Municipal Elections

[coppertop]

There certainly doesn't seem to be much interest in the October 15th municipal election. Some rural jurisdictions had to extend the deadline for nominations due to a lack of candidates in one or more divisions.
It is a thankless job with low financial rewards in most municipalities, so attracting qualified candidates that can invest the necessary amount of time is certainly challenging. Hope that those who do have contests in their rural or urban centre will get out and vote.

[cakadu]

Coppertop, some of the races should be quite interesting. In our county, we are going to be electing a "mayor" for the first time. I hope people take advantage of this historic opportunity and get out and vote. I have yet to see very much from either candidate - an incumbent and a total newcomer to municipal politics.

This mayor vote opens up new divisions and an intriguing race between 3 candidates in our division - 2 of them are incumbents, one who holds the seat in the old division and one from another division that got incorporated. There is a 3rd candidate who has entered the race, so results should be fun to watch.

I haven't heard whether or not the municipalities that didn't have any candidates have found some. What happens if no one comes forward?

[coppertop]

One municipality in the Peace region had to extend the nominaation period for six days. They have a seven member council and there were two divisions without any nominees, so at the end of the six day period if nobody came forward to file nomination papers, they would apply to the Minister of Municipal Affairs to run the county with a five member council, then they would need to pass a by-law eliminating the two divisions and go back to a five division municipality.

WE had an elected Reeve three years ago, there was a lot of interest at that time because the public wanted to oust the Reeve of the day. This time around the Reeve and five councillors were acclaimed, and there will be an election in one division.

In several municipalities former councillors that had been off council for several terms are back running again. In some cases, they have been urged by the public to do so. Once an individual has served on a municipal council it doesn't take long for them to get up to speed on current issues and policies. The most difficult scenario is when all or the vast majority of council are new, and have no clear understanding of their role or worse yet, come to office with preconceived ideas on many issues, and no real knowledge of much of anything.

I have made presentations to various municipal groups over the years, and by far the most entertaining were right after municipal elections. Lots of INSTANT EXPERTS ! Usually they have a completely different view point after a year in office.

[farmers_son]

I noted your comment re investing the necessary time. Does it really take that much time?

I have the impression that some of our local councillors are padding their per diems with meetings that really are not necessary. How much time does it take? Our County has two Council meetings a month, I believe one MPC meeting a month. I don't know if the Ag Service Board meets every month or not. Those meetings are important but there are almost 40 Boards that a member of our council sits on and some of those meetings appear to be pretty questionable in terms of benefit to the County. More a benefit to the Councilor collecting mileage and per diems.

[wilagro]

farmers_son: That wouldn't be the County of Vermilion River by any chance?

[coppertop]

FS, some committees and boards are dictated by the province;
MPC and ASB meet monthly, and the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board must meet whenever anyone files an appeal.
The Seniors Foundations usually meet monthly, the make up of those boards and the legislation they must administer is dictated by the province.

Most if not all, rural municiaplities are involved in an ambulance authority, solid waste authority, library board, Family and Community Support Services Board, Air Shed Society Boards in many areas, Intermunicipal Planning Commissions and Appeal Boards, plus many municipalites have liaision boards or committees with their urban neighbours that meet quarterly.

It may seem as though some councils have a lot of meetings, but that depends on the issues facing that particular jurisdiction. Our municipalitiy has been involved in an annexation application by our urban neighbour, this involves numerous special meetings, trips to the city to meet with legal counsels etc.

If being a municipal councillor was so easy and not time consuming one would think there would be a line up of people wanting the job. This is not the case, many jurisictions have had a high percentage of their councils acclaimed again this time.

Members of the public have the opportunity to request copies of councillor's honoraium claims, so it isn't either a good idea nor is it ethical to ' pad' them.

I would imagine that your county has a website, and the list of all boards and committees should be on there, as well as which council members sit on each committee or board.

[farmers_son]

There are divisions which are hotly contested and some that are acclaimed.

Whether or not there are people lined up for the job may have to do with factors other than the amount of time required. It could be the pay is not adequate or people are not anxious to have to be held personally accountable for decisions made by the larger council.

I have obtained financial statements for our County so know what the Councilors have received. From my own experience on various boards I know the Councilor often is just filling a seat, makes no or very little contribution, and seems to be at the meeting simply to collect his/her per diem. Of course there are other examples where the Councilor is very interested and involved. I do think in some cases the County's interest would be just as well served if a good set of minutes was sent to Council.

At least for our Council, I believe it should be a part time job even though some are trying to make it seem like it is full time. An exaggerated time commitment or at best inefficient use of the Council Member's time may serve to discourage some busy people from running.

[coppertop]

FS, if the majority of the citizens in your municipality hold the same views you do, then obviously there should be major changes in the make up of your council on October 15th. Preparation for meetings, whether they are council meetings, or committees/boards of council takes time. Any councillor that goes into a meeting without becoming as informed as possible on the issues that will be voted on, is not earning their keep, nor are they providing good governance to the citizens.
It's not uncommon for council and planning commission agendas to be in excess of 300 pages, so getting up to speed on items that will come before council or MPC takes several hours of study, and research if necessary. If council and committee members don't put effort into the position, they risk allowing administration to run the show, so to speak. Believe me, I have seen and dealt with administrators, who, when given the ability, control both the agenda of council meetings, but also attempt to control the decisions if they have a council that doesn't keep on top of issues.

The time committment varies depending on the size of the municipality,however, it is extremely difficult for anyone with a full time job or a large farming operation to have the time to devote to attending several full day meetings per week etc.

I have always felt that as a private citizen it is my responsiblity to be aware of the issues facing my county council, and also to determine whether or not they are making the best possible decisions and are ensuring that tax dollars are spent in a fiscally responsiblt, and fair manner. It is a thankless position, and usually those who criticize the loudest would never consider putting their name on a ballot.

[farmers_son]

I certainly agree with your comment to the effect that the time commitment varies by municipality. I recently spoke with a long serving councilor who also ran a large farm. He said meetings were arranged for the winter as much as possible and as it was a farming community the issues tended to crop up during off seasons. I can see where as the municipality becomes more urban that it might not be possible to do that. The reading can get done in the evenings.

I think back to our past councilors…they were full time farmers who also in those days served on the school board too. Today we see councilors who have lots of spare time because they were unsuccessful at farming or business and ended up as councilors because that was the only work they could get. These people are not qualified for the job. Of our seven councilors, maybe three are qualified the rest just show up for the meetings. Like you mentioned the CAO runs the show.

I think extensive business experience or experience running a large farming operation more than makes up for lots of spare time. I believe if you want something done ask a busy person. In today’s hot economy I would be suspicious of someone running for council who did not have anything else to do, certainly if they had not shown any interest in municipal politics before. And yes the job is going to take more time in some municipalities and if so then pay them for that. But I do not like to see councilors micro managing and attending questionable meetings simply because they want another $200 plus mileage for the day. They should get a life.

[coppertop]

FS, I don;t know which municipality you are referring to, but I do know some if not most members of every council in rural Alberta, having met with and made presentations to them over the years in my other life.

I know how many hours I put in as a municipal councillor, and I combined it with running a small cow/calf operation. It meant long hours and in calving time I did double duty, paying someone to check the cows when I was at a meeting, then feeding and calving them when I was home.

Many people who run for council are older, because those with young families who work full time or farm full time just cannot commit the time without giving up some of their family time. When I was elected to our council I was volunteering for 13 organizations in my community and across the province. I had served as a farmer member of our Agricultural Service Board for four years prior to running for council so was fairly well versed in many of the issues facing the municipality. I know of many people who are keen on local politics and would make wonderful councillors, but they do not want to be in the ' line of fire' in the community if they make a decision that is unpopular and i can't say that I blame them.

Our current council is made up of a couple of semi retired farmers, two fellows that are part owners of oilfield service companies and one full time farmer with a full time hired hand. This is a resource based municipality and the knowledge that the fellows who work in the industry bring to the table is valuable. The average age of our council is 60.

Two members of council are millionaires so it is doubtful if they are there for the paycheck, but they have been excellent councillors, fair in all their decisions, and have ensured that they keep informed on planning matters, Ag matters etc.

In a municipality such as ours it is difficult to schedule important meetings according to the farming seasons. The AAMD C Conventions have always been set for November and the end of March, which makes sense for the grain sector but March is fairly busy for the cow/calf operators that are also councillors. Believe me, many rural councillors have wonderful wives that look after everything on the farm during convention.

How many of your council members are opposed in the upcoming election ?

[cakadu]

Some of the comments you've been sharing are very valid. Like with anything, there are those that "coast" through and those that work very hard.

There are some that have been there forever and they should step to the side. I know, I know, there will be arguments that if the person is doing a good job and is dedicated, then they should be allowed to continue to serve. I'm not convinced that being a councillor should be a career choice. Councillors who have 15 to 20 years in should step aside for new blood so to speak.

I think the other really disconcerting side of the councillors who get acclaimed is that there isn't much change. It is quite disconcerting to hear that some municipalities didn't get enough candidates to come forward. In some of the municipalities around here there were either no names or someone dropped out and then everyone got acclaimed.

When you think about the fact that politics at the local level affects us the most, we should be seeking change and being able to vote for people.

[coppertop]

The citizens of a municipality decide whether or not it's time for a councillor to step down. If no-one will run against a sitting councillor, of the public keeps returning incumbent councillors even if they are opposed, then the people have spoken and that is what democracy is all about

[coppertop]

Just wanted to add, that in many cases when sitting councillors decide to retire, they are encouraged to run again after a few years. I know of at least half a dozen this fall that have been away from municipal politics for anywhere from three to nine years and have been encouraged, and in one case DRAFTED by their citizens to run again.

Obviously the public felt these people served the municipalty well the first time around, or they would not want to see them back again.

FS commented on large business or farm owners being excellent candidates for council, this may very well be true, but I don't know of many that fit into that category that will consider running.

We had one large farmer run for council at the same time a fellow with some considerable business holdings ran, within a year and a half after the election they were the subject of a ministerial inquiry, and both were facing court action for conflict of interest had they been elected in the subsequent election.

Running a municipality like a business doesn't always require a council that has a lot of corporate business sense. Any farmer, large or small, has to learn the value of a dollar and stretching that dollar, and anyone who has served on a volunteer organization knows accountablity, those are the two main requirements for being an elected official.
Staff aren't the responsibility of council, in fact, no council member has any say in hiring of staff with the exception of the CAO, so experience in human resource issues is not a qualification of being a good councillor.

[cakadu]

Democracy does speak, coppertop and I don't dispute the fact that some councillors do a good job. The alarming thing is that so FEW people get out and vote in a municipal election. I think in our county last time around it was something like 28%. An astonishing figure if you consider the fact that this is what will affect us most.

I wouldn't necessarily say that if no one runs against a councillor it is a sign that everyone is happy about it. Apathy is rampant everywhere and/or it could be a case of it being recognized as a thankless job so who wants to do it.

[coppertop]

There was a 70% voter turn out in our municipality three years ago. The public had carried petition after petition to force the minister of Municipal Affairs to do a complete investigation into the conduct of the council of the day, so when the opportunity came to vote them out, people turned out in droves.

Usually when there is an issue, such as the proposed nuclear plant in Woodlands County, you see some members of council being opposed. It seems odd that nobody mentions the school board elections, and they control over 50% of our property tax dollars.

I have always made sure I got to know who the candidates were in the school board election and this time we have a choice on the ballot.

I hope we do get a good voter turn out in the one division where there is an election, and also for the school board,but if people choose to sit at home then they better not complain about who they end up getting as their representative.

Lots of excitement this year over the Progressive Conservative nomination, our MLA is being opposed this time around, and the powers that be within the local constituency association decided to hold the vote two days before the municipal elections.