Part two in a series looking at Thunder Bay's council composition review and the major changes proposed for council and municipal elections in the city.
THUNDER BAY – The city is looking for public input into two proposals that would reshape municipal elections and the makeup of council.
“You've had experience with both at the same time. That's going to be an important part of how the community looks at it. And I mean, I know that the community makes the choice, but I think the two options that are being referred to are quite different,” said Dr. Robert Williams, a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Waterloo.
Anything from infrastructure projects and social services to the city’s budget is a collective decision that affects the entire municipality, not just the wards these councillors serve, he said. At the federal and provincial levels, political and social values are easily identifiable through party labels. However, municipal candidates do not have that team-mentality so that voters can “gravitate to something that helps you figure out which candidate you would support,” said Williams.
“A ward counsellor, or a candidate for ward council, traditionally would obviously work hard on understanding the ward and if they're already elected to be attentive to and responsive to the people who actually live there. “I frankly haven't found a reason why, unless it's, well, we've always done it that way. And to me, that's not enough of a reason. Just because you've done it that way doesn't always mean you need to keep it,” said Williams.
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