Change and New Beginnings

As the Gauthier household reflects on the time we've spent at our home in the east Gage Park community, up to our move to the Templemead community, we come to an opportunity to reflect on something that discussed many times, but not really thought on:  change and its necessity.

It was Sir Isaac Newton who outlined the term "inertia" which says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, while an object in motion tends to stay in motion and anything that changes the nature of these states involve some level of force.  So in the case of politics, there are several types of forces that come into play, but either way the result is the same.  Something needs to get your attention to the point where you are forced to decide on the necessity of remaining in that state you are in right now.

So what is your force?   What is it that makes you want change?  Is it the job you lost?  Is it a broken promise?  Is it some form of a tragedy?  Is it a concern that has disrupted your harmonious state?  And knowing that force, what will it take to make you desire change?  And what is really getting your attention these days with city hall?

These are questions being asked by the challenging candidates, because just like me, they are concerned with the recent direction this city has taken and to those like me who care, city hall has been a major source of frustration.

And to our misfortune, the people of this city are used to disappointment.  It's been a way of life since the late 80's, when the decline of the downtown core began.  In places where office buildings once stood, parking lots are there.  Parking lots even sit on places where department stores once sat.  We've settled for second best for decades to the point where we've come to accept that no matter what happens, it will always end in disappointment. 

At what point do we stop settling for second best and start taking our place as one of the more populous cities in this country?  At what point do we stop playing to not lose and start playing to win?  We have to stop acting like losers and start playing like winners.  We need to change!

The Gauthier family moved from their home in the Gage Park community to a newer, more vibrant neighbourhood, because we don't want to settle for second best anymore.  We want to move forward.  But to achieve that desire, we have to desire some level of change.

You see in the end, change happens and there is nothing wrong with it.  All you need is the desire.  So what will it take for you to desire change?  And what will it take for you to give these people your vote?

Just like the Gauthier family, our city needs a new beginning, because as it stands, this council has lost its shelf life and the majority of those sitting in council deserve to be replaced.