I had to chuckle at the notices for the warden election this week in Haliburton County.
Going into Tuesday afternoon’s special council meeting, both candidates, and everyone else at the table, knew who the new warden would be.
It had been determined long before the Dec. 10 “election.” The ‘old guard’ was slated to back Highlands East mayor Dave Burton as he was one of their own; someone they could count on not to rock the boat, and someone they could control.
The same could not be said for Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter. Though into his second term as a municipal councillor, he is still regarded as a newby or outsider by the likes of former warden Liz Danielsen, Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey and deputy mayor Walt McKechnie, as well as Burton’s deputy, Cec Ryall. With Burton’s vote, that was enough to cement the deal.
Of course, the vote is done in private but we would guess it was 5-3.
For the past six years, the position has been held by Danielsen. Carter ran against her in 2023. We’re told Burton wanted the seat. I suspect a deal was done so Burton would support Danielsen last year, in exchange for her supporting him this time around. It means Carter has been shuffled to the backbenches again. He must be getting frustrated.
I have nothing against Burton. He has political experience. However, I have believed for some time now that new blood is needed in local municipal politics.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) recently completed its ‘Healthy Democracy Project’. Minden Hills Coun. Pam Sayne made a presentation to her council about it. It would be great to see County councillors read the AMO work as well.
Launched two years ago, it was designed to attract more diverse candidates to municipal office and increase voter turnout.
As Sayne pointed out, fewer people are voting and engaging in the local democratic decision-making process. Fewer people are running for municipal office and acclamations are on the rise. As such, Ontario’s municipal councils are not representative of the diverse populations they serve.
At the same time, I can understand why some people choose not to run since Ontario’s municipally-elected officials are increasingly dealing with hostility. The social media hits are also fast and furious.
‘The Healthy Democracy Project’ builds on AMO’s ‘We All Win campaign’ and is designed to: attract more diverse candidates to municipal office; support elected officials to be equity-informed leaders; promote more respect for people engaged in the democratic processes; encourage greater participation in local democracy and an increase in voter turnout; promote greater civic engagement and greater awareness of the role of municipal government.
Again, I’m not knocking those sitting around the County council table. Some ran because no one else was prepared to. We need to make running more financially attractive to potential candidates by upping salaries. This could be done at the last council meetings of this term. But money is just one carrot. Candidates should want to serve the community. We need people with energy and vitality to help lead us going forward into the future.
