YORKTON - Yes it is still summer, although the daylight hours grow shorter, and parents are starting to collect school supplies as September nears.
So it’s also near time we begin to give serious thought to what the next edition of Yorkton’s municipal council will look like.
Who in the community has a vision for what they believe Yorkton should look like moving forward, with the conviction to see their name on the ballot this fall for a seat at the decision-making table?
Certainly an initial question is whether the current Council has done a good job?
That will be an interesting one for each voter to answer when factors such as the public library debacle and $7 million into a golf clubhouse at a time taxes keep rising and street potholes grow more numerous are considered.
And, of course at this point we do not yet know which incumbents will seek re-election, and which might retire from municipal government public service.
Either way though we will hopefully see several new candidates step forward simply because the process of public debate ahead of any election is a worthwhile process. The more visions which are put forward, the better we might see the future by blending the ideas into something better and bolder collectively than they were as individual ideas.
And this year we do need to be prepared for what will be a confusing time as the municipal election campaign will essentially be run in lockstep with the upcoming provincial election.
Municipalities held their elections on the last Wednesday of October for years. It was the way things were, and it was well-understood and accepted.
In 2020, the provincial government decided to hold provincial elections the last week in October in a move which was a total snub of the longstanding municipal process, leaving municipalities to vote in November, which of course still essentially left corresponding campaigns.
This year the provincial election will be Oct. 28, and the civic election will be Nov. 13.
It’s a confusing situation the province should never have forced to happen.
Elections are too important to push a dual election process that can do little but leave people questioning who is running for what and that is not a good thing.
Voters need to be well-informed with a clear understanding of candidates and their positions if they are to cast their vote from a position of knowledge.
But alas the provincial government stomped its foot down and ultimately muddied the water, so starting to consider things early is one way to make sure we are informed come the dual election time.
