Residency is not a requirement to be a candidate in sa国际传媒 municipal elections. While that has the potential for a few awkward situations, of more importance than residency is a candidate鈥檚 suitability for the job.
In the past, candidates were required to own property in the municipality in which they were running, but that requirement was removed in the 1970s. Now, a candidate for municipal office must simply be 18 or older on voting day, a Canadian citizen, a resident of sa国际传媒 for at least six months before filing nomination documents and not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or other legislation.
A person can be disqualified from running for having been found guilty of an election offence, such as vote-buying or intimidation, for failing to file a candidate disclosure statement in the previous election or for being in custody for an indictable offence.
Judges in all levels of sa国际传媒 courts are also ineligible to run for office.
Federal employees who want to run for municipal office must first obtain permission from the Public Service Commission.
Municipal employees must take a leave of absence before becoming a candidate, and must resign if elected.
Other than those sensible and necessary restrictions, there are few barriers to participating in the democratic process as a candidate, and that鈥檚 the way it should be.
It might seem counter-intuitive to allow a non-resident to run for office in a municipality. Does such a person really have the community鈥檚 interests at heart?
That鈥檚 a legitimate question if someone from Prince George ran for office in Langford, or vice versa. However, the chances of voters approving such a candidate are slim to none.
But in the capital region, cross-boundary candidates are not uncommon. Victoria has had two mayors who lived outside the city, and in this election, Ida Chong of Saanich is running for that office.
Two Victoria councillors seeking re-election 鈥� Marianne Alto and Charlayne Thornton-Joe 鈥� are also Saanich residents.
That presents interesting side-effects, such as a mayor or councillor voting for a measure that would raise taxes but would not affect his or her own property-tax bill in a neighbouring municipality.
But a resident of one Greater Victoria municipality serving in another is more about a regional perspective than it is about divided loyalties. Few issues are confined by municipal boundaries. Regardless of where we live, we all have a stake in what happens throughout the region.
The few disadvantages of such an open system are overshadowed by the advantages. The pool of potential candidates with strong abilities and good qualifications is not restricted to one municipality.
Residency could be one factor to note in an election, but it鈥檚 a minor one.
Far more important issues are how a candidate views and approaches the issues, what commitment he or she brings to the position, what experience that candidate has had and, in the case of incumbents, how that person has performed as a councillor or mayor.
While residency is a requirement for a senator (ask Mike Duffy about his Prince Edward Island cottage) or is seen as a political advantage for a premier (ask Christy Clark about her neighbourhood in West Kelowna), it鈥檚 not an issue in Greater Victoria municipal elections. We care more about how elected officials perform than where they live.
Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Victoria 鈥� or Metchosin, Langford or Sidney 鈥� doesn鈥檛 stay in one municipality; it touches people across the region. We鈥檙e all in this together.
There鈥檚 no need for a Victoria city councillor from Saanich to buy a Duffy-style cottage in James Bay.
