2014 Municipal Elections

[Blitz]

Unfortunately Windsor mayor Eddie Francis has decide not to run again after 3 terms. He's by far the best mayor we've ever had and there is concern the city will step back from the great strides it made during his tenure.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by niwell

Unlike last election we actually have some decent candidates. Smitherman is a terrible, terrible person and knowing what I know now, I'm actually somewhat glad he lost in 2010.

It is something of an indictment that in a metropolis larger than most provinces the only two candidates of significance for mayor were Ford and Smitherman.

Sure glad I didn't have to vote in that election.

But as you say at least this time around you do seem to have some decent candidates.

Meanwhile, up here in one of the forgotten parts of Ontario, there doesn't seem to be anyone willing to run against Jim Watson for the mayoralty of Ottawa.


I wonder if one of the problems is the fact that whether by law or convention we don't allow candidates for mayor to also run for councillor (or apparently stay on in any other elected role). There's always too much of a risk of losing decent councillors in failed bids for the mayoralty, a fact that just tends to strengthen the position of the incumbent mayor.

For instance, why exactly did Olivia Chow have to resign as an MP? In the same vein, Jim Watson resigned from the cabinet as the Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister as well as MPP when he ran for the mayoralty of Ottawa in the last municipal election (and so too did George Smitherman, of course). I get resigning from a cabinet post but why resign as an MPP until you've actually been elected as mayor?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

MISINFORMATION. He's successfully positioned himself for many people as the money-smart fiscal manager, but he's actually been a massive financial disaster for the city, cutting revenue sources, incurring contract-cancellation penalties, and killing a fully-funded transit plan that would have brought rail service to most of the city, in favour of a tiny subway stub that will serve the fewest possible people for the most money, creating a tax and debt burden that Torontonians will be paying off for at least 30 more years in exchange for barely improved service.

He has the economic intelligence of an infant.

Relative to what he's cost the city, his savings have mostly been symbolic peanuts--a few million from councillors' budgets, eliminating City Hall's plant watering, a few million from contracting out garbage collection to the private sector. He's cost the city hundreds of millions more than he's saved. He is awful.

How come he could single-handedly do all that damage by himself? Isn't the mayor just one more city council vote in Ontario municipalities? Weren't a majority of councillors on board with the ideas, so all of that would've likely have happened without Ford...?

(Genuine questions. I'm not challenging your statements at all, I'm not familiar with municipal politics in Ontario and other provinces.)

[kwoldtimer]

Neither Kitchener's long-serving Carl Zehr (unfortunately) nor Waterloo's Brenda Halloran (no loss there) will be running again.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Dado

It is something of an indictment that in a metropolis larger than most provinces the only two candidates of significance for mayor were Ford and Smitherman.

Sure glad I didn't have to vote in that election.

But as you say at least this time around you do seem to have some decent candidates.

Meanwhile, up here in one of the forgotten parts of Ontario, there doesn't seem to be anyone willing to run against Jim Watson for the mayoralty of Ottawa.


I wonder if one of the problems is the fact that whether by law or convention we don't allow candidates for mayor to also run for councillor (or apparently stay on in any other elected role). There's always too much of a risk of losing decent councillors in failed bids for the mayoralty, a fact that just tends to strengthen the position of the incumbent mayor.

For instance, why exactly did Olivia Chow have to resign as an MP? In the same vein, Jim Watson resigned from the cabinet as the Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister as well as MPP when he ran for the mayoralty of Ottawa in the last municipal election (and so too did George Smitherman, of course). I get resigning from a cabinet post but why resign as an MPP until you've actually been elected as mayor?

Until now, Watson's only "competition" is right wing nut Mike McGuire. The only other person who was considering to run was that idiot Senator Verne White, Ottawa's former chief of police who's only been in Ottawa since 2007. No doubt if he runs, HE'LL be able to keep his senate seat.

Anyway, why do politicians have to resign before running for bigger jobs;

- Campaigns are very time consuming and take away any time they have to do their regular job. It would be wrong to pay someone during a 6 month campaign with public money and leaves of absence aren't (and shouldn't) be an option for politicians;
- If people were allowed to keep their seats while running, you would have a ridiculous amount of people who would only run for a promotion;
- Generally speaking, if you give up your cushy job to run for a bigger post, you might actually care about the issues.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by Dado

For instance, why exactly did Olivia Chow have to resign as an MP? In the same vein, Jim Watson resigned from the cabinet as the Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister as well as MPP when he ran for the mayoralty of Ottawa in the last municipal election (and so too did George Smitherman, of course). I get resigning from a cabinet post but why resign as an MPP until you've actually been elected as mayor?

It's specifically in Ontario law.. if they are in cabinet they must resign right away but if a regular MP/MPP etc they must resign by the end of nominations day (Sept 12, 2014 in this case).

I guess they just resign whenever they sign up for the election, since they'll have to resign eventually anyways and if they didn't opponents might accuse them of abusing their position or spending their provincial/federal paid time on campaigning... of course incumbent municipal politicians don't have this restriction e.g. Mayor Ford touring public housing passing out magnets

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/sta...25_e.htm#BK311

258. (1) The following are not eligible to be elected as a member of a council or to hold office as a member of a council: 1. Except in accordance with section 30 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996,
i. an employee of the municipality,
ii. a person who is not an employee of the municipality but who is the clerk, treasurer, Integrity Commissioner, Auditor General, Ombudsman or registrar referred to in section 223.11 or an investigator referred to in subsection 239.2 (1) of the municipality, or
iii. a person who is not an employee of the municipality but who holds any administrative position of the municipality.
2. A judge of any court.
3. A member of the Assembly as provided in the Legislative Assembly Act or of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada.
4. Except in accordance with Part V of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 and any regulations made under that Part, a public servant within the meaning of that Act. 2001, c. 25, s. 258 (1); 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 110; 2006, c. 35, Sched. C, s. 86.

261. (1) Except where otherwise provided, no person may hold more than one office governed by the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 at the same time anywhere in Ontario. 2001, c. 25, s. 261 (1). Election void
(2) If a person is nominated for and his or her name appears on the ballots for more than one office and he or she is elected to any of those offices, his or her election is void and the office is vacant. 2001, c. 25, s. 261 (2).

https://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/st...m32_e.htm#BK40

Who may be nominated
29. (1) A person may be nominated for an office only if, as of the day the person is nominated,
(a) he or she is qualified to hold that office under the Act that creates it; and
(b) he or she is not ineligible under this or any other Act or otherwise prohibited by law to be nominated for or to hold the office. 1996, c. 32, Sched., s. 29 (1); 2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 8 (1).
Certain persons eligible to be nominated
(1.1) Despite subsection (1) and despite section 258 of the Municipal Act, 2001, section 203 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, section 9 of the Legislative Assembly Act and section 219 of the Education Act, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario or the Senate or House of Commons of Canada is not ineligible to be nominated for an office in an election by virtue of being a member of any of those bodies but, if the person is a member of any of those bodies as of the close of nominations on nomination day of the election, the nomination shall be rejected by the clerk under section 35. 2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 8 (2); 2006, c. 32, Sched. C, s. 34 (1).
Exclusion
(1.2) Subsection (1.1) does not apply to a member of the Executive Council of Ontario or a federal Minister of the Crown. 2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 8 (2).
Nomination for one office only
(2) If a person who has been nominated for an office is nominated for another office to which this Act applies, the first nomination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn at the time the second nomination is filed. 1996, c. 32, Sched., s. 29 (2).
Name on ballot for more than one office
(2.1) Despite the fact that the first nomination is deemed withdrawn under subsection (2), if a person’s name appears on the ballots for more than one office to which this Act applies, section 261 of the Municipal Act, 2001 or section 206 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as the case may be, applies. 2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 8 (3); 2006, c. 32, Sched. C, s. 34 (2).
Separate nomination for each person
(3) Each person to be nominated for election to an office shall be nominated by a separate nomination. 1996, c. 32, Sched., s. 29 (3).

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by lio45

How come he could single-handedly do all that damage by himself? Isn't the mayor just one more city council vote in Ontario municipalities? Weren't a majority of councillors on board with the ideas, so all of that would've likely have happened without Ford...?

(Genuine questions. I'm not challenging your statements at all, I'm not familiar with municipal politics in Ontario and other provinces.)

Sorry I didn't respond; I was off the thread for a few days.

He came in with a HUGE mandate because he won by such a landslide, and he had a majority of councillors on his side due to his overwhelming popularity. Council was split into pro-Ford and anti-Ford camps, and the pro-Fords were a bit bigger. The handful of swing voters tended to go Ford's way most of the time as well, so he did a lot of damage in the first 18 months or so.

Eventually, opposition to his more ridiculous ideas mounted, and he faced a public and council backlash. The backlash grew, and his power vacillated a bit, back and forth, but last year, in the wake of the crack scandal and the police investigations and the conflict-of-interest trials, etc., council basically stripped him of all but symbolic powers. Even his staunchest political allies have distanced themselves from him now, and his office has retrenched into being basically Rob, Doug, and whatever inexperienced lackeys they can round up.

Council is pretty much governing without him now, which is for the best, but things are still somewhat in stasis because the of the big hole his non-presence leaves at the centre of the city's government. And he's actually in as strong a position for re-election as he could hope--an outsider again, which is where he's most comfortable campaigning.

[J.OT13]

No surprise here:

Watson to run again in 2014, will register Monday in Nepean

By Jon Willing ,Ottawa Sun
First posted: Sunday, March 23, 2014 06:22 PM EDT | Updated: Sunday, March 23, 2014 06:25 PM EDT


Mayor Jim Watson is kicking off his re-election campaign Monday in Nepean.

The media-savvy Watson plugged the announcement on Facebook and Twitter Sunday before posting a statement on Facebook at 5 p.m., ahead of the evening newscasts.

"In politics, you can either run on your record, or you run from it. I'm very proud of my record and everything we've built together," Watson wrote.

Watson, who has said previously he would seek re-election, will be able to start collecting campaign donations once his nomination papers are filed.

Watson, 52, will submit his papers at Ben Franklin Place in Nepean.

Usually there's some thought that goes into where Watson launches his campaign.

In 2010 he chose the client service centre in Orléans to, he said at the time, showcase the east end and show the campaign is "about more than City Hall."

Now the west end will get Watson's attention.

Watson's only challenger so far is Mike Maguire, an IT executive who lives in Kars.

The election is Oct. 27.

jon.willing@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @JonathanWilling

http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/03/23/...nday-in-nepean

[vid]

Many of the candidates running in Thunder Bay can be described with some combination of the words "wing", "job" and "nut".

It's going to be a very entertaining election season. Several of the candidates are banned from city hall because they're annoying. One of the candidates for mayor is an outspoken marijuana advocate with a criminal record (running against our mayor who stated on national media that he is pro-legalization), the guy running against my incumbent ward councillor is a pervert, there are at least two racists. The Sarah Palin-esque former PC candidate might throw her hat into the ring. There is a group of female candidate that I like to refer to as "The Ditsy Chicks".

My prediction: all the old white men will be re-elected, they don't have any other skills and people here are stupid.

Fun, fun!

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

No surprise here:



http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/03/23/...nday-in-nepean

Jim Watson will win a landslide.

In many ways Watson is a personification of Ottawa itself: he's relatively dull and uninteresting, you never really hear about him outside of Ottawa, and while he does a lot of things in a mediocre fashion, he gets sh*t done and runs things well.

His political strength is also incredible. He manages to get practically every councillor to agree with him on everything, and everything he wants gets passed by the whole city council, in many cases unanimously.

[waterloowarrior]

The BC municipal election terms will be expanding from 3 to 4 years starting in 2014. All other provinces currently hold elections every four years.
http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/0...ear-terms.html

We've had four year terms for the last couple of elections in Ontario... election year is always a do-nothing controversial year so it's nice to have an extra year to get things done.

[waterloowarrior]

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts not seeking re-election
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=211057

12th largest municipality in Canada