The question we need to ask before we talk about electoral systems is this: Why do we need government? The answer is that human activity is organized through institutions that facilitate long-term cooperation, starting at the level of the family and spiralling into ever larger circles. Governments are institutions created to facilitate cooperation and mutual support in the pursuit of common objectives.

Not fare well, / But fare forward, voyagers.   T.S. Eliot

As regular readers of this column well know, I am a democracy junkie. My passion is the transformation of an ancient Greek philosophy to a living process. My views on politics are greatly influenced by theorists of earlier times who recorded their observations and thoughts on the struggle to create a functioning democracy. The work of writers and philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his contemporary Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) continues to have relevance. Their questions remain challenges for us today: Is our government the best form of democracy we can achieve? Must we limit the power of government to safeguard the rights of citizens? How can we balance responsibility and accountability for politician and citizen? My career as municipal administrator presented me with unique opportunities to probe the boundaries of the law and research democratic practices in other jurisdictions in my attempts to stretch the limits of tradition and experience and find new applications for the principles and philosophy of democracy.

The underlying thrust of the ‘no surprises’ rule is, a deal is a deal. — Duane Desiderio

A neighbourhood is the outer skin of a person’s property. People care about the feel and appearance of their neighbourhood. Some communities sponsor yard and garden maintenance competitions to encourage residents to improve the appearance of their properties, thereby enriching the appearance and feel of neighbourhoods. Residents are not left to their own devices in these endeavours. Local governments adopt zoning regulations and enforce property maintenance standards (sometimes) that provide a framework for the care of neighbourhoods.

…to whomsoever the community entrusts this power of government, whether one or a few, they have an interest in misusing them. — James Mill

Majority rule is a sine qua non of democratic governance. Every decision made by a municipal council rests on the support of a majority of council members. The Community Charter imposes on every member of council an obligation to vote; fence-sitting is not allowed. If a council member refuses or is unable to decide, the Community Charter decides: a member of council who remains silent or pretends to abstain from voting is counted as having voted yes. There are no tie votes in local government and no tie-breaking votes by the mayor (contrary to popular belief). Whatever the resolution before council may be, silence on the part of a council member (including the mayor) carries the same weight and has the same consequences as an enthusiastic and resolute yes vote. If yes votes thus counted do not add up to a majority of council members present, the motion is defeated.

The facts fairly and honestly presented; truth will take care of itself. — William Allen White

Information is essential to democracy: an uninformed or ill-informed citizenry cannot be responsible for its own governance. Legislators realized the need for laws to pry information out of the hands of governments and their agencies long after other aspects of democratic governance, such universal suffrage, were taken for granted. Today’s freedom of information laws, which have been adopted around the world, follow a generally similar form; for example, they all have security and privacy exemptions. Many jurisdictions, unfortunately, administer their freedom of information laws in ways that frustrate the law’s intent. A promise of freedom is hollow when access to that freedom is encumbered by rigid protocol, unreasonable delays, and fees.