Let’s see…

The average price of a house in Vancouver ensures that only a select few, most of them from somewhere else, will be able to buy one.

The price of gasoline is higher in Vancouver than anywhere else except maybe Antarctica, but that’s not preventing the politicians from adding another 2 cents a litre to the gas tax for the Ever-red Line.

And let’s not forget the tent city right in the middle of downtown, which will probably stay there until the Supreme Court of Canada reviews the case … someday.

Good thing there’s a civic election coming up on Saturday and we can exercise our democratic right to vote.

Our democratic right to vote could use a little exercise. It’s getting flabby. Only 31 per cent of the Vancouver electorate voted in the last election, the fourth worst turnout since 1930.

So, as you stand in the rain waiting for the bus and it passes you by because it’s too full, remember that at least seven out of 10 people getting soaked to the bone don’t bother to vote.

Or seven out of the 10 people grumbling at the gas pump.

Or seven out of 10 people camped out on the front lawn of the Art Gallery protesting the failure of the government, the economy, the society, the culture and the weather.

Or seven out of 10 people who are against people camping out on the front lawn of the Art Gallery.

The more at stake, the less we vote. More = less. Talk about an equation that doesn’t add up.

I’ve already voted. I vote in North Van District where only 17 per cent voted in the last election.

About one in 10 people voted for Mayor Richard Walton, who helped raise the gas tax to pay for the Ever-red line. You can argue with his decision – but you can’t argue with his power. He’s vice-chair of Metro Vancouver, even though he only got 20,365 votes in the last election.

And that’s nothing compared to Board chair Lois Jackson. She was elected Mayor of Delta with 12,104 votes. A city of 2.5 million people is being run by someone with 12,000 votes. 

“What if they called an election and nobody bothered to show up?” is not a rhetorical question. It’s just the sad truth. And it comes just a week after Remembrance Day, when we honour those who died for what has turned out to be a poor excuse for democracy.