It is unbelievable to hear former Edmonton mayors expressing serious concern and dismay about the state of our city, particularly downtown, only to hear a current city councillor respond that council is setting the direction for long-term policy and that it is “too early to throw punches.” That response shows that this council fundamentally misunderstands the role of municipal government. Municipalities are responsible for the essential services people rely upon every single day: safe streets, policing, roads, snow removal, waste collection, water, infrastructure and well-maintained public spaces. These responsibilities are such important and immediate matters, but residents cannot wait years for ideological “long-term visions” while downtown deteriorates, roads crumble, and people feel increasingly unsafe. Of course municipalities must plan for the future. But long-term planning is not an excuse for failing to competently manage the present. We have allowed ideologically driven individuals to take over institutions that should be focused first and foremost on competent delivery of essential service. We need capable managers/city councillors who understand how to keep the water flowing, the streets safe, the roads maintained, and the garbage collected—not activists using City Hall to pursue grand political experiments. Edmontonians pay substantial property taxes and deserve visible results now. If council members do not understand that their first responsibility is to deliver essential services competently, efficiently and immediately, then they do not understand the job they were elected to do.