Signs of Spring and Municipal Elections in the Air

Although there are still twenty months to go before the next municipal election in Ottawa, there’s lots of talk about council leadership. This results from speculation around the possible outcome of mayor Larry O’Brien’s upcoming trial as well as public concerns regarding council performance as a whole.

There are calls for new candidates to come forward and challenge incumbent councillors, many of whom have been in place, virtually unchallenged, for far too long. Along with this some are suggesting political parties at the municipal level, and term limits for councillors.

Term limits might not be needed if voters have more than one viable candidate to select from at election time. It is costly to run an effective campaign, making it increasingly difficult for newcomers to run against incumbents. A party approach might help here as the party organization can work on fundraising and community issues more effectively between elections.

Changes will also be needed in the area of funding of political parties and financing of municipal election campaigns. Right now the province’s municipal elections act permits funding for candidates from corporate sources and this has led to perceptions of conflict of interest for many candidates and incumbents. This will become even more pronounced if political parties are involved. Either way, changes to the elections act similar to those enacted at the federal level are needed urgently.

Changes of this sort will not come easily as similar campaign funding rules are also in place at the provincial level. It would be a tall order to get necessary changes in municipal elections act enacted before the next election. It has been suggested that political reform should come from within the community and cities (Problem of Leadership, Ottawa Citizen, March 5, 2009) but current provincial laws and regulations prevent this from happening.