#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 32 - Ward boundary reviews can get weird...
And the usual random updates from the world of municipal elections
Welcome to another issue of #munipoil Matters, where you can find the latest updates on what’s happening in the often under-reported area of municipal elections, politics and governance happening in the local councils spread across Canada and beyond.
Here is what I noted happening in the world of municipal elections this week.
Niagara Region mayor faces her first challenger
A current regional councillor is challenging the incumbent town mayor for the top job. Gary Zalepa, who currently serves as Niagara Regional Councillor representing Niagara-on-the-Lake, is running for Lord Mayor* against incumbent Betty Disero.
*No, that is NOT a typo. The position of head of council in NOTL is literally known as “Lord Mayor”.
Disero is a former Toronto city councillor who was first elected the town’s Mayor in 2018. Current Town Councillor Allan Bisback has filed to run for reelection.
Local Windsor-area mayor not running again
St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold says that after over three decades in municipal office, which include 16 years as mayor starting in 2006, that he is not running again. “It has been 37 years since I started on council,” Arnold said. “It has been a long time.”
Arnold’s career began as a councillor in the former Sombra Township prior to amalgamation with neighbouring Moore Township almost 20 years ago. Arnold was deputy mayor in 2006 when then incumbent mayor Joe Dedecker died.
He won the subsequent 2006 municipal election for mayor, and was also a Lambton County warden from 2010-2012.
Winnipeg mayoral candidate supports ranked ballots for future elections
Former Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who is now running for Mayor of Winnipeg, says he supports using ranked ballots for future civic elections. “Our electoral system shouldn’t be the Kentucky Derby, where the Mayor can win by a nose. To make our city better, we need leadership and ideas supported by the widest possible mandate,” Ouellette said in his press release.
“We begin the campaign for Winnipeg’s next Mayor with a crowded field of candidates, who are sure to bring a wide range of ideas to the table. Under our current, first-past-the-post system, Winnipeggers can find themselves voting against a candidate they don’t want, rather than for a candidate they do want." said Ouellette. “Ranked ballots would allow people to vote their conscience and their hearts, and no one can tell them their vote doesn’t count.”
Ouellette added three main advantages of a ranked balloting system: eliminates “strategic voting”, lowers the level of negative campaigning as candidates will now need second or third choice voters and would encourage higher voter turnout.
In the 2018 Winnipeg municipal election, turnout was 42.33%.
Some notes from me re: ward boundaries
I just wanted to point out a really minor thing in the world of municipal government, but political geeks and junkies might binge over on: ward boundaries. Some communities are small enough that they don’t need ward boundaries to elect their members of council.
For example, in the Town of Aurora, Ontario:
Previously the voting residents of Aurora ranked their choice, with the top six vote-getters being the elected to the council. Under this new system, a mayor and regional councillor will still be elected town-wide but six councillors will be elected in individual wards.
But some of these ward shapes on the map leave little to be desired. For example, take a look at Aurora’s new Ward 1. It looks like one of those ‘gerry-mandered’ districts that you frequent see in the United States.
Another example is the City of Vaughan, who did a ward boundary review study before deciding to keep the current ward composition, as shown below:
I find some of these lines to be rather awkward, such as the boundaries for Wards 1 and 4. When the city contracted an outside firm to present some alternative ward proposals, here were the options presented.
Option 1 didn’t do much changes, the ward configurations remain pretty much the same from the current wards, except using more horizontal and vertical lines.
Option 2 and Option 3 are almost essentially the same proposal, the big takeaway being the use of Highway 400 as a dividing boundary between Wards 1 and 4, doing away with the massive current Ward 1. Ward 5’s communities are also more defined in being those neighbourhoods south of Highway 407.
One reality I think is, no matter which option Vaughan COULD have chosen, one ward was always going to have a much higher population than the other four. But alas, this was not to be.
In other news
Armour Township, ON: Mayor Bob MacPhail’s decision to not seek re-election after 16 years in office has opened the door for Councillor Rob Ward, who has an almost four decade career in the Information Technology field, to run for mayor after one term on council.
East St. Paul, MB: Mayor Shelley Hart announced she would not be running for a third term this fall. Hart served on the Winnipeg Police Service for 36 years before becoming the town’s first female mayor in 2014. She was re-elected by acclamation in 2018.
By my count, this makes up to four Manitoba municipalities where the mayors aren't reoffering: Brandon’s Rick Chrest, Winkler’s Martin Harder and, as already well documented, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman.
Terrace, BC: Mayor Carol Leclerc is not running again after 17 years serving in local government. “Three terms as a city councillor, two terms as the mayor, that’s 17 years of community service,” Leclerc said, adding, “I think it’s time that I want to be able to spend more time with my family.”
Some of the existing members of Terrace Council either are running for reelection or are undecided. Sean Bujtas, one of the more long-serving members of council, will be seeking re-election and so will Dave Gordon who was first elected to council in a by-election last year. James Cordeiro and Brian Downie both say they are undecided.
Trail, BC: Mayor Lisa Pasin has confirmed she is running for a second term, despite a recent vote where four council members voted non-confidence in her leadership and recent meetings had degenerated into shouting matches.
Below is an excerpt from CBC’s Metro Matters newsletter on an exchange between Pasin and one of the councillors leading the charge against her, one Robert Cacchioni, which also involved a Pasin supporter, Councillor Sandy Santori:
Some American updates
A pair of New Jersey mayors win reelection: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has won a third term to office, winning 83% of the vote. He was first elected Mayor in 2014 after serving several years on council, representing the city at-large and the South Ward.
Over in Belleville, NJ, Mayor Michael Melham won reelection as well, getting a 62% to 38% lead over Councilman Steven Rovell.
Columbus getting new system to elect city council: Since I’ve been on the subject of ward boundaries this week, the capital of the Buckeye State, with an estimated population of 890,000, will see city council-members elected by district for the first time in 2023.
Prior to this change, councillors were elected city-wide, with about half elected during one election cycle, and the remaining members elected in another cycle.
By contrast Vancouver, one of Canada’s major cities, still can’t figure out that having councillors elected from distinct neighbourhoods, as well as perhaps having city-wide councillors, could be a more representative model for residents.
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