|
Arnason
spoke for ‘little people’ She was fiercely independent
and humourous
By
Al Irwin - Langley Times - December 09, 2007
The late Township Councillor Muriel Arnason could be counted
on to vote no, most of the time.
She
represented what she called the “little people” and
her opposition was usually against spending their tax dollars.
She
opposed development projects, pub expansions and longer openings,
beer gardens, “baby-sitting arcades” in malls, travel
expenditures for staff and councillors, and major projects. She
also opposed limits on continuous council service, saying all
citizens have a right to vote, and choose or reject the candidates
of their choice.
“
People have fought and died for that right . . We have no right
to say that anybody can’t run.”
She
had many supporters, but never gathered them to write letters
to the editor or call reporters with viewpoints suspiciously
similar to her own. She was fiercely independent, and likely
to please constituents with one vote, anger them with the next.
Family members were her sole campaign workers. Her home-made
election signs were legendary but it was an urban myth that
her election expenditures were nil.
In
the 1997 election, when the Langley Leadership Team (LLT) slate
spent $171,000 to elect four council members and five school
trustees, Arnason’s expenses were just $5,104.19. But Mel
Kositsky ran the tightest successful campaign at $3,921. But
Arnason spent only $782 for her re-election in 2002.
Arnason
did vote yes on occasion, and over the years put forth motions
that did get council support. Her bid to stop the deposit
of contaminated Expo soil in the Township, and her proposal
for a rain barrel program to collect garden water, are two
examples.
In
the early 1990s she was allied often with Councillor Aubrey
Searle against “urban sprawl,” particularly the Vicwood
development, at the south foot of 200 Street. She preferred Brookswood
over Willoughby for urban growth.
When
property owners seized on the Vicwood pipeline down 200 Street
as the means to facilitate Brookswood development, and
supported Mayor John Scholtens’ LLT slate, Scholtens chose
just five council candidates to run with. He asked constituents
to “save a vote for independent Muriel Arnason.”
Scholtens
said Arnason agreed with him on a very important issue, opposition
to the cultural centre.
Arnason
rejected the overture, saying she had 17 other election issues,
and her independence would not be compromised by any
slate association.
Her
reasons for preferring Brookswood growth: existing schools,
parks and a Community Plan, all absent in Willoughby.
She
remained opposed to Vicwood, and faced down supporters of this
project with the same panache she had shown to an angry
group of cultural centre supporters.
Arnason
brought humanity and humour to the council table. She spoke
out publicly for young people, seniors, or the disadvantaged,
in the same heartfelt manner she used in private conversations
about her husband John and her children.
Her
infectious laugh was often over her own limitations, as she
asked for council’s patience while she fumbled through
stacks of reports, using a lighted magnifying device, to find
and make her point.
She
used humour to get more than her share of quotes, headlines
and photo opportunities in the local press.
In
1995, Arnason wrote deputy treasurer Frank Clark-Jones, starting
off: “Just a few questions on the budget, if you don’t
mind.” At
council, she unfurled an eight-page computer printout of her
57 questions, and Clark-Jones’ responses.
“
As you can see, I’ve done my homework.”
Her
photo, and the scroll of questions and answers, were in the
next edition of the newspaper.
|
