Merrick mayoral run doesn’t pass sniff test
Jillian Merrick is running to become the mayor of Wells in a June 9 byelection. If she wins, she’ll be the mayor of Wells and a Prince George city councillor. At the same time. That’s perfectly legal under the Local Government Act. She’s also free to run for re-election this fall in both Wells and Prince George if she so chooses as municipalities large and small will elect new governments across B.C. on Oct. 20.
Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, of course.
Voters tend to not care what’s in the Local Government Act. By and large, most people vote the way they choose produce (and take about the same amount time doing so). If it looks good and passes the sniff test, they’ll buy it but if it looks funny, they want no part of it.
The sniff test on Merrick getting paid to work for two different municipalities doesn’t pass muster.
Sure, she can excuse herself in Wells, Prince George or both on any matters coming to vote that are a conflict of interest but she’s introduced the conflict of intrest herself by running for Wells mayor.
Sure, she’s living and working in both communities but where does her heart lie? Which community is her priority? Being a mayor of one community and a councillor in another is like having two spouses at the same time. Somebody is going to get the short end of the bargain.
Prince George has seen this movie before, with city councillors doing things that were perfectly legal but paying a steep political price with voters.
In 2013, it was revealed that then councillor Cameron Stolz hadn’t paid his city taxes for the three previous years, while collecting his councillor pay. All residents have up to three years to pay before their property appears on a Tax Sales of Lands notice and Stolz paid up as soon as his home appeared on this list.
He broke no laws and paid his outstanding bill in full, with interest.
Combine that with Stolz’s strong connection to the unpopular Shari Green, who didn’t run for a second term as mayor, and he was not in a good place with voters, who bounced him off city council in 2014, the first chance they got.
Going back to 2002, city council was wrestling with whether to allow the casino to move out of downtown. The final vote was 5-3, with one councillor excusing himself due a conflict of interest.
A week later, it emerged that the mayor (Colin Kinsley) and three of the four city councillors who voted in favour had received campaign contributions in 1999 from John Major, the casino’s owner.
Two weeks later, when voters headed to the polls, three of those city councillors were out, the one that got back in finished seventh in voting while Kinsley may have been spared the wrath of voters because his only opponent was a political rookie with no name recognition and even less of a campaign.
Again, accepting campaign contributions isn’t wrong and there wasn’t a direct conflict of interest involved in the casino matter but it didn’t smell right so voters responded accordingly.
In the Merrick case, she should have either refused to run for mayor of Wells or resigned her seat on Prince George city council so she could do so. That would have been not only legal but also the right thing to do.
Fortunately, voters will have the final say on Merrick’s proposed joint venture, first on June 9 in Wells and again in October if she decides to let her name stand in both Wells and Prince George.
The residents of Wells shouldn’t have to settle for a Prince George city councillor and a part-timie resident of their community as their mayor.
On the plus side, however, they can likely expect a far more progressive policy on backyard chickens.