Does residency matter for civic politicians?
Times Colonist
October 28, 2014
Opinions differ on whether election candidtaes who live where they run have an advantage over those that live elsewhere. ]
Some candidates wear their residency like a badge of honour — loudly proclaiming that they’ve been a resident of their community for 10, 15, 20 or even 30 years.
Others say residency is a red herring and it should not matter if a candidate lives in the municipality next door.
“I think it does matter, particularly in local politics,” said Michael Prince, Lansdowne professor of social policy at UVic, who added there’s enough cross-border councillors elected to prove “it’s not the kiss of death,” either.
“I wonder, in a sense [if] people who are running in places where they do not live are closet pro-amalgamation candidates, in that it seems locality in the specific sense no longer matters, but if I live in the region, it’s OK,” Prince said.
Until the 1970s, candidates were required to own property in the municipality in which they ran, but that restriction was abolished. There is no residency requirement for municipal politicians.
Still, one of the first questions former Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong, a Saanich resident, fielded after announcing her candidacy for Victoria mayor was whether, if elected, she would move to Victoria. The answer? No.
Electing a Victoria mayor who lives outside the city boundaries would certainly be nothing new. Former mayor Bob Cross, elected mayor in 1994, had a business in downtown Victoria but lived in Metchosin. When Peter Pollen was mayor in the early 1980s, he and three members of his council (one vote shy of a council majority) all lived in Oak Bay.
In fact, two incumbent Victoria councillors currently seeking re-election, Marianne Alto and Charlayne Thornton-Joe, live in Saanich.
“My issues are in Victoria,” said Alto, when asked why she doesn’t run for office in Saanich, quickly adding that while she has lived for four years in Saanich, she lived more than 26 years in Victoria.
“If you live in Saanich or Esquimalt or Sidney, you don’t say you’re from those places — you say you’re from Victoria,” Alto said.
First elected in 2002, Thornton-Joe said she initially was asked to run in Victoria.
“I never expected to run for council and people asked me to run, originally, in Victoria. I said, ‘I don’t live there.’ They said, ‘No, you’re the kind of person we want on council. You’re passionate about what you do. You give back to the community.’ So I thought, ‘If people want me, I’ll be voted in. If not, the message will be clear.’ ”
Thornton-Joe, who notes she was born and raised in Victoria, said the only time her residency ever comes up is during an election.
Central Saanich Coun. John Garrison called the residency issue “a bit of a red herring.”
“I find that people use it as an argument if they don’t agree with what you’re proposing,” he said.
Now running for Duncan council, Garrison is probably one of the more travelled of local politicians.
First elected to Saanich council in 1987, Garrison served there until 2002, when he moved to Central Saanich. He was elected to Central Saanich council in 2005, but in 2010, he moved to Duncan. Garrison not only completed the last year of that term on Central Saanich, while commuting from Duncan, but ran and was re-elected in 2011. He has been commuting for council duties ever since.
When Garrison ran for council in 2011, he thought he would be moving back to the community, but circumstances changed, he said. And, he said, he was still working on the Peninsula.
“I was down here every day, plus I have grandchildren here that I had to pick up and take to pre-school or before-school care.”
Marilyn Loveless, who is not seeking re-election, has been a Sidney councillor for the past 15 years while living the whole time in rural Saanich.
A Saanich school trustee before running for Sidney council, Loveless said she was approached several times about running for municipal office, but didn’t feel a connection to a specific community until she started working as director of a seniors’ centre in Sidney.
“I felt [then] like I could make a contribution. There were some issues that I was hearing from the members of the community,” she said.
Loveless doesn’t think residency should be an issue in candidacy.
“I think people should run wherever they think they can make the most significant contribution — especially on a place like the Saanich Peninsula,” she said.
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, a Victoria resident, said it’s up to voters to decide whether residency is an important issue.
“I experience all of the services that the City of Victoria provides and I pay my property taxes like all the other residents in the City of Victoria,” said Fortin, who was quick to point out that both Thornton-Joe and Alto “do a fantastic job on council.”
Oak Bay Coun. Cairine Green, who is challenging Mayor Nils Jensen, was in her second term on North Saanich council when she relocated to Oak Bay in the summer of 2010.
While she finished her term, she never considered standing for re-election there, even though incumbency would have certainly given her an advantage. Instead, she stood for council in Oak Bay in 2011 and won.
“I really felt strongly, especially in a small community like that, that I should be living there and I should be a taxpayer there if I was going to be making decisions that would affect taxpayers in my community,” Green said.
“I know lots of people live in other communities and they serve their communities really well, but for me, my own personal view is it’s better to live in the community you serve.”
copyright Times Colonist
Times Colonist
October 28, 2014
Opinions differ on whether election candidtaes who live where they run have an advantage over those that live elsewhere. ]
Some candidates wear their residency like a badge of honour — loudly proclaiming that they’ve been a resident of their community for 10, 15, 20 or even 30 years.
Others say residency is a red herring and it should not matter if a candidate lives in the municipality next door.
“I think it does matter, particularly in local politics,” said Michael Prince, Lansdowne professor of social policy at UVic, who added there’s enough cross-border councillors elected to prove “it’s not the kiss of death,” either.
“I wonder, in a sense [if] people who are running in places where they do not live are closet pro-amalgamation candidates, in that it seems locality in the specific sense no longer matters, but if I live in the region, it’s OK,” Prince said.
Until the 1970s, candidates were required to own property in the municipality in which they ran, but that restriction was abolished. There is no residency requirement for municipal politicians.
Still, one of the first questions former Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong, a Saanich resident, fielded after announcing her candidacy for Victoria mayor was whether, if elected, she would move to Victoria. The answer? No.
Electing a Victoria mayor who lives outside the city boundaries would certainly be nothing new. Former mayor Bob Cross, elected mayor in 1994, had a business in downtown Victoria but lived in Metchosin. When Peter Pollen was mayor in the early 1980s, he and three members of his council (one vote shy of a council majority) all lived in Oak Bay.
In fact, two incumbent Victoria councillors currently seeking re-election, Marianne Alto and Charlayne Thornton-Joe, live in Saanich.
“My issues are in Victoria,” said Alto, when asked why she doesn’t run for office in Saanich, quickly adding that while she has lived for four years in Saanich, she lived more than 26 years in Victoria.
“If you live in Saanich or Esquimalt or Sidney, you don’t say you’re from those places — you say you’re from Victoria,” Alto said.
First elected in 2002, Thornton-Joe said she initially was asked to run in Victoria.
“I never expected to run for council and people asked me to run, originally, in Victoria. I said, ‘I don’t live there.’ They said, ‘No, you’re the kind of person we want on council. You’re passionate about what you do. You give back to the community.’ So I thought, ‘If people want me, I’ll be voted in. If not, the message will be clear.’ ”
Thornton-Joe, who notes she was born and raised in Victoria, said the only time her residency ever comes up is during an election.
Central Saanich Coun. John Garrison called the residency issue “a bit of a red herring.”
“I find that people use it as an argument if they don’t agree with what you’re proposing,” he said.
Now running for Duncan council, Garrison is probably one of the more travelled of local politicians.
First elected to Saanich council in 1987, Garrison served there until 2002, when he moved to Central Saanich. He was elected to Central Saanich council in 2005, but in 2010, he moved to Duncan. Garrison not only completed the last year of that term on Central Saanich, while commuting from Duncan, but ran and was re-elected in 2011. He has been commuting for council duties ever since.
When Garrison ran for council in 2011, he thought he would be moving back to the community, but circumstances changed, he said. And, he said, he was still working on the Peninsula.
“I was down here every day, plus I have grandchildren here that I had to pick up and take to pre-school or before-school care.”
Marilyn Loveless, who is not seeking re-election, has been a Sidney councillor for the past 15 years while living the whole time in rural Saanich.
A Saanich school trustee before running for Sidney council, Loveless said she was approached several times about running for municipal office, but didn’t feel a connection to a specific community until she started working as director of a seniors’ centre in Sidney.
“I felt [then] like I could make a contribution. There were some issues that I was hearing from the members of the community,” she said.
Loveless doesn’t think residency should be an issue in candidacy.
“I think people should run wherever they think they can make the most significant contribution — especially on a place like the Saanich Peninsula,” she said.
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, a Victoria resident, said it’s up to voters to decide whether residency is an important issue.
“I experience all of the services that the City of Victoria provides and I pay my property taxes like all the other residents in the City of Victoria,” said Fortin, who was quick to point out that both Thornton-Joe and Alto “do a fantastic job on council.”
Oak Bay Coun. Cairine Green, who is challenging Mayor Nils Jensen, was in her second term on North Saanich council when she relocated to Oak Bay in the summer of 2010.
While she finished her term, she never considered standing for re-election there, even though incumbency would have certainly given her an advantage. Instead, she stood for council in Oak Bay in 2011 and won.
“I really felt strongly, especially in a small community like that, that I should be living there and I should be a taxpayer there if I was going to be making decisions that would affect taxpayers in my community,” Green said.
“I know lots of people live in other communities and they serve their communities really well, but for me, my own personal view is it’s better to live in the community you serve.”
copyright Times Colonist