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Parting platform words

We are the Whistler brand, all of us. I'm certain this is going to come as a shock to some of you but the cutoff for filing nomination papers for next month's municipal election is Friday.

We are the Whistler brand, all of us.

I'm certain this is going to come as a shock to some of you but the cutoff for filing nomination papers for next month's municipal election is Friday. I think there are still a few of you who haven't filed for council and, at least as of this writing, there are no fringe mayoral candidates.

Except me. And I'm out.

Oh, I can hear the disappointment now. "Say it ain't so, Max." Alas, it's so. Having launched my Campagne de Fous last March, and been roundly ignored by all local media - including the paper I write for - the Campagne motored along nevertheless. Buoyed by the warm reception among what may lovingly be called the town whack jobs, "You da man, Max!" and the very generous offers of found money from people knowing a good thing when they thought they saw one, I'm proud to say the Campagne set the tone for what was to come... which wasn't much until recently.

Undeterred, if sadly ignored, I outlined my platform on such diverse issues as rightsizing the resort, transit and others I'm too lazy to look up at the moment. But for two totally unexpected reasons, I have to put a stop to this charade and thank you all for working so hard to make the Campagne a success, assuming the definition of success can be stretched to include abject failure.

The first unexpected reason I have to bow out is I'm heading south for the rest of the month to help my mother understand there are worse things than falling and breaking your leg when you're 86 years old. One of those things is having your son come take care of you. If anything will get her up and hobbling and independent, I'm sure my presence will. Obviously, it's hard to kick the Campagne into a higher gear - assuming there is one - if I'm not here, tempting though that may be.

The second totally unexpected reason is that other, more qualified people have recently decided to run. Boy, talk about not seeing that one coming. And while I think I could beat some of 'em, if not all of 'em, I'm pretty sure we can all agree we'll be better off if I keep doing what I've been doing - whatever that is - rather than banging a gavel and being the public face of Whistler. You might need a cigarette after that picture.

And so, to paraphrase Tricky Dick Nixon, you won't have Max to kick around anymore. I'll be doin' the kicking, thank you.

But I'm glad Nancy decided to run. I've long been on the record as supporting letting women take over and leaving men to do what we do best. Once we figure that out - or the women tell us - we'll all be better off.

I'm glad Ken decided to run again. It provides a clear choice for anyone who wants to keep going wherever it is we're heading.

I'm glad Ralph decided... hmmm, I really don't know how to finish that sentence.

Whatever. As a parting gift to the race, I'd like to share with you what would have been my relaunched, Never-Ending Party manifesto. I prepared it to celebrate my formal candidacy this week but, life's funny sometimes. And remember, no matter what you hear from muni hall, we are the Whistler brand... all of us.

Live the Dream - The Never-Ending Party Manifesto

 

Live the Dream is the slogan, the catch phrase of the Never-Ending Party. It captures the essence of why we, all of us, are a part of Whistler. We want to live the dream, be part of the dream and make the dream both better and sustainable. While the details of the dream may be highly subjective, at its core is the very simple yet profound reality that we're all here because we've chosen to be here. We've gone out of our way to be here. And choosing to be here has often come with very tangible costs: lower income; fewer career opportunities; higher cost of living. To put up with all that, in the face of what's generally considered success in North American terms, this dream we're talking about must be pretty powerful.

Why Live the Dream? It captures the imagination of people and reminds us why we want to make this place a better place, why we don't want to make it just another place, similar to all those other places.

The Never-Ending Party doesn't have a platform as such. While it may suggest licence to some, it's not meant to evoke an endless bacchanal of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll... not that there's anything wrong with that. It is meant to suggest life is a party if we choose to make it one and if we are successful in nurturing this town and shaping it into the kind of place we'd like it to be, drudgery has no chance to take root.

The Never-Ending Party recognizes seven organizing principles that should drive personal, political and governmental decisions.

1. Become reality driven. Don't kid yourself or others. Find out what's what and base your decisions about tomorrow's goal on today's reality, not yesterday's ideology.

2. Always be honest and tell the truth. It's extremely difficult to do any damage to anybody when you are willing to tell the truth - regardless of the consequences.

3. Always do what's right and fair, recognizing what's right and fair is often not the most popular choice and always gores someone's ox. Remember, the more you actually accomplish, the louder your critics become. You've got to learn to hear and then ignore them. You've got to continue to do what you honestly believe is right. You've got to maintain your integrity. You will never win everybody over.

4. Determine your goal; develop a plan to reach that goal, and then act . Don't procrastinate, don't study it to death, don't hire consultants to justify what you already know or provide you with a smokescreen to hide behind.

5. Make sure everybody who ought to know what you're doing - and why you're doing it - knows. Communicate. This means finding ways to communicate that actually work.

6. Don't hesitate to deliver bad news. There is always time to salvage things. There is always time to fix things. Anything that's likely to be revealed eventually should be revealed immediately. Better to be wrong and apologize, learn from your mistake and make it a valuable part of your toolbox than try to hide it and eventually have it blow up in your face. People forgive mistakes; they remember cover-ups.

7. Be willing to do whatever it takes to get your job done. If you've got a job that you don't love enough to do well, then quit and get one that you do love. Do that and you'll make a difference.