Municipal Elections are Over. Now What?

Municipal elections in British Columbia were held on Saturday, October 20^th and carried many different and varied results with them.  As I was sitting in the CBC Radio studio in Kelowna commenting on local government’s variegate plethora of interesting facts, I couldn’t help but observe the wide difference of outcomes throughout the province.  Incumbents were returned or defeated. Old faces will move on and new faces will start a new chapter, both in their life and the life of the community.  But the question remains the same: what now?

There are some common aspects of this and previous municipal elections that we cannot ignore.  First and foremost, voter turnout.  With some few exceptions, voter turnout was, and has always been, low: between 15% and 30%.  This is way lower than provincial and federal elections.  One would think that the government impacting its citizens the most and most directly – local government –  would get more attention than the “higher” levels of government.  It is not so, and this needs correcting. Currently, only a minority of people decide the fate of an entire community and this does not seem right.  If you add to this the not so hidden agenda of “change for the sake of change” that we see in modern society, also thanks to uncivilized and, at times, verbally violent behind the screen commentary, it is easy to realize that even a smaller minority is actually holding an entire community in its hands. Does this seem right to you?

The second aspect that we need to be aware of is that younger generations’ voter turnout is very low.  There is disinterest and misinformation. However, there is also a blatant lack of education about civic participation and process in Canada (and in BC) that is unique in the world.  Most, if not all European countries make civics part of their curriculum from elementary school to high school.  Public participation and political discourse are not only part of the curriculum but also of the day-to-day discussion among young people. And the result is that all elections, including municipal, have a turnout over 60% of eligible voters — of which many are young people.  This is something School Trustees should truly work on, but it is not even close in their minds.

Third: social media and fake information.  I guess we should not be surprised by this but it is affecting federal, provincial, and local politics (as well as every other aspect of our life).  A candidate for mayor in this municipal election based his platform solely on hearsay and a “stirring the pot” mentality (by his own admission) running on the premise that correct information was not important as long as he could get the result he wanted.  I know of a few others that did same — both at the mayoral and councillor candidate level.  Some of these people got close to being elected on this “against” vote but luckily they weren’t.  It is very difficult to spread correct information and hoping that it will resonate with citizens when sensationalism and misinformation are the order of the day. Facts get lost in the cacophony of irritant noise.

Finally, a necessary mention on the reasons to run for office.  There are five widely recognized bad reasons to do it, which I draw from a previous blog I posted earlier this year:

1. “People are ready for change!” Newsflash: everyone says that, every election. Sometimes it’s true and sometimes it’s just perception. That aside, you just plain need a better reason to run. If the best you can do is “Hey, I’m new!”… I mean, come on. You need to understand budgets, financial statements, water, sewer, garbage, road construction, residential/commercial/industrial development, the role of governance, inter-municipal relations, by-laws, social and economic development and more.

2. “I’m going to clean house!”: Uh, no you’re not. If you envision yourself walking into the municipal office and taking over operations, firing a bunch of people, and generally sticking your nose into administration’s business, you’re in for a rude awakening. If you want to manage your town or city, apply for the job. The CAO’s job is management; your role as a Council member is governance. You don’t get to direct the staff.

3. “I’m going to fix the [insert pet peeve such as snow removal/pot holes/bike lanes] situation!” Another very misguided statement that reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of how municipal councils function. It’s an interesting dichotomy, of course, since candidates run as individuals but then have to work as a team, once elected, in order to get anything accomplished.  The truth of the matter is that you have NO POWER outside of council chambers. Even around the council table, your power extends only to the amount of influence you can leverage during debate, and to your (ONE) vote.

4. “We have to get rid of the current corrupt/secretive/self-serving/incompetent bunch!” Ah, the ever popular “anti” campaign… this tactic, sadly, is often successful. It resonates with coffee klatches and angry people. The problem is that, while it may get you elected, it’s a poor foundation for being an effective mayor or member of council. Anybody can tear down, but do you know what you are going to build?

5. “I’m going to make lowering taxes my number one priority!” This may well be the most irresponsible thing I hear come from the mouths of candidates. Fiscal accountability and responsible spending are very, very important. But the number one responsibility of the Council member is not only fiscal responsibility — it is rather to build community infrastructure for future generations. Shame on you if in 5, 10 or 25 years there is no water or sewer capacity or the roads are falling to pieces or there are insufficient playgrounds and recreation opportunities because you were busy pinching pennies.

The true reason to run is to serve the community, to provide good leadership, to plan and build for the future. People should run because they have a contribution to make, ideas to be shared, passion that won’t abate and a commitment to do the right thing no matter what.

So, what now?  I hope that in a world where polarization is replacing ethical leadership, we can still see our beautiful communities leading in term of civility, sustainable living and community spirit.  Good luck to the new councils — make a difference for those whom you serve and for yourselves.