Okay, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, the local electorate will be voting in their candidates for a four-year term.
It has been difficult to find out that information as Elections BC only deals with provincial elections not municipal ones. But Tom Moore, the top honcho dealing with municipal elections said it is definitely a four-year term beginning with the November 2014 election. The proposed change in elections in B.C. is waiting for Royal Assent. It’s now 100 per cent certain.
So what does this mean for local voters? It could mean a number of things, some good, some not so much. Those who plan on running will be committed for four long years. That means meetings, meetings and more meetings, most likely 84 council meetings, 84 Committee of the Whole meetings and numerous in-camera meetings. And that doesn’t include the advisory committees or other organizational meetings. Forget about much of a private life. And on the down side, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get someone off council for the length of their term.
But, the up side of the whole situation is that hopefully we will have a new, enthusiastic council that can work together over four years to make things happen in Sooke. There would be enough time to set plans in action and get projects completed.
Very few potential candidates have announced they are running and it is now six months to the election. Kerrie Reay has declared her intentions. How many second or third termers will we have? How many candidates for mayor? How many new faces on council?
It is going to be very interesting to see if the “old guard” will be replaced or if locals like what they accomplished in the past three years. X will mark the spot.