#munipoli Mattes - ISSUE 46 - More BC and Ontario mayoral shenanigans?
Plus some history being made in Northern Ontario, independents running in Vancouver area and other stuff...
Welcome to another edition of #munipoli Matters, where we cover the often under-reported arena of municipal elections, local politics and the happenings in civic government.
Here’s what I found for this issue.
Vancouver mayoral candidate quits the race
With such a wide array of politically right leaning candidates in Vancouver’s mayoral election, it wasn’t as unexpected that one of them would drop out. But perhaps less so that the candidate dropping out would be from one of the city’s longest existing political parties.
The Non-Partisan Association (NPA)’s candidate John Coupar resigned as the party’s mayoral candidate, saying he was looking forward to spending more time with his family.
"I love this city and have enjoyed serving the residents of Vancouver over the last 11 years. I have always strived to walk with the utmost integrity and with an unwavering commitment to those I serve," Coupar wrote in a statement.
Coupar was selected as the NPA mayoral candidate in 2021, which resulted in three NPA councillors elected in 2018 to leave the party and sit as independents. The party will have until September 9 to select a new mayoral candidate.
More incumbent mayors using city resources for political gains?
I recently gave Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens some flack over his use of city hall resources to mail what seems to be like a reelection campaign flyer within a tax bill that went out to thousands of Windsorites. Dilkens has now registered to run for a third term with a week to go before the August 19 registration deadline.
It seems to be a trend lately of heads of municipal councils have been blurring the lines between their jobs and the politics in keeping that job. Dilkens hasn’t been the only one to have dipped his toe between that line.
Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran was recently criticized for posting several videos on the city’s Facebook page regarding Council's response on municipal issues such as crime and transportation.
Critics have lambasted them as Basran doing campaign ads with taxpayers dollars..all the while not confirming whether he intends to seek a third term. "I am still the mayor last time I checked, and I will continue to be mayor even past the election date," Basran told the local news outlet.
And in Cornwall, ON, Mayor Glen Grant admits he mistakenly used his City of Cornwall computer to issue a press release declaring his intentions to seek a full term in October.
Use of city resources, such as computers and city symbols, for an election campaign is a violation of the Municipal Elections Act. The matter was investigated during July by the city clerk before Grant issued his August 4th apology.
“I have a reputation for following procedures and I should have recognized this fact when I sent the email. I am making a public apology for this error in judgement and be assured it will not be repeated," Grant said.
A councillor who was appointed mayor following his predecessor Bernadette Clement’s appointment to the Senate of Canada, Grant is facing current Councillor Justin Towndale and candidate James Leroux in his reelection bid.
Independent candidates for mayor in BC
Out in British Columbia, most major candidates for mayor and city councillor are running as part of a municipal slate, but there are a few who are mounting independent bids for city councillor and mayoral positions, such as:
Lina Fargas is running for Vancouver City Council as an independent. She is an organizer from the Filipino Canadian community.
Imtiaz Popat, an equal rights / social justice activist and therapeutic counsellor, is running for Vancouver Mayor.
Kuldip Pelia, an accounting and finance professional who resides in Whalley, is running for Surrey Mayor as an independent.
In other news
Caledon, ON: Mayor Allan Thompson is not the only one outright retiring at the end of his term. Regional councillors Johanna Downey and Ian Sinclair have also decided to leave as well.
Downey, who had earlier registered to run for Regional Council in Caledon’s revised Wards 1, 2 and 3, withdrew her nomination back in June. Meanwhile, Councillors Jennifer Innis and Annette Groves are running in the mayor’s race, guaranteeing another new council member come October.
Goderich, ON: A tragedy has befallen on this town along the Lake Huron shoreline, as Mayor John Grace died during a boating trip in Northern Ontario. Grace, who was first elected mayor in 2018, had registered to run again.
As of this writing, he was the only declared mayoral candidate. But council will still have to decide how to fill the power vacuum, such as who to appoint as mayor until the end of this term and whether to keep Grace’s committee posts vacant.
Kingsville, ON: Town Council for this municipality outside of Windsor has opted not to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of former mayor Nelson Santos. But Deputy Mayor Gord Queen is basically mayor in all but name only, assuming the duties of the office.
Santos stepped down on July 17 after almost two decades as mayor to assume the role of chief operating officer for the Town of Adjala-Tosorontio in Simcoe County.
London, ON: In one of those rare moments where an outgoing mayor endorses a successor, Mayor Ed Holder has endorsed Ward 7 Councillor Josh Morgan for the race to replace him in October’s municipal election in London.
“Publicly and privately, I have seen him work with provincial and federal government representatives, colleagues of different backgrounds and political ideologies, agencies and outside organizations, sometimes with competing interests,” Holder said.
Other mayoral candidates include Brandon Ellis, Daniel Jeffery, Daniel Lenart, Norman Robert Miles, Johanne Nichols, Sean O’Connell and former MPP Khalil Ramal.
Holder’s endorsement may hold more weight than his last two predecessors, who either were removed from office after a conviction or left in disgrace.
Timmins, ON: Ward 5 Councillor Kristin Murray was appointed mayor to complete the unexpired term left behind by previous incumbent George Pirie, who was elected as the PC MPP for Timmins back in June.
Murray, who is from the Chapleau Cree First Nation and of Jamaican descent, is the first Indigenous person and person of colour to sit as Timmins mayor and the second woman to serve in the position.
Cover photo courtesy of John Coupar’s Twitter page
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