NORTHWEST ONTARIO – The municipal election nominations period is almost over, and with three weeks to go before the municipal election campaign gets into full swing, townships are struggling to find candidates to fill council positions.
With Mayor June Caul not running for Mayor of Fort Frances in the upcoming election, it would seem that no one else is interested in filling her shoes.
Currently, Kaleb Firth filled his papers on July 19 for City Councillor, but that’s it.
In Sioux Lookout, nothing much has changed in the last month.
Incumbent Doug Lawrance will be running for mayor once again while Cory Lago is looking to add four more years on Council. Reece Van Breda will be running for the councillor position alongside Lago.
In Kenora, David Byers-Kitt filed his nomination papers on July 22, making him the third person in the run for Kenora’s mayor. He will run against Andy Scribilo and Andrew Poirier.
For the office of City Councillor, Graham Chaze, Lindsay Koch, and Kelsie Van Belleghem will be running against Mark LaBelle, Cecile Marcino, and Chris Poate. Six people to fill six positions.
The English Public School Board Trustee finally has someone throwing in their hat. David Cornish, one of Kenora’s trustees, added his name to the ballot. Three seats are available for this position.
For the English Catholic School Board Trustee, there are five seats to be elected, but only two people are willing to come forward, Teresa Gallik and Paul Landry file their nomination papers in early July.
In Dryden, Jack B. Harrison put his name in the mayor’s spot. He will be running unopposed for the moment. The incumbent Mayor of Dryden, Greg Wilson, has previously stated that he will not be running for re-election in the fall.
Currently, there is still no one running for City Councillor in Dryden.
Incumbent Fred Mota will be seeking re-election in Red Lake unopposed at the time of writing.
With five people willing to sit next to Mota at the town council if elected. Dale Butterfield, Janet Harger, and Jamie Kristoff are seeking re-election as well. They will be joined by Thomas Doherty and Janisio Mamur.
In Atikokan, the shortlist goes on.
Rob Ferguson is running for mayor, currently unopposed while Gord Knowles, Elizabeth Shrine, Brian Stimson, and Jim Johnson are running for councillor positions.
For the rest of the region, it looks about the same. A short list of candidates to fill each position on the town council.
Which begs the question, what is it about being an elected official that the public feels hesitant to run for office?
It’s not for the money. According to The Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, while levels of pay vary widely across the province, the majority of councillors and heads of council in Ontario are paid less than $40,000 per year..
Being an elected official is stressful. However, the stress of ensuring the safety and well-being of their home is part of the job, especially during an economic downturn that the region continues to see daily.
Jobs are hard to come by, when big-name resource collector companies in the forestry and mining sectors feel their profit margins are in decline and cutbacks are necessary for the company to sustain the future of the corporation. This usually means a milling and mining company will uproot themselves from less profitable areas and leave town officials to figure out how to ensure their people won’t be unemployed for very long. And the longer that takes, the more blame is put on the people elected officials.
Public health concerns of COIVD-19 put a huge pin in the daily life of citizens, where councillors had to make the tough choice of closing municipal offices to ensure the safety of staff by moving council business into a remote setting.
Now with the ability to voice concern in a public open form outside municipal council meetings, which the public is more than welcome to join, on social media, the untold amount of negative commenting might be the biggest reason why people aren’t running.
The adage of being a Politian is a “thankless job” remains true.
Mayor Caul said that social media has been a source of mental stress during her run as mayor of Fort Frances.
Although many have come up to her in the grocery store or on the street to tell her what a good job, she has done for the past four years. However, for those who have taken to social media to voice their opinions on town affairs, it is about respect.
“I see so much rhetoric and hostility and cruelty on social media now that I rarely ever go on social media. I only go on it if it’s a friend who’s got something posted basically, and that’s not good for me because it is a new world out there,” said Caul, “it’s one thing I won’t be missing when I’m done in November because I don’t live my life that way. I don’t believe that’s the way the Lord meant for us to treat people.”
Social media is a fantastic tool. A one-stop shop of information about one’s home; however, it is easy to see why people don’t want to be in the public spotlight.
