It’s been called a cultural phenomenon and a marketing metaphor.
By questioning the matter of a hamburger over twenty five years ago, Clara Peller coined the iconic phrase, “Where’s the Beef?”
This question raised by the popular Wendy’s ad created a value proposition for consumers to consider; whether they were actually getting steak, or just sizzle.
The message holds as much relevance today.
While municipal candidates scramble to be seen and rub shoulders at community events, and to populate the social media networks before the municipal elections, let’s not be fooled. What really counts is substance, and we need to hear about it.
If you have already made up your mind to cast your vote on a candidates, friendliness, popularity, or name recognition, then don’t bother reading further.
Having lived in Coquitlam for 17 years and more recently, Port Moody for 5 years, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know and even work with many of our elected representatives and community volunteers on different committees and causes.
Many of the new candidates who are yet to hold an elected position have also served on a variety of community committees and will have their own experiences, opinions and ideas, to bring forward and share over the next seven weeks. I’m really hoping they’ll demonstrate their own substance, share their vision, how funds will be found, and openly challenge the track record of incumbents.
All candidates will no doubt claim to have the same moral fiber: Leadership, Accountability, Honesty, Sobriety, etc, and while philosophical statements and a list of concerns/issues are all very nice on websites, exactly what are your solutions (and not doing studies, task forces, etc) if you get elected?
In my opinion many do little more than just belong and talk, some being particularly good on their feet delivering sound bites, referring to the latest buzz words and talking in platitudes, because they’ve been around, but what have they done for us lately?
We should expect tangible results from those we elect, and those representatives with substance (perhaps a minority) are usually able to deliver and articulate what they propose for solutions, and quantitatively, what they have already achieved.
Throughout the Tri-cities there are incumbent candidates who need to be able to explain the outcomes of their tenure, and not just how many committees they served on or positions they’ve held, but what were the specific results of their committee work, and especially if they were the chairperson of a committee.
So to all candidates, tell us, what exactly have you done, why you are running, what is your vision, and what specifically are you planning to do, and how? Where’s the beef?