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More choice needed
?The current municipal election campaign (which culminates on Oct. 25) was kicked off more than 16 months ago, when former mayor Gerri Lynn O’Connor announced her desire to come out of her brief retirement from politics and take another run at the job.
With that much of a head start, we weren’t the only ones who were looking forward to a bumper crop of candidates and some thrilling races. Well, it might have been a bumper year for everything else, but the ballot has remained stubbornly un-crowded. Heck, we even lost a candidate this week (see our story on page 1).
In 2006, we had 26 candidates for the seven seats on council, with all seats contested. There were also races for the the public and separate school boards. This time around, with a week until nominations close, we only have 18 candidates for council (with Ward 5 incumbent Gord Highet now facing acclamation), and the incumbents for both school board seats have nary an opponent taking them on. Where is everybody?
After the results came in in 2006, we recall quite a few of the defeated candidates telling us that they had learned some valuable lessons in that campaign, and that they would be heard from again in four years. Well, there were 21 people who didn’t win that night, and only two - TWO - are running this time around, and those two - Ed Beach and Pat Molloy - are battling each other in Ward 2. What scared everybody off?
Ward 4 is an interesting example of the apparently whimsical nature of municipal politics. In 2006 it attracted the most candidates, six, probably in part because the incumbent, Bob Shepherd, had chosen to run for higher office. Again in 2010, it has the most candidates - five - again partly because the incumbent, Jack Ballinger, has gone elsewhere. So six candidates last time and five this time, but the two groups do not have a single face in common.
It’s a little difficult to understand why more people do not choose to run for municipal office, since it’s the level of government that people are closest to. There are no political parties at this level, so there’s no nomination process to go through, and you’re totally free to adopt any platform positions you choose. The cost of campaigning is relatively low, especially if you’re running in a ward. As long as you live or own property in Uxbridge, you’re eligible to run, and if you’re prepared to knock on doors for a few weeks, you can hardly avoid making a pretty good showing at the polls.
On the other hand, it’s not too surprising that so few of the 2006 candidates are back, since very few of them ever darkened the doors of council chambers since their defeat. Here’s hoping that the current crop, though fewer in number, will be more dedicated in the long run, running as Ted Eng did, several times before finally being elected. Here’s hoping they maintain the interest in municipal government they’re now demonstrating.
And although Gord Highet, Joe Allin and Kathy Lefort are all good representatives on their various councils and boards, we think it will be a shame if they’re re-elected by acclamation. Not only will it hush their voices during the campaign, but one of the fundamental principles of democracy is choice on the ballot. That choice looks like it’s going to be denied us in 2010, in at least three races.
If you’re still thinking of running out there somewhere, don’t be shy! We need you!
