By Danielle Klooster
Published: Nov. 7, 2014
(Editor’s Note: Danielle Klooster served as councillor for two terms in Penhold, AB, and now runs a writing service and business development consulting business. She wrote this column to help people make informed decision and reflect on their motives for becoming a councilor.)
1) “People are ready for change!” Newsflash: everyone says that, every election. Sometimes it’s true and sometimes it’s just perception. Often times, when voters go behind that screen, they get a bit scared of change (which is natural) and they go for the known quantity.
That aside, it is my opinion that you just plain need a better reason to run. If the best you can do is “Hey, I’m new!”… I mean, come on. You need to understand budgets, financial statements, water, sewer, garbage, road construction, residential/commercial/industrial development, the role of governance, Inter-municipal relations, by-laws, social and economic development and more.
Have you done your homework on this stuff? Do you have INFORMED positions? Do you have proven leadership experience? Have you ever even sat on a board? As a voter I need to know about what qualifies you for the job and what you stand for. Simply representing “change” is woefully inadequate.
2) “I’m going to clean house!”
Uh, no you’re not. If you envision yourself walking into the municipal office and taking over operations, firing a bunch of people, and generally sticking your nose into administration’s business, you’re in for a rude awakening. If you want to manage your town or city, apply for the job. The CAO’s job is management; your role as a Councillor is governance. You don’t get to direct the staff. You are not the bylaw officer, the public works foreman or the HR Director. In fact, you have only one employee – the CAO. And guess what? In many communities, the CAO has an employment contract. You can’t just ditch this guy so you can take over running the place.
3) “I’m going to fix the [insert pet peeve such as snow removal/pot holes/bike lanes] situation!”
The truth of the matter is that you have NO POWER outside of council chambers. Even around the council table, your power extends only to the amount of influence you can leverage during debate, and to your (ONE) vote. I would add: while it’s true that you have no power outside of chambers, you are ALWAYS a representative of the municipality. You ought never overstep your bounds or ram through your personal agenda. You have a responsibility to consider all matters related to the strategic and fiscal direction of your municipality, and your job, as one member of a team, is to find ways to work together to make wise, informed, responsible decisions for the benefit of all. You are one of a group of decision-makers; no more, no less.
4) “We have to get rid of the current corrupt/secretive/self-serving/incompetent bunch!”
Ah, the ever popular “anti” campaign… this tactic, sadly, is often successful. It resonates with coffee klatsches and angry people. The problem is that while it may get you elected, it’s a poor foundation for being an effective mayor or member of council. You have a whole bunch of really important decisions in front of you; stuff that was already in motion, that the previous council that you thought was so useless was working hard to deliberate over and consider that perhaps you should have put some time into understanding. An individual with a personal grievance who runs for office is not only in danger of being an ineffective Councillor; these folks can be downright destructive.
5) “I’m going to make fiscal responsibility my number one priority!”
This may well be the most irresponsible thing I hear come from the mouths of candidates. If all you want to do is find ways to save people money, then let’s abolish property taxes right now and we can all go home. After all, what’s the point of even having taxes if the only thing we care about is not spending any money? Yes, fiscal accountability and responsible spending are very, very important. And no one likes paying taxes, me included. But the number one responsibility of the councillor is NOT fiscal responsibility — it is rather to build community infrastructure for future generations.
Why should you actually run for Council? You should run because you wish to serve your community, to provide good leadership, to plan and build for the future. You should run because you have a contribution to make, ideas to be shared, passion that won’t abate and a commitment to do the right thing no matter what. You should run if you understand that you will have to sacrifice popularity and family time, and that you will have to sometimes make decisions that benefit the community as a whole but don’t benefit you personally. You should run if you want a better future for your grandchildren, and your grandchildren’s grandchildren.
If those aren’t the reason you are running, then just withdraw from the race now and free up a seat for people with right motivation.
Heidi French says
Great perspective. I guess some of those running in Squamish didn’t read this before throwing their hat into the ring. The hubris of some candidates is astounding.
ted prior says
This is the most inportant You ought never overstep your bounds or ram through your personal agenda. You have a responsibility to consider all matters related to the strategic and fiscal direction of your municipality, and your job, as one member of a team, is to find ways to work together to make wise, informed, responsible decisions for the benefit of all. You are one of a group of decision-makers; no more, no less.
sam stoddart says
Great content. Even though I live outside the district now(SLRD), If I were to Vote I would look at the qualifications and the the candidate’s history of communication and team building abilities before my X hit the ballot box. If you don’t have a team that can work together and compromise for the greater good of the community, not much gets done in positive way.