Fighting words

EDITORIAL
What we said about l'affaire Blacks Harbour...

The newly non-elected Blacks Harbour’s village council is teetering on the brink and if something doesn’t give, it will soon become a provincial nightmare, or joke.
Mayor Terry James (who was voted in as mayor on May 12) has been fighting bitterly with councillors (who were not voted in but took their seats by acclamation) for the past two months. Their fights have been over how often to meet and over who will chair which committees. These are, in the big picture, petty issues over personalities and power that will hold any governing body back and distract it from real issues at hand.
At the village’s latest meeting James said she was “screamed at” and had to excuse herself when she became overwhelmed and frightened. She’s no wallflower herself and no doubt can give as well as she gets but reports from that meeting indicate that debate has devolved in the Blacks Harbour council chambers. It’s OK for elected officials to disagree and it’s OK for them to make their points with passion and to stand their ground when they believe they are right. It’s not OK for some of those officials, and members of the public, to leave a meeting feeling like they’ve witnessed an ugly brawl.
James has suggested entering into a formal conflict resolution process to help overcome a personality clash between her and the village CAO. It’s a reasonable proposition based on what’s been transpiring early in the new term.
Maybe the municipal governance training the councillors are receiving this weekend will help them see that personal conflicts can’t be permitted to intrude into council meetings or official village business. The Blacks Harbour village councillors didn’t have to ask residents for their votes in May but they do still owe them their services – professional, courteous and dignified. They can disagree without being disagreeable.