15 things about 2016 municipal elections
- EFN Staff | October 23, 2016
1. This round of municipal elections will be held Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 for people in all urban municipalities (cities, towns and villages) as well as odd-numbered divisions and the reeve in rural municipalities.
2. To vote in the election you need to be a Canadian citizen, at least 18-years-old and resided in Saskatchewan for six consecutive months. You have to live in or own land in the city where you vote for at least three months.
3. Some cities already know who their new mayor will be – in Meadow Lake, Martensville and North Battleford only one candidate ran. This is better than 2012 when six mayors were acclaimed.
4. There was some Indigenous representation on big city councils in the last election – Councillor Charlene Miller in Prince Albert, Councillor Zach Jefferies in Saskatoon.
5. Along with drive through restaurants, Regina is offering drive-thru advanced polling stations for 2016. They first started in the 2012 municipal election.
6. If you have no fixed address you can still vote in the election – people living in shelters can fill out a “Certification of Identity and Residence” and get it signed by an administration of the shelter where they are staying.
7. There is a big name return to politics in North Battleford where former health minister Len Taylor will be running as a councillor. Taylor was an MLA from 2003 to 2011 and served on North Battleford city council from 2000 to 2003.
8. La Loche voted early and their new mayor, Robert St. Pierre is getting settled into the job.
9. Depending on where you live depends on how much money you can spend on your campaign. Those running for Saskatoon mayor can spend $190,000, and wannabe councillors can spend $19,000, where as in Regina mayoral candidates top out at $67,000 and those running for council spend $11,000.
10. If you aren’t sure how to get to the polls in Prince Albert, you can get a free bus ride. According to the website, the “City's Transit System will be available free of charge on Election Day to allow voters with limited transportation the opportunity to vote.”
11. While some cities have only a handful of people interested in politics, Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon have many people engaged in the race. In Prince Albert there are four mayoral candidates, 18 people running for council (one ward is acclaimed), Saskatoon voters also see four mayoral candidates with 36 running for council, and Regina has five people in the race for mayor and 45 people seeking a position on council.
12. Robocalls are in full swing this election as candidates seek to reach hundreds of people in minutes with messages of what they want to achieve, or concerns they have about their running mates.
13. In Saskatoon, the longest serving mayor in the city’s history, Don Atchison, is seeking re-election for a fifth term in the role.
14. There are six Indigenous candidates running in the province’s three biggest cities
15. Best use of a hashtag? Kelley Moore in Saskatoon #ExpectMoore