Lack of canvassing during fall elections would hurt new candidates, says Westville mayor

The mayor of Westville, N.S., saysa lack of canvassing during this fall's municipal elections would give incumbent candidates an unfair advantagebecause they are already known to voters.

"When you first get into this realm, you need to get out and make yourself known," said Lennie White. "To have that gone is going to create a lot of difficulty for a lot of people who would be considering campaigning and offering for election."

On Wednesday, it was announced fall elections would go ahead as planned on Oct. 17, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipal Affairs Minister Chuck Portersuggested municipalities move to electronic or telephone voting, where possible, and add extra polling stations to account for physical distancing.

He also said candidates should be encouraged to use alternativemethods for campaigning, such as signs, printed materials or social media, rather than going door to door.

"You may not knock on someone's door, but you may reach out through a variety of different methodsto take advantage of how best to campaign," Porter said Thursday. "That's the fun part of campaigning, quite frankly. I always enjoyed campaigns and you know, it's time to change."

Veteran Cape Breton politician Clarence Princesaid candidatesand voterswill miss an important element of a municipal election campaignif they can't meet face to face.

"Municipal electioneering is all about knocking on doorsand there is an expectation from most people that you visit them," he said.

Prince has been a municipal councillor for 37 years and doesn't plan to reoffer this fall for his Cape Breton Regional Municipality seat.

White said he's also concernedthe elections will mean extra costs for small municipalitiesas they try to set up electronic voting.

He said municipalities are already struggling because of lower tax revenues during the pandemic.

White said it might be better to extend the terms of the current councils until the spring, or "when the pandemic dies down,"as they will be better equipped to help their municipalities recover.

"It's going to be important to have people in place at the municipal level who have been involved previouslyand who understand what's needed to restart the economies in each of the towns and municipal units," said White.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities asked the province this spring whether the October elections should be postponed.

Elections 'may not be perfect,' says mayor

Its president, Pam Mood, said Thursday the organization is gatheringconcerns frommayors and wardensand will forward them to the Department of Municipal Affairs.

She also questioned the timing of the fall election, saying municipal councils will be preoccupied with helping restart businesses and services in the aftermath of the pandemic.

"We just get that started, and you throw in an election," she said.

But Mood said the municipalities will abide by the minister's decisionand begin making plans for the elections.

"It may not be perfect," she said. "We can do it."

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