33 Manitoba communities acclaim their politicians
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 | 2:08 PM CT
CBC News
Voters in 33 Manitoba communities will not be going to the polls in provincewide municipal elections on Oct. 25 because their councils have been acclaimed.
While some officials believe that shows residents are satisfied with their local government, others worry about the lack of elections in so many communities.
In one out of six municipalities, the mayors, reeves and all of council are unchallenged. In total, almost 500 local politicians have been acclaimed.
In the town of Minitonas, 320 kilometres northwest of Brandon, where there will be no vote, Reeve Mike Mcintosh said the lack of a vote in his community shows him that residents are satisfied with their local government.
"You know, at the end of four years you do get to get graded. And if nobody comes, I think that can also be a grade that you're not doing bad," he said Tuesday.
But Darryl Jackson, the mayor of Souris, said he's disappointed he will have no challenger to face, as he would be a better leader if he had to be elected for it.
"More people bring more ideas on how things could be accomplished. And I think that would be a healthy thing. So certainly, I think an election would have made me better," he said.
Only five people in Jackson's town have put their names forward for six council positions. The town will have to appoint someone to the final council seat, Jackson said.
"As soon as you have an election, people are forced to come out with their ideas, their vision for how they see the community is going to grow in the future, and what their plans would be to get that growth.
"When it's just an acclamation process you're not really pushed to let anybody know what your ideas are. It takes a lot of the interest away," he added.
For the first time ever, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities is compiling election data from across the province. That data has shown that 250 fewer candidates have let their name stand for public office this year than in the last round of municipal elections, in 2002.
AMM president Ron Bell said he was surprised by the numbers, but he was not sure why interest in municipal politics is falling. "They may be widely regarded in their community as the leaders. In other cases, they may have had a hard time finding anybody to run," he said.
Across the province, eight other councillors and one reeve will have to be appointed after the election because enough people failed to put their names forward to run for the positions.
