Municipal elections loom in November, but will anyone vote?

Martin Millerchip News Reporter martin@nsnews.com

THE North Shore goes to the polls November 20. Will anyone care?

Despite mayoralty challenges ia all three municipalities and a plethora of new and expe- rienced candidates for council seats, only in West Vancouver is there any likelincod of more than 30% of registered voters visiting the ballor booths.

Based on recent statistics, North Vancouver City’s council makeup is likely to be decided by less than 20% of eligible voters, approximately 5,000 people.

North Vancouver City councilfor John Braithwaite was first clected in 1972.

“Even in those days it was tough,” says Braithwaite. “I don’t know ifit’s an attitude on the North Shore chat people are comfortable. It’s apathy, IT think. They scream once in a while but they never get out and change any- thing.”

Braithwaite believes age is a factor in voting patterns. “The younger clement seem more interested in the provincial and federal level rather than the area that affects them directly. The older people tell me they do get out and vote. It’s iike they are attached, have a stake in the community.”

Ron Wood, a nine-year councillor in West Vancouver District and a challenger for the mayor's chair, is laughing when he answers the question of why voters don’t get excited about municipal elections: “Because they feel very well-served by their politicians.” He’s well aware of the political criticism city mayor Jack Loucks has taken for voicing similar views.

Getting serious, Wood SuBpests: “I think there is a perception that federal and provincial legislation has miore of an affect on their income through tax structures.

“Local issues drive municipal politics: a new recreation centre, or the ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay. In West Vancouver certainly, people become involved in issues of concern to them, but it tends to become regionalized rather than an election issue.”

' Going back to where he started, but this time more seriously, Wood says, “I may be

Sunday, September 26, 1999 — North Shore News - 3

ll. Election 1999

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NEWS pluto Terry Poters

WHAT if you gave a party and nobody came? Municipal potling booths across the North Shore have rarely been busy places and in some recent years have been downright lonely.

wrong, but I think pcople feel reasonably well- served in West Vancouver by police, fire and, for want of a better word, reasonable taxes.”

Veteran North Vancouver District council- lor Ernie Crist has .at at the council table for 19 of the last 20 years.

He believes the problem is partly one of perception.

“We are perceived as lacking power. All lev- els of higher government ignore us anyway. People simply don’t rake local government seriously,” says Crist.

Voter turnout

% Turnout

Nve

18.79 18.89 21.69

13.33 18.06 13.50 23.00 15.42

7.96 21.80 14.97

22.90 13.43

%Turnout ww 33.92 30.19 50.40.

%Turnout

_NVD

27.89 28.65 29.28 32.07

27.80

31.04 27.60 34.98 36.92 20.00 26.60 31.26 16.30 35.24 18.20

9.44

49.86 39.50 43.50 19.45 30.60 21,90 *14.00 25.10 37.10 26.80 25.70 26.00 46.30

* mayor and councillors by ecclaimation

NEWS graphic Norlsa Anderson

VOTER turnout for North Shore municipal elections in the last 25 years has

generally been poor.

He has campaigned for several years for sweeping amcadments to the Municipal Act that would include the rights of direct municipal taxation.

But irrespective of the failings of legislation, Crist says voters fail to comprehend how their lives are affected by the municipal governments they elect “from the time they get up to late at night.”

Crist is right. Municipalities have the power to determine how big you may build your home, whether you can rent your basement, whether you can work out of your bome or even if you can cur down thar big tree in the front yard. They can also determine how early construction noise might wake you; whether your local bakery can offer you a coffee on the sidewack or not; how much business signage you will see as you drive to work; whether a stop sign or a traffic light will be placed at that busy intersection; how often the grass is cut in your local park and whether it will be laid out for soccer or baseball.

Homeowners know municipalities pick up the garbage and put out the fires, but not all realize the number of police available in times of need is also a municipal responsibility, While West Vancouver has its own police force, the federal Mounties are almost totally paid for by the local municipal contracts.

“We face a challenge of raising their aware- ness about how much we do,” says Crist.

One answer, suggests Crist, would be the adoption of direct democracy principles that would allow voters to initiate bylaw referenda of their own choice and amend or repeal, again by referenda, bylaws adopted by council.

Those in favour of the initiative have sug- gested direct democracy prevents “runaway” councils and offers true democracy. Those opposed worry about the expense and time involved in government by referenda.

District council, unable to come to grips with such issues as what percentage of voters would be needed to initiate a referendum, nar- rowly defeated a taove earlier this year to put the concept of direct democracy in front of the voters via a referendum in November.

Crist knows that decision will become an election issue itself, but argucs that if direct democracy was embraced voter turnout would ultimately increase.

“it’s an invitation to participate in the

democratic process of their awn community and does away with the excuse that govern- ment doesn’t listen. It brings local government down to the level of the people.”

The statistics highlighting low North Shore turnout for municipal elections don’t surprise Patrick J. Smith and Kennedy Stewart of Simon

’ Fraser University’s Institute of Governance

Studies.

Smith and Stewart are the authors of Making Local Accountability Work in British Columbia, a report commissioned by the, provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and published Jast year. 7

In the introduction to their look at electoral accountability they say: “In many major munic- ipalities it appears thar citizens have already fost control of their local governments and have — opted out of the focal democratic electoral pracess.” : /

Smith says the at-large system of voting in B.C. municipalicies works well in smaller com- munities of up to 20,000. But he argues that as . municipalities get bigger it becomes harder for new politicians to get their messages out with- out spending a lot of moncy. ;

Therefore, says Smith, the regulatio: “: on clection spending and the need for financial “transparency” become key. Otherwise, he argues, clections will become even more irrele- vant since the real power struggle will take place within local party membership ranks in terms of who is placed on the ballot. The party with the most money will get afl its candidates clected. He suggests such a situation faces Vancouver voters with the powerful NPA party poised to repeat their sweep of council.

Kennedy Stewart uses an international example: “In Sweden which has a well-devel- oped party system, tight election spending lim- its and a system of proportional representation turnout levels reach almost 90%!

“This was made clear to former Minister of Municipal Affairs Minister Jenny Kwan (in their report). Aithough aware of the dire cir-’ cumstances in some. municipalities she bowed to pressure from the Union of B.C. Municipalities and did nox institute change.”

MUNCIPAL WEB SITES: West Vancouver www. west-van.com North Vancouver City Www.cnv.org North Vancouver District. www.dnv.org &

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