“To vote, or not to vote,” that is the existential question 撸奶社区residents will be faced with in the upcoming civic election.
Four years ago, 47.8% of eligible voters cast a ballot.
In other words, less than half the voting public stepped up when the opportunity presented itself to choose the seven individuals entrusted with guiding this boomtown through a labyrinth of unfamiliar challenges and a succession of multimillion-dollar budgets.
As former 撸奶社区mayor Corinne Lonsdale puts it, “The District is big business, and we need to be careful when choosing those who will inevitably have a big impact on our pocketbook.”
That said, how do our 2018 voting numbers stack up against similarly situated jurisdictions in B.C.? The City of Nelson, nestled in the West Kootenays, had a stronger 55% showing. Campbell River had a less-than-stellar turnout rate of 25.41%.
Courtenay rang in at 37%. And over in Powell River, a favourite relocation destination for the 撸奶社区diaspora, close to 47% of voters cast ballots.
There is no shortage of theories about the lapse in voter commitment in civic elections.
Some folks claim they are too busy to vote, or the polling stations are not close enough to their neighbourhoods, or their vote doesn’t matter anyway. And for many potential voters, municipal elections are low on the political action pecking order. They lack the charisma of federal or provincial tilts, complete with party affiliations, well-known, and in some cases, celebrity candidates, big budget campaigns and high media visibility.
But therein lies the rub.
Municipal councils and the administrators beholden to those legislative bodies deal with pressing, in-your-face concerns. If you have an issue with streets, sidewalks, sewers, high-density infill, major infrastructure, flood control, recreation spaces, bylaw infractions, parking and traffic control, civic decision makers are the go-to intermediaries. There are various additional reasons for low voter turnout; some are relatively simple, others more complex. One explanation is many candidates do not resonate with voters, either because they have failed to sell themselves on the hustings or their platforms have the porous consistency of a pasta sieve. According to various studies, the 18 to the 24-year-old age group is underrepresented at the ballot box. Many members of that voting cohort have traditionally shown less interest in politics, and some perceive voting procedures as too cumbersome.
One suggestion bandied about to improve the participation numbers is online voting. Several jurisdictions in Ontario have successfully introduced the electronic voting option. In one community, there was a significant spike at the ballot box, from 33.9% in 2010 to 44.97% in 2014. But because of security concerns, a decision was made to return to traditional paper ballots for the 2018 election. As it stands, the District is doing its part to increase voter turnout. Anyone who will be away for the election, or is averse to voting in person, can opt for a mail-in ballot. Six advanced polling days will be held in addition to the official voting day on Oct. 15.
As well, there will be special voting opportunities for the 撸奶社区General Hospital, Hilltop House, and the Shannon Falls Retirement Residence.
And a new online-based elector management system, will be deployed to speed up and streamline the voting process. All things considered, we could also revert to a tried and true, made-in Squamish, ballot-boosting strategy. Back in 2014, council candidate Peter Kent, who once worked as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie stunt double, pledged that if voter turnout for the 2014 撸奶社区civic election eclipsed the 38.6% mark recorded in 2011, he would set himself on fire.
After the ballots were counted, the final tally was 47.1%. Subsequently, to the accompaniment of then 撸奶社区mayor Patricia Heintzman’s ukulele serenade, the recently minted councillor torched himself at the 撸奶社区Loggers Sports Grounds, albeit clad in protective flame-resistant gear.
Shortly before he lit himself ablaze, he spoke to a reporter from the Globe and Mail, who was on site to chronicle the incendiary display. “I love this place. A lot of people came forward to me between 2011, when I ran for the first time, and this time, asking me to run just based on some of the values that I have, that people seem to be able to relate to,” he said.
With that notable episode in mind, is there anyone out there who will get all fired up for this coming civic election?
Helmut Manzl is a long-time 撸奶社区resident and political commentator for The 撸奶社区.
