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9| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,A pril 5,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca The games begin in a few short weeks. No, not the Olympic or the Pan Am Games. The municipal election games of 2018. On May 1, candidates can begin to formally regis- ter for this year's local elec- tions. Once they register, they can start to fundraise and spend money on their campaigns. They have until July 27 - at 2 p.m., of all times - to make their way to city hall and get their names on the ballot. But the municipal elec- tion games of 2018 have al- ready begun, in practical terms. Who is running? Who is talking to who? About what? There are meetings hap- pening every day, in coffee shops across the region, as potential candidates seek advice and weigh their op- tions. Incumbents are won- dering - who is going to take a run at me? Well, I sure hope people are taking aim at the in- cumbents. We have some seriously stagnant coun- cils in this community, with members firmly at- tached to seats that they have been sitting in for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. I said it as I left Waterloo City Hall - and I'll say it again - I believe in term limits for municipal coun- cillors. Eight years. In. Work hard. Make a differ- ence. Out. Why am I so adamant about it? I believe that in any de- mocracy, fresh voices and fresh eyes matter. It's why I am supporting several new, female candi- dates this year, with a goal of bridging the gender gap on our local councils. With only 27 per cent female re- presentation, across the re- gion, we have serious work to do. I also believe that an elected seat belongs to the community, not an individ- ual. And let me tell you, most politicians believe that the seat they occupy belongs to them. It doesn't. And it's enormously arrogant for incumbents to think that they are entitled to keep that seat. After all, isn't that as- suming that they are uniquely qualified to do the job? They aren't. In fact, they could be blocking someone who will bring a new set of skills to the job. But the odds are greatly in an incumbent's favour, if they do decide to "keep" it. They have name recogni- tion, access to resources and they know how to play the game. Many potential candi- dates wait to make a deci- sion, until after an incum- bent registers to run. Which, by the way, is why is it imperative - in a fair race - that incumbents share their plans, early. The municipal election games of 2018. We will soon know who is ready to play. - Karen Scian is the co- founder of the Talent Busi- ness Solutions, an educator and a community advo- cate. She is also chair of the Waterloo Public Li- brary Board. You can email her at bein- scian@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @karen scian. OPINION Let the municipal election games begin Municipal election race set to start May 1 and some councils need a shakeup, says Karen Scian KAREN SCIAN Column My favourite book on writ- ing is The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life by Dinty W. Moore. A professor and director of creative writing at Ohio University, Moore writes: "What is the single most im- portant trait a writer must have? People who ask that question often expect an an- swer such as good grammar, a wide vocabulary, or a com- prehensive knowledge of the Greek and Roman classics. But my answer: Curiosity. With curiosity, a writer will always move forward. With- out curiosity, the brain is al- ready dead." I've been reflecting on writing as I reach a milestone this month, celebrating 12 years writing a weekly col- umn for this newspaper. For this column I've interviewed authors, actors, and athletes, and written about everything from light pollution to street prostitution to human cre- mation. Curiosity has been my guide each week, seeking top- ics that pique my interest in the hopes that curious read- ers will share my curiosity. I'm always on the lookout for topics to explore, whether glimpses into the lives of fas- cinating local people or tour- ing celebrities, or difficult but important subject matter like homelessness, sexual assault or Holocaust education. When revisiting Moore's book this past week for the umpteenth time, I found my- self particularly inspired by his closing chapter on the subject of writing and free- dom: "There is a freedom that comes from seeing clearly. There is a freedom that comes from cutting through illusion. There is freedom in no lon- ger trying to control that which cannot be controlled. We earn that freedom with the hard work of staying at our desk, struggling con- stantly to understand, searching for the perfect or- dering of words and sentenc- es, working, working, and working, until we have creat- ed something that matters, something of which we are proud. That's the payoff. That's why we do what we do." I never take for granted the honour of having a regu- lar column in this newspaper, and I strive to earn that ho- nour on a weekly basis by giv- ing readers something to ponder, some new perspec- tive to consider, or even just a temporary distraction from the hubbub of their lives. I'm often asked, "How do you keep coming up with fresh ideas, week after week?" I think part of it is sim- ply keeping my antenna out, as I'm genuinely curious about people, and find tre- mendous reward in sharing people's stories. Or perhaps I just enjoy the struggle and challenge that comes with writing a weekly column - of challenging my- self to remain curious, to learn and to share. Moore writes in the after- word: "How wonderful that we have this maddening, beautiful, difficult, exhilarat- ing, frustrating, mysterious, transformative ability to cre- ate worlds out of words. What a gift. And what a challenge." It's a challenge I still enjoy, a gift I still appreciate, and I hope you've found your own curiosity fed by some of the words I've written. - Marshall Ward is a free- lance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. Natural curiosity the biggest attribute of a successful writer It's a gift to create a world out of words and not one to be taken lightly says Marshall Ward MARSHALL WARD Column I went to a symposium just recently and a recurring theme was people places and how to make uptown Water- loo more livable and appeal- ing. A lengthy discussion en- sued and immediately I thought of the corner of Al- len and King. Yes, up comes a piece of land at Allen and King. Fast forward, and with- out public consultation it was suggested by the city planners that more office space would be needed in the core - another office build- ing. These planners know how to make work for them- selves . design, design, de- sign. The area is bounded by light rail transit tracks, a new condo, the Bauer build- ings, Caroline Street tracks, and tracks and more tracks. Now they want to screw things up even more by al- lowing an "office building." How about something as simple as a park? We demand a park. It was Coun. Jeff Henry who sug- gested this area was being overlooked. Yes, we are being overlooked. There will be thousands of people living in this area in the near future we need a park for people and those who have pets. We demand public con- sultation. We live in the area. If the city needed more of- fice space, then why the hell did they sell the former train station and nearby lands. Please help us out since this council has run amok in its attempt to compete with Kitchener. Jim Hosepian Waterloo Gun law changes about theatre not public safety The House of Commons Bill C-71 is part of the Liberal government's effort to fulfil their election promise to "get handguns and assault weap- ons off our streets." The problem with C-71 is that it has nothing in it to ac- complish that while at the same time puts yet more re- strictions and bureaucratic hurdles in front of licensed hunters, farmers and sport shooters, a community that has a long proven track re- cord of safety and extremely low instances of criminali- ty."Enhanced background checks" sounds positive, but how that will work and what cost in resources? Despite what the Public Safety Min- ister would lead us to believe, violent criminals are already denied firearms licenses be- yond the five years required to disclose on the application form. Criminals and gang members, who commit the vast majority of gun crimes, do not apply for licenses! We already have in place a hotline for anyone to call and report a friend, family mem- ber or stranger whom they believe to be a danger to themselves or the public. The Chief Firearms Officer of each province take these calls seriously and act on them when received.Extra paperwork for a licensed gun owner to take their regis- tered restricted firearm to a gunsmith is going to get "handguns and assault weapons off our streets" - how exactly? This is just a pointless waste of tax payer resources.While the govern- ment is introducing this bill they are ending funding of CeaseFire Halifax, a non- profit community-based group that is trying to elimi- nate gun violence by work- ing directly with those at risk of becoming or are already involved in violent activity- .With C-71 the Liberal gov- ernment is providing Cana- dians with hypocrisy and se- curity theatre, not public safety. Kevin King Waterloo We don't need another office building, we need a park