Lead Editorial: Political participation
Fri Sep 10 2010, Page: A14
Nominations close today for candidates in this year's civic election, but it is not too soon to declare early winners -- the voters. A record number of candidates have signed up to run for municipal office and school boards in Ottawa and that is good news for voters, no matter what the results on Oct. 25. Municipal government is the level that touches taxpayers most directly. But when it comes to electing politicians to oversee those governments as well as the trustees who will run school boards, voter turnout is usually abysmal. Four years ago, voter turnout was unusually high in Ottawa -- and even that was a little more than 50 per cent. In some communities, some years, no more than one in three residents bothers to cast votes for municipal politicians.
School board elections, which are the poor cousin of municipal elections when it comes to voter articipation, are lucky to get half of that number, as former Ottawa-Carleton District School Board director Lorne Rachlis noted in a recent opinion article in the Citizen. Rachlis, who has retired as director of education, is now a candidate for trustee in Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Zone 9. He implored voters to learn who their trustee candidates are and vote in the municipal election. Rachlis is right -- it is important for citizens to
inform themselves and participate in municipal elections, especially because their decisions can directly impact on property taxes and even property value. But there is reason to be optimistic that more people may heed his call during this upcoming election.
The infusion of new candidates -- including Rachlis, environmentalist David Chernushenko, who is running for city council in Clive Doucet's ward, and many others -- who bring varied expertise and viewpoints to municipal politics breathes new life and new ideas into the system, which should help increase interest and participation.
There has been discussion lately among mayoral candidates about why there seems to be this heightened interest. Mayor Larry O'Brien takes some credit, saying his success in the last municipal election -- as an outsider -- has probably inspired others to run. His opponent in the race to be mayor, Jim Watson, disagrees. If O'Brien had any role in the uptick in people running for municipal council, he has said, it is probably because they are frustrated with the job the current mayor is doing. Others suggest that it is none of the above, but that voters, in general, are frustrated with the way Ottawa city council operates.
It may be that the increased interest in running for council represents a sense of frustration with a local government that has struggled with numerous issues, big and small; people are more likely to take action out of frustration than contentment with a situation. While not all candidates have a realistic chance of being elected to sit on the new council when it is sworn in later this year, participation enriches the campaign, challenges those candidates who do get the most votes to defend their positions and, in some cases, think differently. This is a reminder to local voters that the job of running a city like Ottawa is not only important, but coveted.
FPinfomart.ca
 |
| Randall Denley's column (above) on the sudden resignation of the director of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board was published in The Ottawa Citizen on Saturday, August 28, 2010 on page C1. Denley quotes me frequently in the second half of the column as an expert on the school board and how it operates. Click on it and it enlarges for reading. |
 |
| The article Your tax dollars, your vote (above) appeared in The Ottawa Citizen on Thursday, August 26, 2010, page A13. It gives four reasons why you should know who your school trustee candidates are, and why you should vote in the school board election. To read it, enlarge by clicking on it. |
 |
| This article appeared in the June 2010 issue of The Mainstreeter about my bid to become a trustee. The word "Old" in the heading is part of "Old Ottawa East". You can read it by clicking the image above to enlarge the article. |
 |
| The article "Ex-board official bids to be trustee" (at left) ran in the March 29, 2010 issue of The Ottawa Citizen announcing the beginning of my campaign to become a school trustee. You can read it by clicking the image above. |
 |
| Here's an article that ran in the November 20, 2008 issue of The Ottawa Citizen describing why the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) gave me a Lifetime Achievement Award for my work on antiracism and equity. You can read it by clicking on the image above. |
