We shouldn't be so cynical about our politicians

I write a monthly column in the Calgary Herald. Here is my March story:

Late last week, reflecting on the ongoing robocall scandal, Post-media columnist Andrew Coyne wrote on Twitter: "Always remember: everyone in politics is trying to con you in one way or another. Some go to greater lengths at different times than others."

The sometimes-witty Coyne was, I hope, being tongue-in-cheek, but I was surprised when people jumped in to agree with him. One Calgary journalist wrote that Coyne was "merely expressing a belief held by large (numbers of Canadians)."

I simply don't believe that's true. While journalists can succumb to this insider thinking, I'm not sure it's relevant to citizens. In one radio interview this week, another national columnist, in discussing robocall, framed the entire thing as a political exercise. The Liberals are wounded by the Vikileaks issue, he said, and the strongest NDP performers in the House are on the leadership trail, so the issue will die.

Completely missing from his analysis was any discussion of why this matters outside of the House, or of whether or not the allegations are true. Citizens don't care about question period, they care about Canada.

I don't blame Coyne for being cynical. To read his live tweeting of the House of Commons is to know true despair. And it is certainly true that some of what is going on in some governments defies more rational explanations - from the provincial government's inexplicable decision on power lines to the ongoing questions about misleading robocalls.

The robocalls, in particular, are troubling. The evidence seems to be that someone was actively trying to suppress the votes of those with whom they disagree. If this is true, then whom-ever is responsible is actually acting from an anti-democratic place. Indeed, they were trying to subvert our system of government, which is inexcusable for anyone in politics.

But Coyne's statement doesn't actually stand up to any kind of scrutiny. I know this may sound self-serving from a politician, but I wasn't always in this job and I won't always be in it. I got into this work because, as I said every day during the election, I believe that government matters in people's lives, that politics matters, and that the people we elect matter.

Does the profession attract bullies, jerks and egomaniacs? Sure, just like every profession. (And some would say I am all three.) Are there some con men? Maybe.

But the vast majority of people I meet in politics are hard-working folks who really believe that our community can be better, and who want to work to improve the lives of their neighbours. Of course, we sometimes disagree with one another on how best to do that, but politics, at its best, is about the clash of ideas in the public market-place.

The problem is that Coyne's statement reflects a deep cynicism about what we do, and one that is un-fair. Do I spend a lot of my time selling my ideas? Of course. Does this mean that I am trying to con you? I don't think so.

I often quote the Aga Khan in his 2010 Lafontaine Baldwin lecture: "Too often, democracy is understood to be only about elections - momentary majorities.

But effective governance is much more than that. What happens before and after elections? How are choices framed and explained?

How is decision-making shared so that leaders of different backgrounds can interactively govern, rather than small cliques who rule autocratically?"

That's why our city government has worked so hard to be even more transparent and even more accountable to citizens than we've ever been before. We have to make tough decisions, and not everyone is always happy with them. But I firmly believe we make better decisions when we invite citizens into the decision-making process, when we explain the trade-offs we are considering.

Some would say this makes me naive, and that real politics is about a winner-takes-all, bare-knuckled fight to get one's way. Sometimes that's true, and I will mix it up in the corners when I have to.

But the fight isn't about misleading people. It's about making the kind of change that our community needs. And going out to the public with my ideas, stress-testing my beliefs, and framing choices, isn't about conning people, it's about making better decisions.

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi