Dear Editor,
There have been a few letters to the editor in recent weeks on which I feel a point of clarification needs to be made. The impression I received was that people believe Richmond city council is making unanimous decisions regarding various issues, be they money laundering, development or environmental action.
Our city’s council consists of nine members: one mayor and eight councillors. On any particular issue, such as accepting large cash payments at city hall (up to $10,000), we have a single vote. Five or more votes passes a bylaw or policy to be adopted. Without winning a majority vote, the issue dies on the floor.
For example, my proposal to restrict cash payments did not pass, so I subsequently voted for a $10,000 limit because it was better than the existing no–limit policy at the time and it had enough support to pass.
City council is not uniform. I would strongly encourage residents who are concerned about a particular issue to find out what the voting record was on it.
Having an easily accessible voting record is something I am very passionate about because I believe I should be transparent and accountable for everything I vote — or don’t vote — for.
Fortunately, we were able to pass a resolution to have a council online voting record, which will be available in the coming months.
I simply ask residents to not paint all of council with the same brush, but to judge us based on our duly earned voting record.
Coun. Kelly Greene
RICHMOND
