The UBCM did nothing to reduce the influence of big money over small elections, but Premier Gordon Campbell called for a blue-ribbon panel to propose new rules for local elections across B.C.
“We’ll be forming a task force to make recommendations on writing a new local government election act,” Premier Campbell told the Union of British Columbia Municipalities on Friday morning.
“It will be stand-alone legislation that will modernize your election rules, and create a single province-wide electoral process for local government elections,” he said, adding that the act could “designate a new chief electoral officer as an independent supervisor, administrator and enforcer of common local government election processes.”
Campbell committed the task force to an open process, and urged UBCM members to reconsider all aspects of local elections.
“There’s an opportunity here for you to ask yourselves questions like, ‘What should the local government election cycle be?’ Do you want to go back to two years, like it was? Should you go forward to four years?” Campbell said.
“There’s an opportunity to enact principles of the provincial election act, including disclosure, spending limits and other changes that will improve fairness, accountability, transparency and public participation,” he continued, adding,“Perhaps it’s time to restore voting rights for industrial and business property owners in our communities.
Campbell said the task force will be co-chaired by UBCM president Harry Nice and Community Development Minister Bill Bennett, and will include two additional UBCM representatives as well as two MLAs. He said the task force will report back by May 30, 2010, and that the resulting act will be introduced to the legislature prior to the next municipal election in 2011.
The task force was one of only two specifics announced in the Premier’s address, the other being an endorsement of UBCM’s call for the creation of something called “B.C. Local Government Week.”
Campbell's announcement came just moments after the UBCM policy convention adjourned without debating two controversial motions related to campaign finance. One would have asked the province to set limits on both the amount of money that individuals (or organizations) can give to local candidates (or organizations) as well as the amount of money that can be spent; that resolution also called for a ban on money "from sources outside of Canada." The second unheard resolution would have required similar disclosure and restrictions among individuals who sought nomination but failed to become party candidates.
The Tyee published a 2007 investigative series about B.C.’s municipal campaign finance problem entitled City Hall for Sale .
And in 2008, The Tyee revealed how a society connected to former Mayor Sam Sullivan effectively concealed the identity of some donors . The province refused to investigate the allegations involving Sullivan, who was unsuccessful in becoming his party’s mayoral candidate in 2008.
Monte Paulsen reports for The Tyee.
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onthebay
2 years ago
new slogan
Gordon Campbell is quoted as saying: “Perhaps it’s time to restore voting rights for industrial and business property owners in our communities.”
At the rate that businesses appear to be considered for exemptions from various taxation responsibilities, maybe the new taxpayer slogan will be “no representation without taxation.” :)
Does this mean foreign industrial and business owners would be able to vote?
G West
2 years ago
onthebay
The CEO is ONLY interested in reforming the way towns and cities elect their representatives - he has no intention of doing 'anything' whatever about the 'hinky' way he and his gang are 'elected'...apart from appealing the most recent court case the government lost...you know the one about gagging anyone who disagrees with him for a few weeks before each election takes place. (You’ll know where that ‘adjective’ came from won’t you?)
onthebay
2 years ago
G West
Yes, it's pretty ironic that GC isn't looking in his own election back yard before giving advice across the fence. And yes, I remember "hinky" from resounding renditions sung by my grandpa and my dad. "The 'officers' (substitute what you will) get the pie and cake, and all we get is the bellyache" is still true. :)
Anyway, my maybe naive question still stands: does this mean GC is advocating that foreign owned industrial and business owners would have a vote in local (municipal/town/regional district/etc.) elections?
Dan the socialist
2 years ago
So if business property
So if business property owners get to vote twice then? What if the business is outside the country? I think it should be one vote per citizen. It is bs that someone can get two votes or people from outside the province or country.
But anything for big business is Campbells motto..
It is so sad we do not have a viable alternative in this province. Carole James is hell bent on staying on even though she is not electable and will drag the NDP into oblivation, the Greens are still a couple elections if ever from winning any seats. I sure hope a centrist party starts up.
dave49
2 years ago
More smoke and mirrors..
More smoke and mirrors. I don't trust Gordon Campbell and his scurvy crew in any way.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Message to Campbell
It is the Provincial Government, that's you Gordon that scares us, not the municipal government locally. Clean up your house, you know, maybe make recall easier and we'll be happy.
DPL
2 years ago
Gordo makes a lot of
Gordo makes a lot of promises and breaks most of them. The crowd was upset about his latest tax and he had no money to pass along, so as a guy who likes to have an attentive audience who clap a lot, he says things