26 / OGRA MILESTONES WINTER ISSUE

On October 27th, Ontarians went to

the polls to elect their municipal

governments. Whether they live in

large urban centres, remote northern

communities, or midsized rural towns,

all were eligible to cast a ballot for a

representative within their community

– not some legislature in a faraway

land. For this reason, municipal

elections take on a life of their own;

the focus is directed internally rather

than externally.

In federal and provincial elections,

there are party leaders that the entire

country or province is watching and

whom usually determine how voters

will cast their ballots at the riding

level. A leader can single handedly win

or lose an election (see: Jack Layton)

for everyone running under the party

banner. However, at the municipal

level there is a smorgasbord of

candidates running at the ward and

city/town/township levels and the

affi liations between mayoral and

council candidates are much looser.

Th e result is a bunch of candidates

that the general electorate has likely

never heard of.

Outside major urban centres such as

Toronto and Ottawa, the media

coverage is quite limited. Other than

smaller local media outlets, the

mainstream media has neither the

time nor appetite to report on the

various races happening all over the

province. Residents of smaller

municipalities are more likely to know

the issues and candidates in the

Toronto election than their own –

solely as a result of the coverage that

particular election receives on

provincial and national level news

cycles. To receive information on

municipal elections one must either be

incredibly engaged in municipal

governance or receive the majority of

news from local media outlets.

Th is concoction of internally focused

races, lack of candidate name

recognition, and limited media

coverage of local races typically results

in two signifi cant things: a major

advantage for incumbents, and an

extremely low voter turnout. It is

imperative to address these issues in

order to cure our ailing democracy.

EYE ON MUNICIPAL DEMOCRACY

By Th omas Barakat, OGRA Policy Advisor

OGRA MILESTONES WINTER ISSUE / 27

180 Ram Forest Road,Gormley, OntarioL0H 1G0

Ph. 905.727.3948Cel. 416.678.2215Fax. 1.888.785.6607

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The Incumbent Advantage

Barring some sort of major scandal,

incumbents at all levels of politics

normally have an advantage over

newcomers. Campaigns are much

easier for incumbents, as they’ve had

at least four years to build up political

contacts, secure fi nancial backers, and

mobilize a team of support staff . Th e

experience of having gone through and

won an election is not to be

underestimated.

One factor which is amplifi ed at the

municipal level is name recognition.

Incumbents have enjoyed at least four

years of local media coverage,

exposure at community events, and

face-to-face interaction with

constituents. Although the same can

be said for incumbents at all levels of

government, newcomers face a much

larger hurdle at the municipal level.

Th ere is no party providing campaign

support, exposure through a party

leader, or brand that voters recognize.

It is up to each individual to defi ne

themselves and communicate their

ideas to voters. However, this can be

diffi cult in municipal elections as

citizens are generally less engaged at

the municipal level and many do not

even bother to vote – this will be

discussed further below. Lower voter

turnout also generally benefi ts the

incumbent as he/she likely has a base

of support as well as an idea of who to

mobilize in “get out the vote”

initiatives on Election Day.

Name recognition is so valuable in

municipal elections that even being a

member of an incumbent’s family is an

advantage. For example, in

Mississauga’s Ward 8, Matt Mahoney

was recently elected as a newcomer

with 43.89% of the vote. Th is is likely

because Mahoney’s father Steve held

the ward from 1978-1987 as well as

his mother Katie since 1992. Th e

Mahoney “brand” is strong in the ward

and many can’t recall the last time a

councillor without that name

represented them.

Th e most successful municipal

newcomers are those which have

established their own brand prior to

becoming a candidate. Th is could be

done by leaving another level of

government and running at the

municipal level just as Linda Jeff rey

did by resigning from the provincial

cabinet and running for the mayoralty

in Brampton. Newly-elected Toronto

Ward 20 Councillor Joe Cressy is

another case. He was not even elected

at the federal level but fought a

by-election as an NDP candidate for

the Trinity-Spadina riding against

former Toronto city councillor Adam

Vaughan. He lost the by-election, but

gained tremendous media exposure

and won the city councillor position

with 42% of the vote.

Being an incumbent doesn’t guarantee

re-election, as many were defeated this

time around. However, to deny that

there is no advantage to incumbency is

ridiculous. How can newcomers

challenge the incumbent advantage?

Other than parachuting into a race

with a well-known brand, newcomers

must be well-supported and have a

good ground game. Solid support

consists of a team of volunteers who

can help spread ideas and take care of

tasks that allow the candidate to be

out in neighbourhoods knocking on

doors. Th ese volunteers could also play

an essential component in “get out the

vote” initiatives.

As a result of the lack of media

coverage, the ground game becomes

vital in municipal election campaigns.

28 / OGRA MILESTONES WINTER ISSUE

When candidates canvass

communities to talk to constituents

they are building relationships with

potential voters. Many are simply

pleased that someone is paying

attention to their individual concerns.

Th ey are then able to put a personality

and face behind the name on the

ballot.

Th is basic door-to-door style of

campaigning is also eff ective in

mobilizing citizens who traditionally

do not vote. In Toronto, the Ford

brothers proved that pursuing this

type of strategy can work. In the case

of the Ford brothers it also resulted in

a very loyal base of supporters –

individuals who felt disenfranchised

by the system but felt re-enfranchised

by these anti-establishment

candidates who listened to their

issues.

Voter Turnout

Unfortunately, the number of people

staying home on election night

remains far too high. Th e average voter

turnout in this year’s elections was a

measly 43.12%. Th e variance between

jurisdictions was massive: the highest

turnout was 86.63% while the lowest

was 10%. Can a mayor and council

even claim legitimacy at 10%?

Why are citizens not exercising their

right to vote? Th ere’s a myriad of

reasons provided by scholars,

journalists, politicians, citizens, and

activists. Other than the lack of media

coverage surrounding municipal

elections, there are a few which are

fairly obvious. Many believe their vote

will not make a diff erence and that

nothing will change regardless of who

is elected. Th is group of people is fairly

diverse and spans diff erent socio-

economic classes.

In some municipalities, the race is just

not exciting. Th is could be because the

mayor is just so eff ective at their job

that everyone knows they will win by a

landslide (see: Hazel McCallion).

Conversely, there is a common

misperception perpetuated by 24/7

news media in search of ratings: that

all politicians are corrupt. Exposing

scandals is an easy way to guarantee

people will tune in to political news in

an era where many simply do not care

about the work governments do.

However, there isn’t a balance between

the airtime given to scandals when

OGRA MILESTONES WINTER ISSUE / 29

compared to the good work done by

governments.

Others are simply turned off by the

way government is run. Even if they

are generally interested in certain

issues, they may watch their council in

session and witness the childish and

petty antics which sometimes prevail

between certain individuals and decide

it’s a waste of time. Th is type of

response is a result of the disconnect

between how citizens expect their

politicians to act versus how they

actually act. However, politicians

should not always be blamed for this.

Perhaps citizens should change the

way they expect their representatives

to act.

Politics is a unique domain in and of

itself – no other line of work is

remotely similar. Yet many expect

their politicians to behave like others

in diff erent industries. Is it fair to

assume that a doctor should act like a

businessperson? Th en why is it

expected that politicians do so?

Politics is a battle for power, a blood

sport – except the residents of Canada

have it so well that no blood is actually

drawn. In other places across the

world, many are not as lucky.

Consequently, politicians will always

attempt to gain the upper hand

against their opponents as the nature

of the fi eld is to gain and maintain

power. However, there are always

exceptions. Some politicians choose to

act like juvenile delinquents and these

are the individuals making the 6:00

pm news for their antics and

continuously turning people off from

politics. No citizen should have to put

up with this type of politician.

Solutions

Th ere is no panacea which would

address both the incumbent advantage

and low voter turnout; however, there

are several options which could alter

the way the municipal political sphere

is operated.

Party System: Th e Ontario Municipal

Elections Act does not permit the

formation of parties to fi eld

candidates in municipal elections.

However, in other jurisdictions

including Vancouver, Montreal, New

York, Tokyo, Stockholm, Rome, Berlin,

and London, political parties exist at

the municipal level. Advocates for a

party system argue that parties would

help focus the issues during a

campaign and make elections in

individual wards less about a

particular pothole or a broken

streetlight and more about a broad

vision. Th ey also argue that political

parties generally drive people to vote

as they provide an organizational

structure to maintain membership

lists, identify the vote, organize

volunteers and provide a base of

people to knock on doors, canvass, and

get out the vote on Election Day.

Parties also provide voters with a clear

way of determining where a politician

stands on an issue. Critics argue that

splitting councillors into opposing

“teams” discourages them from

working together. In the provincial

and federal governments, the

opposition’s duty is to take the

contrary position, whereas at the

municipal level, they must fi nd a way

to work together.

Municipal Term Limits: Th ere are

currently no restrictions to the

number of terms a mayor or councillor

may run in. Some argue that setting

term limits would ensure that new

ideas and fresh perspectives would

fi nd their way into municipal councils

while simultaneously reducing the

incumbent advantage and increasing

voter turnout. Cities with term limits

include New York, Los Angeles,

Houston, and San Diego. Critics of

such a scheme respond by arguing that

term limits reduce accountability as

those facing their limit would not have

to face voters again. Furthermore,

legislative positions on city councils

are well-served by members who are

experienced.

continued on page 34

34 / OGRA MILESTONES WINTER ISSUE

Governance, bureaucracy, and politics

can be confusing and there is great

value in having experienced

individuals guide newer politicians –

as well as the public – through issues.

Ranked Ballot Electoral System: Th e

current fi rst-past-the-post system

overcompensates winners and

undercompensates winners. Th e result

is widespread civic disengagement as

many believe their voices are being

shut out by the democratic system.

Under a ranked ballot system, the

candidate would need to secure a

minimum of 50% of the vote.

Campaigning would change

dramatically under a ranked ballot

system as candidates would not want

to alienate voters who would

potentially rank them second on their

ballot. Th is would discourage

candidates from running negative

campaigns – especially against

candidates who share similar views.

Cities which currently utilize a form of

ranked balloting include San

Francisco, Oakland, Minneapolis,

Saint Paul, and London. Critics of

ranked balloting argue that it will

further encourage brokerage politics

as candidates will be forced to water

down their platforms in an attempt to

appeal to more voters.

Mandatory Voting: Mandatory voting

would simply solve the problem of low

voter turnout, but it would not

necessarily solve the root causes of

why citizens choose not to exercise

their right to vote. However, it would

eliminate many of the negatives

associated with turnout-based politics.

In Australia and Singapore, voting at

the national level is mandatory.

Proponents of mandatory voting argue

that it would force the majority into

actually learning the issues and voting

for the candidate whom best

represents them. Critics argue that

forcing people to vote would do the

opposite, and would result in a bunch

of “ignorant” people voting only

because they have to, without learning

the issues and positions of candidates.

Electronic Voting: Electronic voting

has the potential to render the voting

process easier and more accessible to

voters. It could give voters the option

of voting at times convenient to them,

help encourage young people to vote,

and produce faster and more accurate

election results. Th ese factors would

likely have a positive impact on overall

voter turnout. However, there are a

number of drawbacks to electronic

voting, namely security. If the public’s

perception is that the system isn’t

secure, it could aff ect the legitimacy of

elections which would have the

opposite eff ect on voter turnout. A

number of municipal governments

have already adopted a form of

electronic voting including

Leamington, Markham, and Ajax.

Th ere are many diff erent options that

Ontario’s municipalities have to try

and cure their ailing democracy. Some

are moving quicker than others in

adopting some of the above-

mentioned solutions. Th e cost of doing

nothing is too high. For this, it is

important to encourage citizens to run

for local offi ce by leveling the playing

fi eld against incumbents. Th e longer-

term goal should be to get more

citizens excited and engaged in

municipal government so they take

fi ve minutes to show up to vote once

every four years.

continued from page 29