direct response to what he was asked. Could he have been a little more tactful? Sure.
I was once told by a former high-ranking city official one of the biggest constraints he faced, given his job, was not being able to swear in Safeway. It may seem like a little thing to most, but it points to a larger issue. The higher your level of public accountability, the higher standard you are held to.
91大黄鸭鈥檚 mayor may want to remember that next time he gets a snarky email and wants to respond with an equally snarky tone of his own.
In other words; take the high road, dude.
Alistair Waters is the assistant editor of the Capital News
