Municipal elections...

Submitted by David on Thu, 2005-11-17 00:40

Just wondering if any of you have been digging up info on candidates running in your local municipality, in preparation for voting day on Saturday. It's definitely a lot more difficult to find information on a lot of these candidates, than for thosing running provincially or federally.

Some people definitely didn't seem to be paying attention when electing a school board in California.

I've been trying to think of areas in which the municipal government comes into play. Basically, the first thought to come to mind was business licensing / development permits - to prevent casinos and other undesirable places from opening up in town. Other than that I'm having a little bit of difficulty thinking of other issues that would be important - other than stewardship (financial, environmental, etc.) and personal integrity.

On the school board front, beyond the stuff that is typical emphasized, there's the issue of sex ed.

Can anyone think of anything that I'm missing?

Comments

Scott

Thu, 2005-11-17 14:03

There is an article in today's Vancouver Sun about the choices for mayor of Langley Township, but it doesn't really say much about what they stand for. Lots of signs along the road of people to vote for, but I'm having a hard time finding out what people stand for.

Police department staff levels are also a municipal issue, though in the areas that each of us live I think the primary issue is land development.

David

Thu, 2005-11-17 18:53

There is an article in today's Vancouver Sun about the choices for mayor of Langley Township, but it doesn't really say much about what they stand for.

I'll definitely agree that there is relatively little information out there (particularly as I'm not really satisfied with any of the slates of candidates running out there). There's a fair number of independent candidates running - at least in Surrey - but those generally seem even harder to find info about.

Shaw cable did have some televised info for each municipality's candidates on the last couple of weekends, but unfortunately I only discovered this the day after the last broadcast.

If I had more time (it's crazy how much stuff I need to get done in the next couple of weeks), then I'd try to spend more time looking into this.

Scott

Fri, 2005-11-18 14:10

I asked my Dad this morning and he has no clue either, so he's not going to bother voting. Sounds like a good idea to me.