Quote:
Originally Posted by SebC
I've heard Nenshi talking about political salaries being set at about the worst level possible - high enough that people will do politics for the money, but not high enough that the best and brightest will do it for the money.
|
Do municipal politicians really need to be drawn from the best and the brightest? From people who would otherwise be surgeons and CFOs? It seems to me that we would have a pretty homogenous city council if they were all well-heeled professionals who associated with people who earned $250K +.
I'm fine with municipal politicians earning a decent middle-class living. And $115K is a good sight more than a decent middle-class salary. I'm not sure who Nenshi thinks is turning down a job in Calgary politics because it isn't enough dough. Being a city councillor was never meant to be a career. It wasn't long ago that they were paid about $30K, because it was expected you might do a term or two as a kind of civic duty and then go back to your real life. There's something to be said for elected officials at the municipal level being drawn from average citizens.