The make-up of Mission’s new council was determined by only 5553 people, or less than 25% of the eligible electorate on the municipal election Nov. 15/08. We were pleased to see over 1100 supporters for causs members Kevin O’Beirne and Jeanette Smith, but unfortunately this was not enough to reach the 2400+ votes needed to win. There is a serious lapse of citizen engagement when over 75% of the electorate do not feel adequately informed to cast their ballot. We hope that the new council acts to reach out to the community when the Silverdale Public hearings resume Dec. 9/08.