These 4 Year Terms will be enacted to provide the opportunity for the electorate to vote in to office not only your Local Council or Area Rep. but also your local School Board from the list of candidates that choose to run in the next civic elections scheduled for November 2011.
The government has accepted all the recommendations of the Local Govt. Elections Task Force with the full backing of the UBCM. and 4 year terms seem destined to become a reality.
There has seemed to be little input from the voters of this Province on this matter and the Political Lobby group of the UBCM has seemed to be persuasive in finally getting Terms extended from 3 to 4 years. ( In the 1980s, it was the UBCM that lobbied to increase the election term to three years from two. Since 2007, it has been actively lobbying the provincial government to extend the election term by yet another year.)
You can make your views known by contacting Ben Stewart, the minister of community and rural development, at 250-387-2283 or ben. stew-art. mla@leg.bc.ca
----------------------
VICTORIA – The B.C. Liberal cabinet has approved an overhaul of local election laws that will see terms of office extended to four years and new spending limits imposed on candidates in time for civic elections in 2011. Community and Rural Development Minister Ben Stewart said Wednesday he expects new legislation to be drafted in time for debate in the spring 2011 session of the legislature. The spending limits are to be worked out after discussions at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this fall.
Local Government Elections Task Force Local Election Cycles Discussion Paper
February 2010 [PDF] Local Government Elections Task Force
Don Quixote Note: I do not accept the argument(s) for the extension of Council's Term in office from 3 to 4 years. A 3 year sentence (without time off for good behavior) for a person elected to a dysfunctional Council may cause incumbents to rethink their commitment to community service while conversely the electors may find a 4 year interlude before they can recall a dysfunctional Council much too long. A 4 year term without at least a RECALL provision is unacceptable.
Please take the time to communicate with Ben Stewart, the minister of community and rural development, at 250-387-2283 or ben. stew-art. mla@leg.bc.ca and express your opinion on these proposed 4 year sentences with no Recall Provision.
3 comments:
You raise very good points Bob- many good candidates may simply not choose to run; alternatively we may want to look at councillor positions with 2 years coupled with Mayor's with 4 (perhaps with recall provision) would alleviate some of my concerns or continue status quo with 3 year terms...
Excelllent perspective Dan Albas!
Who was consulted in making this recommendation: Was it UBCM, a lobby group for politicians, or the citizenry at large?
From the perspective of a local politician, it may be beneficial for s/he to stay in office for an additional year, but without the benefit of recall legislation, we voters are at the politicians' mercy.
Elections are a fine way to ensure that the politicians are at the voters' mercy, and not the other way around - just like it is supposed to be.
The cost of holding elections is minimal in the grand scheme, and it is simply the price we pay for democracy. We get a choice, once every 3 years. As pointed out, without recall legislation, we citizens could be left powerless for 4 long years.
What is so broken about 3-year terms that we need to fix or extend them?
How would extending terms affect the recruitment of younger people, business owners, etc into local government?
Who can commit 4 years when raising a young family, or starting a business?
Consultation should occur with the voters, not only a lobby group for politicians.
All ramifications from these recommendations should be duly considered.
Post a Comment