A week from today, Thompson voters will go to the polls in an at-large byelection to fill the seat vacated by Cory Young in September. Voters will be choosing among five candidates to serve the remaining 10 months of a four-year council term before returning to the polls to do it all over again Oct. 27, 2010 in a general municipal election.
There are eight members on Thompson's city council - seven councillors and the mayor. Councillors annually choose a deputy mayor from among their own ranks for a one-year term to perform mayoral functions in the absence of the mayor. It is not a separate seat elected seat on council and voters have no say in who the deputy major is. During the term of this council, Judy Kolada first held the post, followed by Charlene Lafreniere, Oswald Sawh and finally Harold Smith.
In Manitoba, mayors, as well as chairing council meetings, as a matter of legislative requirement since 1989 under the Manitoba Municipal Act, also participate fully in council debate and motions - not just voting to break a tie - as is the custom in some other parts of Canada. As a result, whoever wins the Dec. 9 byelection here will become one vote among eight. While 4-4 and other tie votes are theoretically possible in the Manitoba municipal system (under the rules of procedure, a tie vote is counted as a "lost" vote on the motion) such ties have been rare in Thompson over the term of the present council.
Given the historically low numbers of Canadians who usually vote in municipal elections (30 to 35 per cent turnout seems to the usual norm across the country, compared often to twice that percentage or more in provincial and federal elections), the fact five Thompson residents have come forward in this byelection is good news for political democracy at the local level.
We trust they won't be discouraged by the fact that historically in byelections for council in Thompson between 1976 and 1991 - the last time there was a byelection here - the average turnout was a dismal 14 per cent, according to figures thoughtfully compiled last week by Lynn Taylor, the senior election officer for this byelection and long-time city manager until her retirement last year.
The last byelection in Thompson occurred on March 14, 1991, triggered by the death that January of Mayor Don MacLean in office. Two councillors, Bill Comaskey and Ken Collin, resigned their seats to run for the open mayor's chair, with Comaskey winning and going on to serve for 15 years as mayor until 2006 when he didn't seek re-election.
Ken Houston and Dr. Patrick Sheehan won the two open council seats, which saw a 20.1 per cent voter turnout, the best for the 15-year period for byelections between 1976 and 1991.
Taylor said while it's not always easy to nail down what causes a high or low voter turnout in a Thompson municipal election, in retrospect it appears having a hot-button referendum issue - be it on so-called paid bag-tag garbage or the use of the French language - can drive the turnout numbers higher than historical norms. Such referendums often bring out a strong "no" vote on an issue, but at the same time gets voters out to the polls where they can also choose from candidates for council at the same time.
A referendum is the process of referring a political question to the electorate for a direct decision by general vote, while a plebiscite is the public expression of a community's opinion without binding force.
In 1976, there were two council byelections in Thompson. The turnout for the one in January was 15.8 per cent, which dropped to 13.6 per cent for the October one. Two years later, a March 1978 byelection saw an even worse 8.1 per cent voter turnout.
Voter turnout for regular full council general elections have usually been better than byelections, but some of those have been pretty dismal as well. Only 15 per cent of eligible Thompson voters went to the polls in the 1975 regular election. The best turnout for a regular election since 1975 was in 1986 when 42.4 per cent of eligible voters turned out, followed closely the last election in 2006, which saw a 41 per cent turnout. On a positive note, regular elections since 1980 in the city have been generally trending upward from 23.5 per cent that year. The average turnout for regular elections for the entire period 1975 to 2006 was 32 per cent.
On Dec. 9, Margaret Allan, Peter Fancy, Khaled Hassanien, Luke Robinson and Erin Stewart are running in the at-large byelection to fill the last of 10 months Young's term.
We urge you to take the time to get to know them better before making up your mind and casting your vote. You can find out about them and where they stand on various issues - crime, housing, taxes, water meters, infrastructure, UCN, the Thompson Zoo, their big picture views for the City of Thompson's future -by reading our story in last week's Thompson Citizen, by reading their campaign literature, perhaps buttonholing them at your door if they come knocking soliciting your vote or out and about in the city, or at today's regular Thompson Chamber of Commerce meeting at noon at the Burntwood Hotel if you have a chance to attend. A similar event is planned for tonight at 7 p.m., also at the Burntwood Hotel, sponsored by the Professional Women of Thompson Club, with local women city council candidates invited to speak.
