Clerks getting ready for fall election
The campaigns don’t officially start until May 1, but Niagara’s municipal clerks have been gearing up for the local elections for months.
For the first time, an individual candidate will run in all 12 municipalities for elected regional chair. But not all of Niagara’s cities and towns have the same rules when it comes to issues such as where election signs can go or if community spaces can be rented.
It could make for confusing times for campaign teams.
“What we’ve tried to do is chart it out,” said Bonnie Nistico- Dunk, chair of the Niagara area clerks election task force.
“Here’s all your municipalities, here’s what’s the same and different about them. Here’s what they do in St. Catharines, here’s what they do in Niagara- on- the- Lake … It’s almost a cheat sheet for them.”
Nistico- Dunk, city clerk for St. Catharines, called together other clerks from across Niagara and from the Region to form a task force because of the new changes to the Municipal Act for the upcoming election. Clerks have been meeting twice a month since the summer.
She said the message going out to prospective regional chair candidates by municipalities should be as consistent as possible across the board.
While there will be differences from place to place as there have been in the past, clerks can work together towards consistency on some issues, she said. For instance, whether they hold a ballot face up or face down when running a recount.
“There’s little nuances here and there, people do things a bit differently. I’m saying let’s not confuse these poor folks that are trying to run in this election, let’s put that stuff together.”
Thorold city clerk Donna Delvecchio, vice- chair of the task force, said the group has worked on drafting election recount policies and the use of corporate resources, among other issues.
“Can candidates campaign on municipal property? Can they rent a community centre? Can they have a rally in a park? We try to be as standardized as possible while recognizing that each community is unique,” she said.
Delvecchio said those may be contentious issues in some smaller municipalities where the only venue large enough for a candidate’s proposed event may be publiclyowned.
“How do we try and standardize, but being sensitive to the needs of each community?”
Nistico- Dunk said the task force has also been going over the changes to the Municipal Elections Act to ensure they all have the same understanding of the new information.
Key changes besides the election of a regional chair are candidates requiring 25 signatures to run for councils and third- party advertising rules.
Many other changes only affect the clerks’ responsibilities.
Nistico- Dunk said at the end of the election when candidates hand in their financial materials, the clerks post them for the public to see. In the past it was up to the public to report concerns to a compliance audit committee. Now, the clerk must check the reports for errors.
She said other parts of the act that used to say “the clerk may” now say “the clerk shall.”
“There were quite a few changes that make a big difference to us as clerks, and then trying to understand when to message this to the public where it’s going to matter has been interesting.”
The overall changes to the Municipal Elections Act that clerks are dealing with are on top of other changes they may be introducing in their own individual municipalities.
In Thorold, for instance, new machines and electronic poll books will allow voters to conveniently cast their ballots at any polling station for the first time.
Many municipalities already have websites set up with election information for potential candidates in their areas.
Nistico- Dunk advises potential candidates in St. Catharines to watch the city’s elections website constantly and if they have questions about changes to the Elections Act to feel free to call the clerk’s office.
“We always feel inundated on the year of ( election day), however, I think we’ve got a really good start and a good understanding now of what has to be done,” Nistico- Dunk said.
“There’s always the unknown. Right this moment we’re well on our way.”