Dear Editor:
Re: Support for stadium not very high, Opinion, The Record, Sept. 12
Regardless of which side of the issue you stand on, fair-minded people should recognize that discrediting the president of the Queen's Park Residents' Association is out of line.
The association's president, David Brett, was simply reporting the results of his email survey of residents' association members. He did not purport to represent all of Queen's Park residents. He did however, contrary to the allegations in this piece, attempt to draw more Queen's Park residents in. Brett, with the help of his wife and son, personally door stepped 450 leaflets imploring residents to get on the email list. They did this in advance of the consultations and subsequent email survey.
The Queen's Park Residents' Association has approximately 150 contacts on its email list. My experience with a residents' association email list of approximately 115 indicates that a reply rate of 50 (33 per cent) is extraordinarily high. Keep in mind that despite all of the outreach done during a municipal election, which I dare say is a far more significant issue, only 24 per cent of New Westminster residents bother to indicate their choice.
The Queen's Park Residents' Association has existed in varying capacities for close to 20 years, and its existence is well advertised. Had the letter writer been engaged enough with her community to be a residents' association member before this issue arose she would have been on the email contact list and not found herself on the outside looking in. She also could have shown some initiative when the "soccer issue" came up and simply contacted the residents' association to ask to be put in the loop and even offered up help in getting the message out.
The position that Brett holds is an unpaid, volunteer position. It takes a great deal of time and commitment to keep a residents' association alive. Had the numbers more aligned with the letter writer's desired outcome I suspect that she would not be questioning his actions.
Catherine Cartwright, president, McBride-Sapperton Residents Association
