A lesson from Hong Kong: It matters who governs

Civic elections: It’s a problem only one in three vote in B. C.

In Hong Kong, thousands of people have stood up to tear gas and threats as they try to win the right to have some choice in picking who will run for the top job in the city.

There, the Chinese government chooses a few good party men — so far, it’s only been men — puts them on the ballot for chief executive and calls it a form of democracy.

Here, we have democracy. Yet, we care little enough about it that we abdicated some of the very choices Hong Kong citizens are desperate for.

Nowhere has it been done so grossly as at the municipal level, where moneyed elites control our choices with all the aplomb of Beijing’s leaders. They do it through murky organizations — some of which are even loath to describe themselves as parties — third- party sponsorships and fundraising.

Surrey First’s retiring mayor Dianne Watts, for example, helped hand- pick and anoint Linda Hepner as the party’s candidate.

The Non- Partisan Association’s candidates for Vancouver’s council, school and park boards were vetted in closeddoor sessions by an unnamed panel before being endorsed by members of the association, while Vision Vancouver had its pre- election coffers topped up by a $ 25,000- a- plate dinner sponsored by condo- king Bob Rennie.

Of course, the system does allow for multiple parties and for independent candidates. But successful independents are a rarity in large urban centres. And, Watts was one of those in 1996 before building the formidable and wellfinanced Surrey First.

This time, Vancouver lawyer Bob Kasting and former Surrey First councillor Barinder Rasode are among those putting down a deposit and taking their chance running independently for mayor.

But money is why municipal parties and pseudo- parties or slates supported by third- party sponsors win. There are no limits on what they raise and spend.

In 2011, Vision Vancouver swept the council, park and school board elections with a $ 2.2- million campaign. It won the mayoral race, had the top seven vote- gainers for council, the four top spots on the sevenmember park board ( plus another at No. 7) and the four top spots on the nine- member school board ( plus one at No. 7).

Its closest rival, the NPA, spent $ 2.5 million.

Well- funded slates don’t only succeed in cities. All but one of Sechelt’s seven- person council were endorsed by the For a Better Sechelt group, which spent $ 46,202 in addition to individual candidates’ spending in the district with a population of 9,291.

Only provincial leaders seem to think all this spending is a good idea.

Those reforms were top of the list four years ago when there was widespread citizen participation in a consultation aimed at improving the way local elections are run.

Crassly put, municipal elections continue to be the easiest and cheapest ones that money can buy.

Yet, suddenly, this week the government set up an all- party committee to make recommendations on expense limits for candidates and third- party advertisers. Of course, none of this will happen until 2018 – eight years after the government’s “blue- ribbon task force” first recommended limits.

It’s foot- dragging, but it’s also about the only thing that might pass for long- term thinking when it comes to municipal elections here.

Unlike in Hong Kong where the election that’s the object of the protests is still two years away, here Election Day is little more than a month away. And, even many city hall watchers would be hard pressed to name more than a handful of candidates.

When they had the chance to limit spending and donations as well as ban union, corporate and foreign donations last spring in the new Local Government Campaign Financing Act, the B. C. government balked.

Those reforms were top of the list four years ago when there was widespread citizen participation in a consultation aimed at improving the way local elections are run.

Unlike in Hong Kong, where the election that’s the object of the protests is still two years away, here election day is little more than a month away and even many city hall watchers would be hard pressed to name more than a handful of candidates.

Getting elected is all about name recognition. So money matters.

Lacking a ward system, urban voters are likely to know only a few, if any, of those candidates. If citizens bother to vote at all — only about one in three do — it is almost certainly for candidates whose party or slate had the most money to spend on media advertising and lawn signs.

Failing that, there’s some evidence that the barely motivated electors put their Xs next to names closer to the top of the alphabetical order.

Crassly put, municipal elections continue to be the easiest and cheapest ones that money can buy.

And there are those who are highly motivated to get a favourable council or school board. They might need rezoning, contracts or even an increase to their public- sector wages and benefits.

And we let it happen because the overwhelming majority of B. C. municipalities are run well enough that citizens don’t have problems as much as annoyances.

But it matters who governs, as Hong Kongers seem to realize better than we do.

So, it shouldn’t be too much to ask that we take the time to cast informed votes.

Because maybe if we do, our next generation — 17- year- olds like Hong Kong leader Joshua Wong — will never have to take to the streets to defend democracy.