All the candidates vying for council seats and the mayor's chair have now been declared and the municipal election campaign is underway. So what factors will separate the wheat from the chafe, the winners from the losers, on the hustings?
Establishing a high credibility rating is vital. The most successful council contenders will be those who can sell themselves to a broad range of constituents. Setting up an appealing campaign website containing a comprehensive platform and personal information is a step in the right direction.聽 Without belabouring the obvious, in the social media age Twitter and Instagram accounts, as a well as an engaging Facebook page, are all indispensable communication channels.
The ability to park your ego at the door and a track record of steering clear of personality clashes is a major asset. And staying real is imperative. Candidates who barricade themselves behind a firewall of feel-good platitudes and unicorn agendas are not doing themselves any favours. Voters in this town have a tendency to sniff-out carpetbaggers, floaters and political dabblers in a hurry.
Being well-versed in the issues and offering workable options are essential election strategies. A good grasp of the contents of key documents and the ability to reference them in a discussion is useful in that regard. Here are a few suggestions: the recently published Official Community Plan, the 2014-2018 Financial Plan Report, the Council Strategic Plan 2015-2018, the DOS Affordable Housing Program Final Report, and the Sea to Sky Corridor Regional Transit Study. Candidates who have an aversion to doing a lot of reading should avoid throwing their hats into the ring.
Aspiring councillors who have not attended a council meeting recently should access the District's video library and view a few sessions to get a feel for the dynamics of that assembly and the topics discussed.聽
By all means, candidates should list the associations with which they've been affiliated. But a good idea is to go beyond simply indicating they are joiners. Voters are more interested in finding out how they helped to advance the agendas of those organizations.
As an aside, the growing number of council wannabes who highlighted their unflinching devotion to this community is one of my takeaways from the past five municipal election campaigns. But when they failed to get elected, many inexplicably disappeared into the woodwork, never to be seen or heard from again.
Former Vancouver Canuck Willie Mitchell, who grew up in Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, is a Stanley Cup champion and co-owner of a resort in Tofino. He offers this advice to anybody seeking a leadership position: "You need to define a clear path forward鈥o be a good leader, it's important to ask a ton of questions. It's the only way to learn, to improve. You have to put yourself out there in life. It's not good enough to just kick the tires now and then."
Let's hope all the contestants in this election heed that sage advice.
