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From Paralysis to Action
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Thursday June 19
Grand Pacific Hotel
Vancouver Island Boardroom
463 Belleville Street, Victoria
more information
From Paralysis to Action
Engaging our neighbours in a new kind of politics.
Free public forum
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Thursday June 19
Grand Pacific Hotel
Vancouver Island Boardroom
463 Belleville Street, Victoria
more information
Saanich Civic League aims to increase voter turnout
Jun 13, 2008
By Roszan Holmen
With a municipal election around the corner, a group of volunteers are working to ensure Saanich loses its status as having the worst voter turnout.
In the 2005 election, only 19 per cent of eligible residents voted, slipping 11 percentage points from the previous 1996 election.
"Some people say we have low voter turnout because life's just fine here," said Sher Morgan, chair of the newly formed Saanich Civic League. "But what happens when we stop practising democracy?"
Municipal voter turnout is poor right across the country, but Saanich's record pales even in comparison with Victoria, Esquimalt and Oak Bay. These neighbouring municipalities inspired 26, 33 and 29 per cent of their voting population to mark a ballot in '05.
"I think when you have 19 per cent voter turnout, being a civic politician is a pretty lonely job," said Morgan, who has been volunteering 60-hour weeks since the league formed six months ago. "Who do you feel like you're representing?"
In November, the league invited a group of 66 people to brainstorm a list of values, issues and goals important to the municipality. From these, they developed a community survey and tested it out on 125 households.
"We want to ask people questions because we think that's what isn't happening at any level of community and governance," Morgan said.
The league hopes to knock on 5,000 more doors over the summer. Their goal is to find out what values residents hold dear and how well they think council is upholding them.
What they've found so far is that 80 per cent of people have no idea how their elected officials are doing.
At the same time, people were keen to talk to canvassers.
Residents surveyed stretched the 15-minute questionnaire to half an hour on average.
"It just shocked us," said Morgan. "People wanted to talk. By April, we really knew there was an appetite for this."
People shared concerns about sidewalks, development and the amount of work required to save community assets, like the Royal Oak gym.
People also wanted to talk about libraries.
"People were so frustrated with the library lockout because there was no one they could talk to," Morgan said. "People were saying that governance model doesn't work for them."
The Saanich Civic League is based on a model in Guelph, Ontario that increased voter turnout from 36 to 43 per cent.
"We made the decision that, in order to engage people, we would move away from issues and really send out a message of values," said Annie O'Donoghue, president of the Guelph Civic League.
The league created a voting record for council. Just before the 2006 election, the league released how each councillor voted on 18 key issues over the previous three years.
"For the first time, I think our community really had a clear understanding of the record of council," O'Donoghue said.
The Saanich Civic League would also like to distill a voting record of councillors' decisions relating to its core values.
"People love to have shortcuts," Morgan said. The challenge, however, is to be rigorously non-partisan.
"It's dangerous because politics is power and people's careers are at stake."
But Saanich mayor Frank Leonard questions the league's non-partisan stance.
"They may not name candidates but they will probably have a list of positions that certain candidates will be aligned with," Leonard said. "They'll want to try to inspire people to come out who are like-minded."
The league, he points out, is supported by the Dogwood Initiative, a B.C. group dedicated to sustainable land reform and easily aligned with a political view.
"Non partisan doesn't mean it's not political," he said.
Paralysis to action
The Saanich Civic League is hosting a free discussion forum on June 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Guelph Civic League president Annie O'Donoghue will share strategies to engage citizens. Will Horter, executive director of the Dogwood Initiative, will speak about the importance of action at the local level.
Saanich Civic League's 10 core values
1. Accessible government
2. Social, environmental and economic balance
3. Strong and diversified local economy
4. Leadership to combat climate change
5. Walkable, affordable, safe neighbourhoods
6. Commitment to heritage, culture and arts
7. Preservation of natural areas, quality development
8. Support for local agriculture and markets
9. Clean, accessible transportation
10. Engaged citizens and greater voter turnout
For more information, e-mail saanichcivicleague@shaw.ca
In the 2005 election, only 19 per cent of eligible residents voted, slipping 11 percentage points from the previous 1996 election.
"Some people say we have low voter turnout because life's just fine here," said Sher Morgan, chair of the newly formed Saanich Civic League. "But what happens when we stop practising democracy?"
Municipal voter turnout is poor right across the country, but Saanich's record pales even in comparison with Victoria, Esquimalt and Oak Bay. These neighbouring municipalities inspired 26, 33 and 29 per cent of their voting population to mark a ballot in '05.
"I think when you have 19 per cent voter turnout, being a civic politician is a pretty lonely job," said Morgan, who has been volunteering 60-hour weeks since the league formed six months ago. "Who do you feel like you're representing?"
In November, the league invited a group of 66 people to brainstorm a list of values, issues and goals important to the municipality. From these, they developed a community survey and tested it out on 125 households.
"We want to ask people questions because we think that's what isn't happening at any level of community and governance," Morgan said.
The league hopes to knock on 5,000 more doors over the summer. Their goal is to find out what values residents hold dear and how well they think council is upholding them.
What they've found so far is that 80 per cent of people have no idea how their elected officials are doing.
At the same time, people were keen to talk to canvassers.
Residents surveyed stretched the 15-minute questionnaire to half an hour on average.
"It just shocked us," said Morgan. "People wanted to talk. By April, we really knew there was an appetite for this."
People shared concerns about sidewalks, development and the amount of work required to save community assets, like the Royal Oak gym.
People also wanted to talk about libraries.
"People were so frustrated with the library lockout because there was no one they could talk to," Morgan said. "People were saying that governance model doesn't work for them."
The Saanich Civic League is based on a model in Guelph, Ontario that increased voter turnout from 36 to 43 per cent.
"We made the decision that, in order to engage people, we would move away from issues and really send out a message of values," said Annie O'Donoghue, president of the Guelph Civic League.
The league created a voting record for council. Just before the 2006 election, the league released how each councillor voted on 18 key issues over the previous three years.
"For the first time, I think our community really had a clear understanding of the record of council," O'Donoghue said.
The Saanich Civic League would also like to distill a voting record of councillors' decisions relating to its core values.
"People love to have shortcuts," Morgan said. The challenge, however, is to be rigorously non-partisan.
"It's dangerous because politics is power and people's careers are at stake."
But Saanich mayor Frank Leonard questions the league's non-partisan stance.
"They may not name candidates but they will probably have a list of positions that certain candidates will be aligned with," Leonard said. "They'll want to try to inspire people to come out who are like-minded."
The league, he points out, is supported by the Dogwood Initiative, a B.C. group dedicated to sustainable land reform and easily aligned with a political view.
"Non partisan doesn't mean it's not political," he said.
Paralysis to action
The Saanich Civic League is hosting a free discussion forum on June 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Guelph Civic League president Annie O'Donoghue will share strategies to engage citizens. Will Horter, executive director of the Dogwood Initiative, will speak about the importance of action at the local level.
Saanich Civic League's 10 core values
1. Accessible government
2. Social, environmental and economic balance
3. Strong and diversified local economy
4. Leadership to combat climate change
5. Walkable, affordable, safe neighbourhoods
6. Commitment to heritage, culture and arts
7. Preservation of natural areas, quality development
8. Support for local agriculture and markets
9. Clean, accessible transportation
10. Engaged citizens and greater voter turnout
For more information, e-mail saanichcivicleague@shaw.ca
