2022 Cariboo-Chilcotin Local Elections - A look ahead

On Saturday, October 15th, 2022 -- local voters in the Cariboo-Chilcotin will be electing new Mayors, Councillors, Electoral Area Directors' and School Trustees for a new 4 year term commencing November 1st, 2022 to November 1st, 2026

For full disclosure purposes -- I have already committed to seeking re-election in my own Electoral Area for a 3rd term as the #CaribooRD Area "D" Director in Fall 2022. In addition, Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb a year ago committed to seeking re-election in Fall 2022. If re-elected in Fall 2022, Mayor Cobb will then become the longest serving Mayor of the City of Williams Lake 

Local elected officials, I am certain, will be taking the time to reflect with their families and significant others over the next number of months to decide if they have the "fire in their bellies" for another term of local elected office. Typically, current locally elected officials usually announce in the June/July period prior to General Voting Day. If they are not seeking re-election, some may announce earlier than that so people can reflect about seeking election to local office (Area Director, Mayor, Councillor or School Trustee) and understand the time and other commitments involved before "putting their name in the ring" 

Some good resources to help you decide if you want to run in next fall's local government elections or Board of Education elections 

i) Local Government Elections (Area Director, Councillor or Mayor) -- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/governance-powers/general-local-elections

ii) School Trustee Elections - https://bcsta.org/resources-and-services/trustee-elections-2018/?fbclid=IwAR0ULBUKe1N7PlaSY1YvnjQAKTeozjlW7kzFOH0Fz225NICIicn1nApB0FE

Finally - some wise words from Kamloops Councillor/Thompson Nicola RD Kamloops Director Arjun Singh (thank you to him for allowing me to share his thoughts on the 2022 Local Government General Elections here, see below in italics) 

"One year from now, on Oct 15 2022, BC will have the opportunity to elect their local government representatives. Those fortunate to be elected to a council or a regional board will have an amazing opportunity to help shape the post pandemic future and also to work on a great diversity of opportunities and challenges. 

Local governments manage roads, walking and cycle paths, drinking water, sewage, recycling and solid waste, parks and recreation, residential and commercial development, and so many other critical and important services. It is important to vote for the candidates you think are best to help create and shape policy and represent the community as a whole. Have you considered putting your name forward to serve on a council and regional board? I’ve run in 5 civic elections, been elected 4 times to Kamloops city council, and have also had the opportunity to help train local government elected folks across BC. I plan to run again next year.

 Here are 3 tips that I have found helpful in being a successful council candidate and a successful councillor. Having been a Thompson Nicola Regional District Director since 2014, these tips apply to regional board elections as well.

 

1) Be a community builder, not a community buster: it’s easy to criticize, to assign blame, and to go negative. Much more rewarding and challenging is to work to find solutions to complex problems, to generally believe in others, to take a positive can-do approach, and to engage the widest diversity of people to build up communities together. 

2) Take time to learn about what councils and regional board actually do: local governments, provincial governments, federal government, and indigenous governments all have sets of roles and responsibilities. These can be distinct, such as the federal governments responsibility for the criminal code, and they sometimes overlap, as with all orders of governments have different and complementary roles in the provision / enabling of housing. There can be misunderstandings of what local governments are generally responsible for. Some of the best ways to what specific local government do are to read that local government’s annual reports for the past 4 years and to view past or current council / board meetings, agendas, and/or minutes. 

3) Embrace tough issues and bold opportunities: Even while adopting a community builder approach, we have to acknowledge there are very tough challenges local governments have not addressed as well as we need to. Tough issues today often seem to be much tougher that tough issues in the past. A community builder approach sees bold opportunities in addressing these challenges well. Doing this requires collaboration with a whole range of community members, city council and staff colleagues, and other orders of government. Governments of all types and stripes often move too slowly in working on pressing community issues" 

As I always have -- I will continue to let people know about local government matters in the Cariboo-Chilcotin including in my Electoral Area and then it'll be over to the voters in my own Electoral Area to judge my performance in my 2nd term in Fall 2022 ... as well as voters elsewhere in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Region to judge how well their local government or Board of Education has performed and if incumbents should be allowed to continue for another term or not as well as electing people to local office, whether for the first time or back to office after time away from locally elected office

SF