As of this point I am only certain of
seven eight people running for Saanich council:
- Susan Brice - incumbent
- Judy Brownoff - incumbent
- Paul Gerrard - incumbent
- Dean Murdock - incumbent
- Vicki Sanders - incumbent
- Nicola Wade
- Lief Wergeland - incumbent
- Rob Wickson
I am fairly certain that Vic Derman is running again. I
do not know what Wayne Hunter's plans are.
We are realistically looking at
eight or nine serious candidates for Saanich council this fall.
If Wayne Hunter does not run, I really do not see any chance of a competitive race in Saanich this time around.
In 2005 there were 17 candidates of which I would say 11 were serious and four more really tried.
2002 was similar with 16 candidates and 12 serious contenders.
In 2008 there were only 11 candidates of which 10 were serious.
In 2011 it looks like there are only going to be
eight or nine serious candidates. Something is wrong when there are fewer and fewer people really trying to get elected to council. It is bad for local governance, it is bad for public engagement. If it were not for a strong race happening for the Mayor's chair, there would be no real reason for people to turn out and vote in Saanich this election.
3 comments:
Wayne Hunter is stepping down to run for trustee of the Saanich School Board (SD #63). Nichola Wade is going to run for Saanich Council in his place (the two announcements were made at the same time).
How did I miss that one??? Thanks for pointing it out to me.
"Something is wrong when there are fewer and fewer people really trying to get elected to council."
Yes, it's called the incumbency advantage, and it can only be broken through term limits. Fresh ideas won't necessarily appear from incumbents.
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