City Searching For Civic Election Candidates

Running for political office is a big responsibilty. But with that said it can be rewarding.

To help make it easier to run for civic office the City of Moose Jaw has not only upgraded their candidate’s kit but they have also created an on-line portal to assist prospective candidates.

“We are here to help and not to hinder,” returning officer Tracey Wittke told MJ Independent as the City has issued the call for candidates,

They are encouraging anyone who meets the requirements and is interested in running for civic office to explore doing so.

In order to be a candidate there are some basic requirements which must be met.

A prospective candidate must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or over on the election date, lived in the Province of Saskatchewan six months prior to the election date and additionally resided in the City of Moose Jaw for the three months just prior to the election date of November 9th.

Owning property in Moose Jaw and not living in the city means you can vote in the municipal election but you cannot run for office in Moose Jaw.

In order to run prospective candidates must get a minimum of 25 electors to sign their nomination papers for either the mayor’s or a councillor’s position. Candidates can only run for either mayor of councillor but not both in the Civic election.

A candidate’s kit, which includes a nominaton form, may be picked up at City Hall or downloaded and printed off of the City’s web-site election page.

All candidates must also make a $100 deposit which is returned when they file their election expenses and contributor’s list after the election.

There is something new this election and that is all candidates are required to file a public disclosure. The public disclosure not only lists property owned by the candidate but also, if applicable, where they work.

The public disclosure is a provincial government requirement and it is designed to help identify any potenetial conflicts of interest.

“It’s anything which could be a conflict of interest,” she said adding it additionally included all property owned outside the city as well.

“The more information you provide the better. You never know when a conflict may erupt because of what you own.”

The backbone of the City’s new help for candidates is the City’s election page which can be accessed by clicking here.

To help prospective and declared candidates the non-partisan civic electoral staff have refined the existing candidate’s guide as well as re-vamped the on-line guide with not just more information but also included new videos.

The videos were put together as a collaborative effort by staff in all cities in the province.

“It was a collaborative work from city staff (throughout the province) who took questions and worked together.”

“We tried to make them as generic as possible,” Wittke said about the videos. “We kept it central and we kept it generic.”

So far there are two videos.

The first video is called Municipal Governance 101 : Introduction To Local Government and it contains the basics of what it takes to be part of a Council discussing such things as types of meetings and the elected official’s role.

The second video is part of the Women In Local Government lin which is designed to get more women active in local municipal politics.

The plans call for two additional videos to be added.

The rules to run the election were established by the Province and then integrated into the local election bylaw.

These rules also apply to deadlines such as submitting your nomination papers as well as when you may withdraw your name.

The final date for nominations is October 7th at 4 pm. A time and date set by the Province.

“The time is determined by the City Clerk’s clock…if it’s 4;05 pm and you come in we will not process them.”

The electoral office would like nomination papers in early but it is up to the candidate when they chose to be nominated at the City Clerk’s office.

“We appreciate it if you can bring it in before October 7th. But obviously we cannot force people to. (By filing early) it gets your name out there fast,” she said.

Once a person has filed their nomination papers they are legally allowed to start putting out their election signs in accordance with the rules under the City’s election bylaw. Candidates are not allowed to erect election signage until after they are nominated.

The withdrawl date is October 8th - also provincially legislated - after which your name will appear on the ballot even if you publicly state you are no longer a candidate.

“If you get cold feet you can withdraw and there is a form for you to sign,” she said adding that means the candidage must attend at the City Clerk’s office to formally withdraw.

Witke encourages all candidates and prospective candidates to read the Candidate’s Handbook and use the on-;one resources but if they still have questions and concerns they my call the City Clerk’s office for help. The number to call is 306 - 694 - 4426.

“Read the candidate’s handbook. Call us if you have any questions as we obviously could not cover everything,” she said. “there is no stupid question or anything like that…we are more than happy to find out the answer and return the call.”

NEXT IN THE SERIES - Multiple ways available to cast your ballot.