B.C.'s municipal politicians to get longer term in office

BY ROB SHAW, VANCOUVER SUN FEBRUARY 25, 2014 11:22 AM
VICTORIA - Municipal politicians will soon get a longer term in office under reforms proposed by the B.C. government on Tuesday. The province will introduce legislation to change municipal elections from the current three-year term to a four year cycle, starting this fall, said Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Coralee Oakes. The changes would mean that politicians elected in the November municipal elections would not have to run for re-election until November 2018. All other Canadian provinces hold local elections every four years, Oakes said in a news release. Four-year terms for municipal politicians was first proposed by the government in 2010, but was defeated at the time by a vote from the Union of B.C. Municipalities. The UBCM eventually changed its position and members voted to support the move last year. The changes are part of a package of local reforms that Oakes said will also modernize campaign financing rules. Those changes don’t include a cap on municipal election spending, because the government has pushed that issue off for further public consultation.
http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2013-2017/2014CSCD0008-000215.htm
---------