It was only a few days after nominations closed that the first big story of the municipal election campaign broke regarding mayoral candidate Ryan Brady’s past activities online. And while this might not be the way that voters might like to see the campaign start off, in many respects Thompson is better off than some other communities in Manitoba.
In Flin Flon, Churchill and even the province’s second-biggest city of Brandon, there were no challengers to the current mayors, meaning that Cal Huntley, Michael Spence and Rick Chrest will spend another four years in their respective positions without having to go as far as to outline what exactly their plans and priorities are. And while the lack of other candidates could be interpreted as a sign that the voters in those communities are completely satisfied with their representation, in a capitalist society the general belief is usually that competition is a good thing because it keeps everybody on top of their game.
Here in Thompson meanwhile, the reality is that, come Oct. 25, there are going to be 16 winners – one mayor, eight councillors and seven school trustees – and 19 losers, including three aspiring mayors and 12 wannabe councillors. So while it feel like voters could be paralyzed by choice, another perspective is that those candidates who don’t have ideas or resumes that appeal to a large number of voters will slide to the back of the line and the ones who do will surge to the front. This process of cream rising to the top will at least ensure that, whatever their other qualities, the next mayor, councillors and school trustees have what it takes to rise above the crowd and make their voices heard, a skill that will prove valuable once they end up in decision-making roles.
For the incumbents, however, particularly those on council, the fact that they have so many challengers for their positions could indicate that voters aren’t particularly pleased with how things have gone in this city since 2014. If that is the case, they may be hard-pressed to earn their spots back and, if they are successful, will assuredly have to work with a group of people with whom they may not agree, given that no fewer than four of next term’s councillors will be new to their positions.
That Thompson is at a critical point in its history is fairly obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention, mainly due to changes in the way Vale operates and how much they feel the city that serves as home to its workers deserves in lieu of property taxes. The good news is that we have plenty of people who think that they have the answer to making sure that the history continues on as prosperously as it can. The bad news is that voters have a lot of options to weigh about which of those ideas they think are the best and, based on previous elections, a majority of them won’t even be interested I making their preferences known.
