Opinion: Gene Zwozdesky set a great example

By Medicine Hat News Opinion on February 28, 2020.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

This week a seniors centre in Edmonton was named the Gene Zwozdesky Centre to honour the late politician who passed away a year ago at the age of 70 following a cancer diagnosis.

It was a fitting tribute but he should also be honoured for his accessibility to the media and in turn being accountable to the public.

Zwozdesky was first elected to the legislature in 1993. He was appointed the Associate Minister of Health and Wellness in 1999 and Minister of Health & Wellness from 2010 to 2011. It has been said he was a “calming force” after a predecessor that had been labelled “combative.”

For reporters, getting an interview with a minister to have questions answered and keep the public informed, can be an almost daily struggle.

Zwozdesky was nothing short of a miracle.

There is a procedure, often lengthy, to try and obtain an interview with a minister. The gate keepers are called spokespersons or communications people but when Zwozdesky was appointed his gatekeepers responded to a request for an interview by releasing his cell phone number.

Reporters were shocked, thinking it must be a mistake. It was not. He’d instructed them to simply hand over his number. The next test would be whether he would actually answer his phone. He did – even once when he was on vacation.

A local physician recently commented that Zwozdesky had personally come to see him when he’d expressed some concerns. He said the issues were all addressed promptly.

The idea of “controlling the message” in politics is alive and well, municipally, provincially and federally. For some it may be seen as crucial for re-election. You restrict access to elected officials in ministerial office and put gatekeepers in place to ensure you are not even bothered with a request for an interview. Someone else just writes a statement on your behalf.

It can be seen as an effective way to restrict what the voter knows.

That’s what was so refreshing about Zwozdesky. He did not mind being put on the spot and answering difficult questions and appeared to feel there was a need to talk to journalists and therefore the public.

It seems as though he understood that not answering questions would make it look as though there was something to hide and he was definitely not hiding.

We have slowly drifted away from the common courtesy of government officials even acknowledging letters from the public let alone being available to the media for interviews. In Thursday’s “Ticked Off” a complainant said only Coun. Kris Samraj will talk to the public about issues.

The example Zwozdesky set as an MLA and minister should be what other elected officials and those paid from the public purse aim for and aspire to.

There should be a memorial statue of Zwozdesky in front of the Legislature to remind officials of his example.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.)

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