Election notebook: DSBN trustee candidates night set
A look at municipal election happenings in St. Catharines .…
School board candidates night set
Voters can meet their public school board trustee candidates for St. Catharines and Niagaraon-the-Lake in person next week.
A candidate information night is being held Oct. 10 at the Grantham Lions Club at 732 Niagara St. Doors open at 6 p.m. and a moderated question and answer session will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted at the door for the Lions Club, which is donating the space.
All 11 candidates running for District School Board of Niagara trustee have been invited to participate.
The event is being organized by Marty Mako, a community volunteer who moderated a school board debate for the 2014 municipal election.
Mako, whose parents were public school teachers, said he got involved because he believes the school board election often flies under the radar and doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.
The event will be livestreamed by Wee Stream on YouTube. For more information, go to the Facebook page DSBN trustee candidate information night.
Candidates running are Jennifer Ajandi, Kate Baggott, Alex Bradnam, A. Lora Campbell, Roberto Contreras, Jonathan Fast, David Israelson, Norman St. George, John Netherway, Sumeth Tanyaovalaksna and David Waddington.
Voters can cast ballots
St. Catharines voters wanting to beat the election day rush can still take advantage of advance polls.
Advance polls are being held at city hall Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Oct. 19. Located in the third floor atrium at 50 Church St., the poll is fully accessible and there is an audio voting machine.
Other advance polls will happen throughout the city in various wards between Oct. 4 and Oct. 20. They include the Grantham Optimist Club on Linwell Road on Oct. 4, Mountainview United Church on Glendale Avenue on Oct. 11, St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatic Centre on Carlton Street on Oct. 13, Armenian Community Centre on Martindale Road on Oct. 16, Grantham Lions Club on Niagara Street on Oct. 18 and the St. Catharines museum on Welland Canals Parkway on Oct. 20.
Although they are spread throughout the wards, any St. Catharines voter can go to an advance poll.
For a full list and times, go to the city’s website at www.stcatharines.ca and click on Govern In, then navigate to the 2018 municipal election page and click on voter information.
Election day is Oct. 22.
Brock rocks the vote
The president of Brock University and the president of its student union cast their ballots for the municipal election Wednesday in an effort to encourage others to do the same.
The City of St. Catharines held an advance poll at the school for the first time in Brock’s history to make it easier for students and faculty to vote in the Oct. 22 election.
University president Gervan Fearon, interim provost and vice-president academic Greg Finn and Brock University Students’ Union president Aidan Hibma voted together in Market Hall. The poll, open until 8 p.m., was also available to others in the community who wanted to vote early.
“At Brock we encourage our students, faculty and staff to be engaged citizens and community members,” Fearon said in a press release. “The advanced poll on campus reflects Brock’s commitment to outstanding citizenship and community engagement.”
Spending limits set
Candidates running in the municipal election in St. Catharines have been given their expense limits.
The amount of money candidates are allowed to spend on signs, pamphlets, billboards, advertisements and other campaigning falls under the Municipal Elections Act.
The city’s legal and clerks services department uses a calculation prescribed by the act to come up with the amounts. They take the eligible electors for a position, multiply them by 85 cents and add a dollar amount.
For mayoral candidates, that comes out to an expense limit of just more than $89,400. Regional council candidates in St. Catharines can spend just more than $86,900.
Ward candidate spending limits range from $17,870 in St. George’s to $19,237 in Grantham.
Doing homework on the school board trustees
A website dedicated to introducing Ontario voters to their local separate school and public school trustee candidates is up and running.
Ontario Education Services Corp. created the website on behalf of Ontario’s four school board divisions and trustee associations. The site at www.elections.ontarioschooltrustees.org features profiles of trustee candidates across the boards.
Voters can also learn about the roles and responsibilities of trustees, information about school boards and downloadable guides on how to host an all candidates meeting.
In a news release, the corporation said it’s vital people vote for school board trustees: “They bridge the gap between the community and the school board and ensure boards are accountable to parents, guardians and their local communities for student success and well-being.”