The long list of candidates

Here we are. Nominations closed July 27 and have you seen that list of candidates for the St. Catharines seats at Regional Council?

Just like every election, it’s lengthy: List of Election Candidates. Not like every election, it’s very lengthy. There are 23 of us.

Of course, in St. Catharines, you get to choose up to six people to represent you at Regional Council.

Because there are always so many candidates for Regional Council in St. Catharines, there is never a debate or other event at which you can meet the candidates and hear what they have to say. Imagine how unwieldy it would be to have 23 people debate each other….

So, heading up to October 22, 2018, I hope you’ll consider a few things:

• What do you know about each of the candidates running?
• If you recognize their name, why do you recognize their name?
• What does a quick Google search turn up on them?
• Do they have a phone number, e-mail, website and social media channels through which they are communicating?
• Do they respond to your phone calls, e-mails, tweets, or Facebook messages?
• Are they respectful in their discourse with you?
• Do they look like you/share your experience to a significant degree? (Age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.)
• If they don’t look like you or share other characteristics with you, do they represent another segment of the community that needs a voice at Regional Council?
• Is the group of up to six candidates you’d like to vote for different enough from each other to give a good view of what’s important to the community as a whole?
• Do you feel that they care to learn and understand your point of view?
• If they have sat on city or regional council in the past, do they have a record of doing and standing up for what’s right?
• If they haven’t sat on city or regional council in the past, are you otherwise aware of them doing what’s in the best interest of others?
• Do they have a platform that aligns with your values/what’s important and necessary in the community?
• Where do they stand on the issues that are important to you?
• If they’ve made campaign promises, are the promises reasonable, both in how they’ve been framed and in representing what’s important?

Granted, that’s more than “a few,” it’s 15, but they’re all important and will give you a good picture of who your candidates are, so that you can make the choices (up to six of them) that are best for you and the community.

On Monday, October 22, 2018, let’s Reset the Region together.