Your Vote Matters in Municipal Politics
With a bunch of people you’ve probably never heard of running for office, it’s no wonder that turnout for municipal elections, especially those in Metro Vancouver, are so low.
Despite the anonymous candidates and the seemingly insignificant stakes involved, you should vote in this October’s election and every municipal election that you can. As it turns out, city hall has a greater impact on your life than you may realize.
While it’s not quite as glamorous as federal or even provincial politics, municipal government has its own set of responsibilities. Your local mayor’s or city councillor’s office can wield tremendous influence over which buildings are constructed in your neighbourhood or how the streets and sidewalks are maintained. Municipal governments also manage your garbage disposal, water supply, fire departments, and police forces. They decide where you’re allowed to build liquor or cannabis stores—or in Richmond’s case, whether they can even be opened at all.
City government also has a great deal of direct influence on education. It might not be so important for post-secondary students, but the SOGI initiative—which seeks to better support LGBTQ+ students in elementary school and high school through implementing a more inclusive curriculum—has been a hot topic recently. If you’re a member or an ally of that community, you might want to check to see which school trustees in the running support it. School trustees also have a say over things like seismic upgrades to older school buildings and educational programming.
Every region will have its own unique issues in this election. In Surrey, crime or LRT might be your greatest concern. In Vancouver, you might be worried about zoning laws or the cost of living. In Richmond, you could be mad about mansions being built on land that should be used for farming. In Burnaby, you might be worried about demovictions. Before you vote, if you have a problem with unregulated Airbnbs or empty houses, then look for candidates that have an answer to that.
Considering how few citizens vote municipally and how boring these elections are, there is plenty of room for error within them. Municipal elections are far more likely to allow for morally compromised candidates because of how much easier it is to get on the ballot compared to provincial or federal politics. In Richmond, one of the candidates, Hong Guo, has a laundry list of complaints, some involving fraud against her law practice. Hong Guo denies the allegations, attributing the missing funds to a rogue bookkeeper.
When voting this October, do your civic duty. You don’t necessarily need to know your candidates inside and out, but do a little bit of due diligence. Make sure you’re not allowing someone incompetent or bigoted to take control, and if things are operating smoothy, make sure you keep the politicians you like in office.
