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Why the wards?
?Ward 3 candidate Mary Dubé brings up some pretty good points in her letter elsewhere on this page, where she takes us somewhat to task for pointing out in our cover story last week that she was alone among the three current candidates in the ward who was not a resident therein. As she tells us, she lives just outside the ward, a “country mile” away near Zephyr.
Her principal point is that the Municipal Act does not require ward candidates to live in the ward where they’re running, and for a very good reason: they are elected to serve all the residents of the municipality, not just their ward constituents. And they may have very good reasons for preferring to run elsewhere than their home ward.
Michael Whiston, for example, in our story on page 3, says although he thinks he has much to offer as a candidate, he did not want to run against his own ward councillor, incumnbent Pat Mikuse in Ward 3, because he admired her work. He gave similar reasons for withdrawing from the Ward 1 race, not wishing to run against Bev Leslie. Two weeks ago, Jacob Mantle told us that although he lives in Ward 2, he has much closer ties to the people and neighbourhoods of Ward 4. Ms. Dubé says she has waged battles in Ward 3, and travels its roads every day.
It’s also true that in much of their debate on Council, members discuss township-wide issues. It’s usually only in specific planning applications or budget discussions that ward councillors are called upon to attend extra meetings or undertake research specific to their geographic constituency. So why have wards in the first place? And does it make any difference at all whether your ward councillor lives down the road from you?
We feel that the ward system exists for the individual taxpayer who may not feel comfortable getting up in front of the whole council to say her piece (and shouldn’t have to). On a smaller scale, it’s for the same reason we don’t elect MPs or MPPs at large (it should be said that these politicians don’t have to live in their constituencies, either). Jane Public should feel that if she needs an advocate on council, or even if she needs someone other than a bureaucrat to explain how things work over at city hall, she has someone she can call who will listen and, if necessary, speak on her behalf.
And although it may not be so important in the urban wards, where people tend to move around a lot more, it’s that much more reassuring when she feels her councillor is a neighbour, someone who faces the same issues she does every day.
Bottom line, the most important advantage in living where you run comes before the election; if people know you, run into you at the general store or at church, they’re more likely to vote for you. And we feel that if you live among your constituents, you’re more likely to hit the ground running after election day. That’s why we’ll continue to ask the question of candidates: do you live in the ward?
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: As we did four years ago, the Cosmos will hold a series of forums to give you, the voter, a chance to hear and quiz your candidates for Uxbridge Council and the various school boards. In 2006, however, we only held two forums, which we felt gave inadequate time for either the candidates or for you. So this time, we’re holding a different forum for each position. Here are the forums we’ve booked so far, so please mark your calendars:
• Regional Councillor - Wed., Oct. 6, Arena Hall • Ward 2 - Thurs., Oct. 7, Sandford Hall
• Ward 5 - Wed., Oct. 13, Arena Hall • Ward 1 - Thurs., Oct. 14, Goodwood Hall
• Mayor - Sun., Oct. 17, Music Hall • School Board - Wed., Oct. 20, Arena Hall
All sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. We’ll let you know about Wards 3 & 4 next week.
