A commentary by a retired ­professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Health and Social Policy.

I wish I could take credit for the term “Dysfunction-by-the-Sea,” but longtime readers of this newspaper will recognize it was Jack Knox’s acerbic term for Greater Victoria.

But while Jack has retired — and is much missed — ­Dysfunction-by-the-Sea ­soldiers on. There are two current ­examples.

The first concerns the ­rejection of Saanich council’s plan to borrow $150 million to upgrade the district’s public works yard and buildings, which are old and don’t meet building code requirements.

But the alternative process used to approve the funding for the project failed when just over 12 per cent of eligible voters opposed the proposed ­borrowing.

There is so much wrong with this that it is hard to know where to begin.

The July 18 headline says that Saanich residents rejected the proposal, and Mayor Dean Murdock was quoted as saying, “I’m pleased to see democracy is alive and well,” and that “the........

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