The change to a four-year term is making it difficult to attract solid council candidates for the October municipal election, says Metchosin Mayor John Ranns.
“We’re having a hard time finding anyone who wants to run for council,” said Ranns, adding that it’s a problem given that two of four Metchosin councillors — Bob Gramigna and Moralea Milne — have announced they plan to retire at the end of this term.
“Half of our council is going to be gone, at least, so we’re looking for good people to step up,” he said. “But I’ve been told a number of times now: ‘I just can’t do the four years.’ ”
Serving on a council like Metchosin’s can be daunting, Ranns said, because the municipality is small so there’s essentially no administrative support.
“It’s a fairly daunting task to undertake and to do it for four years seems to be quite the obstacle right now,” he said.
“For a municipality like ours that has a very specific direction, it’s important to get people that understand it and who are willing to do the work.”
Ranns, 70, is running for re-election to try to maintain some continuity on council.
“Even for me, when you reach my age, four years is a lot,” he said.
Four-year terms were instituted in 2014. Prior to that, council members were elected to three-year terms. The reasoning was that the extra year would put councillors on the same cycle as their provincial and federal counterparts and allow them time to wrap their heads around complex issues.
Both Nanaimo and Metchosin have submitted resolutions to the upcoming Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities convention calling for a return to a three-year term, which, according to the Metchosin resolution, would allow for greater accountability to residents.
It’s certainly not a resolution that’s supported by all.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said she’s a proponent of the four-year term.
“I think it’s given us ample time to have a vision and get that vision implemented; to build the relationships we need to do so and to get large projects started and, in the case of the bridge, finished,” Helps said.
“I’m very much against returning to a three-year term, and I hope that that’s defeated.”
The extended terms were first proposed by the government in 2010, but were defeated by a vote from the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which represents and advocates for all local governments in the province.
In 2013, UBCM passed a resolution supporting extension of the term of office to four years, although some smaller municipalities raised objections.
The B.C. School Trustees Association also supported the change, as did the local government elections task force.
