St. Catharines mayoral race is wide open

And just like that, one of Niagara’s higher-profile municipal election races has been thrown wide open.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik has confirmed he will not seek a third term in the Oct. 24 vote — a surprise move, considering that in Niagara few successful politicians have been willing to pull themselves from the game after only two shifts.

In an interview with Standard reporter Karena Walter, who broke the story, Sendzik raised several interesting points that every candidate running in October would be wise to consider.

First, he spoke of his belief that local politics should not be looked at as a career.

There are no term limits in Canadian electoral politics, nor should there be. Why tie the hands of voters by eliminating this person or that person simply because they have already served two or three four-year terms?

The best “term limiter” is an informed voter who recognizes the difference between effective, experienced leadership and a longtime politician who is comfortable just hanging on for the ride.

It’s a common refrain at election time to gripe that this or that municipal council needs a thorough housecleaning, new blood, fresh ideas and all that.

Better still — and this can be applied in any town or city in Niagara — is when voters put in a little effort before they cast their ballot.

Don’t just vote for or against this person because their name is familiar and you’ve seen their picture a hundred times. Read up on them. Follow the news. When you vote, make it an informed decision.

It was refreshing to hear this from Sendzik: When he was first elected in 2014, he said, he made a commitment to himself to serve no more than two terms.

And he stuck to it.

“I do think the role of a public official, the person who is elected, shouldn’t be a career job,” Sendzik said in the interview.

“I don’t think it was ever designed to be a career job. And I think the best decisions that councils and people make are when you have a change of ideas by new people coming to the table who want to have that same civic duty but don’t want to be there forever.”

Sendzik, and everyone else elected in the last municipal vote in 2018, literally had no idea what they were getting into.

The unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 upended plans, forced some projects and priorities to the sidelines and diverted an extraordinary amount of time and energy away from the usual business of municipalities.

Now, as we seem to finally be emerging from the two-years-plus cloud of COVID-19 — or at least, we’re learning to live with it — the time has never been better for someone with new, fresh ideas to help move their city or town, or Niagara region, further forward.

It’s very early in the 2022 municipal election process; candidates have only been able to sign up since May 2, and they still have until Aug. 19 to throw their hats in the ring, as the old saying goes.

Sendzik’s decision not to run throws the race for mayor in St. Catharines wide open. Undoubtedly, that will inspire a few people who might otherwise have stayed on the sidelines.

Elsewhere, though, we hope it doesn’t take a major development like an incumbent mayor stepping aside to have a good election race.

If you’re thinking of running, don’t be intimidated by an entrenched incumbent. Challenge them with your ideas and energy.

Give the voters something to think about. That’s how we will get the “change of ideas” that Sendzik talked about.

The time has never been better for someone with new, fresh ideas to help move their city or town, or Niagara region, further forward