Questionnaire

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Politics is a balancing act between the public who think that politicians should make commitments and then follow them through to the letter and the politicians who, by nature, prefer to keep their options open.

This questionnaire is intended to pin them down, at least to the point of expressing their preferences. Many politicians, no doubt, were hoping we would just go away, but we haven't.

The only differences between this questionnaire and the many others that candidates get is: 1) this one was way ahead of the election cycle - incumbents received this questionnaire in June 2009, and 2) all answers were posted online for the voters to see within days of being submitted.

All councillors who have not completed the questionnaire have received reminders every month or so.

Reasons for not answering might include:

• Some at least will be waiting to see how their colleagues have answered the questions before they commit themselves
• There are probably 10-15% of the current councillors who will not run again.
• There are clearly some councillors who realize that a questionnaire on the environment is unlikely to cast them in a good light - better to ignore it.

Below is a copy of the covering note for the questionnaire sent to all councillors (both local and regional) on June 11, 2009

Durham Election 2010

Email: durhamgreen@gmail.com

To all current and prospective councillors in Durham Region:

Thank you for responding to our environmental questionnaire.

Who we are and why we are doing this

We are a group of environmentally-concerned citizens. We believe that some of the greatest opportunities to improve the environment exist at the local level and we would like to see our municipal councils as environmental leaders. To this end we are looking towards the 2010 municipal election.

We wish to identify candidates (incumbents or otherwise) who share our environmental ideals and will implement a much greener agenda. We recognize that government is complex and that politicians have an obligation to do what their constituents want. Nevertheless, with the current level of environmental awareness, we believe that the public will readily support good environmental policies provided they are fiscally sound. Conversely, they will oppose politicians who ignore the environmental imperative.

Our mission as environmental advocates is to educate the public about effective policies and promote the election of 'green' candidates. We will provide a counterweight to developers and others who lobby against good environmental policies.

The questionnaire consists of 36 multiple-choice questions which should take you about 25 - 35 minutes to complete. Each question has space for your comments and, in addition, the last page is reserved for general comments. There are no incorrect answers - we want your honest opinions.

Note that it is important to use the specific coded link in the email you received - this will prevent someone else from submitting answers in your name. Also, this coded link will allow you to complete the questionnaire at your own pace. You can return to it as often as you like, provided you access it from the same computer each time.

Please complete the questionnaire by the end of July at which time all of your responses will be posted on a new website for the public to see. Councillors who fail to respond will be noted.

DurhamCLEAR would like to thank the CAW - Durham Region Environmental Council for their financial support of this initiative.

Next Page: Health & the Environment