How I am Voting

Nominations have closed. No one else can put their name in. There might be a few forms being processed now, but pretty soon we should know what the full ballots will look like. There are currently 8 names for Mayor and 25 for Councillor.

I occasionally get asked who else I want to see elected. Since I have to (hopefully) work with whoever gets onto Council, I'm not comfortable telling people who to vote for. However, I'm happy to share what I personally consider when deciding on my vote:

1) I don't fill my whole ballot. I'm allowed to vote for up to eight Councillors, but I identify the handful of candidates I support most strongly and vote only for them. I don't vote for additional people just because I'm allowed to. I'd hate to see a candidate I really like losing by a few votes to a candidate I voted for but didn't like near as much....

2) Who understands the work of Council? Council is a governance role. We shape operations by creating budgets, policies, bylaws, and strategic plans, and by holding the City Manager accountable. We don't get directly involved in day-to-day operations. Our role is clearly defined by the Municipal Government Act. Councillors who understand their role can have a huge impact; those who don't will get nothing done.

3) Who understands the role of municipal government? The City lacks the financial resources and legal authority to directly fix things outside our jurisdiction. However, advocacy to other levels of government is an important part of our job. I want Councillors who will be ready to advocate for our community but who also understand that if it isn't a municipal responsibility, their role is advocacy, not direct intervention. I don't want colleagues who are focused on doing things we can't actually get done. But I also don't want colleagues unwilling to be vocal for our community's needs.

4) Who is collaborative? Each Councillor, including the Mayor, is just one of nine votes. We don't get anything done without finding four other people to support an idea. Additionally: the City has an important role in the community, but government can't fix or build anything on its own. Finally, we have built strong working relationships with the County, MD of Greenview, and other municipalities that have benefited all of our residents: these need to be maintained. If Councillors can't be collaborative with both other Councillors and the community at large, they won't be effective.

5) Who is working their butts off to campaign? The workload on Council is significant. I want colleagues who are excited and equipped to dive right into the work. They can prove this to me by showing up at community events, putting together a website and social media, knocking on doors, and getting a few signs out.

6) Who has done their homework? This is especially important for new candidates. I don't expect them to have anywhere near the same level of knowledge as incumbents, but there is a lot of work to do. They need to be prepared for it by having watched some Council meetings, talked to community organizations to hear their needs, and read up on City programs.

7) Platforms. I don't need to agree with everything a candidate wants to do. In fact, I think variety on Council is a good thing: I WANT people with different ideas. But I do want to see that they have specific ideas, so I know they have put thought and effort into preparing to serve. I also want what they are hoping to accomplish to generally align with my vision for the community.

8 ) Their volunteer resume. I want people who are in this for the sake of our community. The best measure of their attitude toward public service is whether they have already donated their time and talent to making Grande Prairie better just for the sake of serving, not because it came with a paycheque.

9) Their work experience. I look for people who have been given significant responsibility in their careers, as it shows they've earned the trust of their colleagues or have been able to build something from scratch. I also want to vote for candidates with varied career paths to ensure a variety of perspectives on Council.

10) Civility. Councillors need to represent our community and build partnerships. If they behave poorly, they can have a HUGE destructive impact, especially if their behaviour affects City staff. I need to vote for candidates who I know can conduct themselves well, especially in pressure situations.

11) Signs. This might seem minor, and perhaps it's just a pet peeve of mine, but whether or not candidates follow the sign rules matters to me. I don't care if someone inadvertently has a sign a few meters off from where it should be. But some candidates are blatantly ignoring sign bylaws in many locations across town. These bylaws were clearly shared with all candidates. If candidates don't care about following these simple rules, I worry about what other rules they might choose to ignore.

12) Independence. I think Council is healthiest when we have independent Councillors who approach alliances on a vote-by-vote basis. There have been many meetings where I find myself debating hard against a colleague on one agenda item, only to work with that same person to persuade Council on something else later in the meeting. This is healthy democracy! I have zero interest in supporting candidates who are dedicated to a party or slate over the independent representation of our residents.

13) Open mindedness and curiosity. None of us know anything, so we should always be looking for new information. And letting it drive our approach. And as circumstances change, we should be ready to change our priorities to match. I want Councillors who can firmly stand by their convictions and overall vision for the community, but that will be flexible in what specific actions we should be taking as our knowledge grows and our community changes.

14) Broad interests. Road construction, parks planning, land use decisions, financial oversight, community group funding, police, fire, recreation amenities, advocacy. Those are just some of the very different topics Council needs to engage on. I want Councillors who are ready to tackle them all, not just show up to work hard when we are talking about a few narrow topics that are their passion.

You'll notice that "political ideology" didn't make my list. There are some things that people label as "political" that I believe are actually moral, such as respect for the rights of all people. Those moral issues matter to me. But politically, I often support candidates who have different views than my own. I WANT a diversity of thought on Council, as long as everyone is ready to conduct themselves well, be open-minded, focus on building a stronger community for all residents, and work their tails off to serve Grande Prairie.

I also want to highlight that I talked above about Councillors. But I apply similar thinking to Schoolboard Trustees. And I'm doing my research and preparing to vote for school board: those are important positions too, now more than ever.

That is hardly a comprehensive list. But that is what comes to top of mind as I think about who I will be trusting with my votes. I am curious: what do you think I am missing? What else is important to you as you consider who to trust with your vote?