Our leading English language daily newspaper noted this week that the retiring city council members (Cheryl Miller, Bernie MacDonald, Susan Eagle, Roger Caranci, Gord Hume, and Tom Gosnell) will take with them an even 100 years of experience, and suggested rather strongly that this was somehow a bad thing.

The reality is that experience may be a great teacher but only if the student pays attention. And while longevity is something many people long for, it can lead to calcification of both body and mind, and something very similar can happen in politics.

I would certainly offer thanks for dedicated service to long-term departees (as we have elsewhere in this week’s Voice), but I wouldn’t be too concerned about their departure signaling a downturn for council.

That could happen, of course, if we elect replacements who aren’t up to snuff, and God knows we’ve done that often enough before.

But good government is as much about common sense than uncommon experience. More so, actually. Working on a municipal council is not rocket science, and it does require some knowledge of how the political process works. But that can be acquired relatively easily from a variety of sources, and it’s not the key to being an effective public representative anyway.

So farewell, departees, and hello to your replacements soon enough. As to how much less effective they may be, that’s pretty much up to the voters.