Ten-way race in Saturday’s Saanich byelection

Saanich voters head to the polls Saturday to fill the seat left empty by the death of longtime councillor Vic Derman.

Ten people are running in the byelection. Results should be known Saturday night.

Advance polling held Sept. 13 and Sept. 18 at Saanich Municipal Hall brought a “steady stream of electors,” said chief election officer Angila Bains. She said she encourages all eligible voters to research the candidates and go to the polls.

Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell also urged the public to take part.

“It’s so important people go out to vote in Saanich during this byelection,” Atwell said.

He said byelections tend to have lower turnouts than regular elections. That was the case during Saanich’s last byelection in 2001, when only about seven per cent of voters showed up.

“To keep our democracy in Saanich vibrant, we need to participate,” AtwelI said. “I encourage everyone to go out … to cast their ballot for their favourite candidate.”

Voting runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Saanich Commonwealth Place and the Cedar Hill, Gordon Head and Pearkes recreation centres.

Saanich residents who are 18 or older on election day, or people of age who own property in Saanich and live somewhere else in B.C. are eligible to vote. Residents must have called Saanich home for at least six months before the election, while those with property in the municipality must have owned it for at least 30 days prior to casting a ballot.

The municipality had a 34.7 per cent turnout rate during the 2014 municipal election, a typical result for local votes.

Michael Prince, Lansdowne professor of social policy at the University of Victoria, pointed out that the candidate who wins will be on council for only about a year before the next municipal election is held in 2018.

Some candidates look to have a better chance than others, Prince said.

“I think half of them will get modest support from [friends and others] and then there’s three or four who have strong campaigns and who have come out of different organizations in the community,” he said. “It could be a competitive race between two or maybe three of them.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a tight 10-way race.”

While Derman and his accomplishments in such areas as the environment and land-use planning are an important element of the vote, candidates have put their own viewpoints into the byelection arena, Prince said.

“People are running on financial responsibility, fiscal control, certainly the Environmental Development [Permit] Areas.”

The permit areas, meant to protect sensitive or threatened sites such as Garry oak ecosystems, have generated controversy among homeowners who believe their properties have been improperly considered for designation.