It’s time to consider party politics for municipalities

I see a lot of signs for candidates for municipal office, many of whom I can’t even vote for. Even if I knew which ones to vote for, I would need to go online or on social media to find if they’ve posted their qualifications and vision. I have yet to receive any pamphlets in my mailbox or read any ads in local papers. I know that for individual candidates, the cost of producing election materials is staggering, so I understand the absence of printed materials. It is quite a different experience from provincial or federal elections where one receives all forms of communications for the candidates and their parties.

Parties — that’s something I would love to see at the municipal level. They exist in Montreal and Vancouver, maybe in other cities in Canada too. With parties, as with provincial and federal elections, I would be able to see in what direction a group of candidates and their would-be mayor would lead a municipality if they were elected. Then I could vote for the local candidate whose party promotes a view I could support. Another advantage of a party system is that it would give newcomers a better chance of being elected. The current system favours incumbents as they have name recognition, and many voters have nothing else to go on when they enter a polling station.

Alan Murray

New Dundee