Barriers to Office
Last month, I attended this year’s ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipalities Association) conference. At the conference, ROMA’s parent organization AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) shared about their Healthy Democracy Project, which aims to help foster a stronger, more vibrant, more widely participated in election process this year in 2026. Voter turnout has steadily decreased in municipal elections, from 43% province wide in 2014 to a record-low of 36% in 2022. Further, less and less people are putting their names forward for election, with 553 seats across Ontario being filled by acclamation (including the County of Brant’s Ward 4), and more than 20 percent less people running across the province between 2010 and 2022. AMO’s research has shown as well a correlation between these two statistics: where there were acclamations, or uncompetitive races, voter turnout was depressed by up to 10% (this held true in Ward 4, where significantly less voters turned out to vote for Mayor as well).
We should all find this greatly concerning, as many important issues are handled at the municipal level, from road maintenance to funding libraries, planning community growth to running social services, building new recreation facilities and collecting household waste. We need both your input as the electorate and community residents, and local leaders to step up to share their views and opinions on how to guide the nine figure annual budget of the municipality. I strongly believe that competitive elections generate great new ideas, regardless of who wins at the end of the day, and thus none of us should hope to see acclamations later this year.
So why are less people putting their name forward, or choosing not to reoffer? AMO identified three key factors at work: time commitments outpacing what is “expected” on paper, limited compensation, and social costs. The first two work hand-in-hand: the vast majority of councils across Ontario, including our own, presume council to be a part-time position and compensate thusly ($36,000 gross salary for a Brant councillor) but hours and schedule far surpass the hours budgeted for. County of Brant compensation for its council assumes fifteen hours a week in meetings, preparatory work, constituency work, and more; I can tell you from personal experience it averages close to thirty. Factoring in that council, with its committees, has morning, afternoon, and evening meetings, let alone showing up for community events, gatherings, and more that are expected (and they should be to do the job right!); it's incredibly challenging for members of council to fit their “day jobs” into these schedules. AMO identifies in their studies that part-time councils struggle with getting youth candidates, diverse candidates, and female candidates more so than their full-time counterparts.
The other complicating factor which discourages people from running is the increasing temperature of political discourse and the ease of access to you as an elected official (or to frame it differently, the impossibility of disconnecting). Nasty comments, threats, and more have become more commonplace, which understandably can make anyone shy away from putting their name forward. Over my term of council, I’ve received threats and insults against both myself and family members (to the point of having to get police involved), I lost an employment opportunity due to my support of an issue at council (my support of Gender-based violence support services, which I do not have even an iota of regret for), and I responded to urgent concerns at all hours. Other councils have made the news for these types of issues, both the councils of Pickering and Sarnia have at varying times been forced to go fully remote for safety reasons for council, staff, and the public. This factor in particular has been shared with me by members of the community on why they would not consider a run for office; absolutely incredible, brilliant, passionate people we would be darn lucky to have represent us around the horseshoe.
So, with all of that (and how attractive I’ve just made the role of elected official sound), what can we do? A few things, in my humble opinion.
First of all, as the electorate, we all need to recognize (and act accordingly) that the incredible people who choose to run for office are human, and are deserving of kindness. I encourage folks to be passionate in their beliefs, and absolutely there are times where all of us will vehemently disagree with a decision or individual politician, but it's unfair and unproductive to be nasty to the people involved. This extends to participation in public meetings as well. Most recently we’ve had conversation surrounding Cleaver Road Bridge, and members within our public gallery booed and hissed at a member of the public expressing a dissenting opinion. This behaviour discourages healthy debate and future participation by members afflicted. In short, it costs nothing to be kind, and we can all disagree without being disagreeable.
Second, I would strongly encourage the next term of council to consider when it conducts the once-a-term review of ward boundaries and council composition to change to full time councillors (I would imagine at one a ward rather than two). You, as voters and ratepayers, deserve a council that's full time job is running your local government, and the future elected officials deserve to have their time and energy appreciated. I can fully acknowledge, there are times where I’ve missed returning a call in a timely fashion, or just couldn’t find the opportunity to continue advocating on a topic; but I am only human, there are only so many hours in the day, and I have to maintain other paid work to keep the lights on (like we all do).
Finally, find your local leaders and encourage them to put them and their ideas forward. We need them, and they may not always recognize that they could do this or see themselves in this role. It might even be you! I certainly never imagined myself in this role, but a few community members and mentors encouraged me to do so in the spring of 2022, and here I am today serving you (hopefully well!). You/They might be volunteers with the local service club or legion, a local business owner, or just someone who is community minded. It's a challenging role, yes, with all the issues I’ve highlighted, but I can tell you from experience, one that is rewarding and meaningful like no other.
All in all, this election cycle, I hope we see many talented, wonderful people choose to run for office, and all of you turn out to vote for them. Local democracy is important, I encourage you to make time to participate in this process this year.