Where are you, Debora Munoz?
What are you up to, Bryan Mix?
How's it going, Trent Derrick, Jason Luke, Monica Peacock, Ron Gallo and Roy Spooner?
We hope the last four years have been good to you since you put your name forward as a candidate for city council. Although you weren't selected by the voters of Prince George last time, every single one of you has a long record of community service and activism that is certainly appreciated.
So would any of you please consider running again?
In fact, would anyone reading this who thinks they have something to offer to make our municipal government better please proceed directly to city hall, fill out the paperwork, have two friends and/or relatives nominate you and let your name stand for city councillor.
As of Monday morning, there are just nine people seeking one of the eight seats on city council. There are just three new faces - Dave Fuller, Cori Ramsay and Kyle Sampson - competing against six incumbents: Frank Everitt, Garth Frizzell, Murry Krause, Terri McConnachie, Susan Scott and Brian Skakun.
The nomination deadline is this Friday at 4 p.m.
To put these low numbers into context, the 2014 municipal election saw 25 names on the ballot for those eight positions, offering plenty of choice for local voters on the individuals they felt should have a seat at the city council table.
When it comes to voting options for local government representatives, more is more.
And better.
What's been made clear at the public events held by Mayor Lyn Hall and the incumbent councillors seeking re-election is that this group of seven is running as an unofficial slate. While they have diverse political views and local priorities, they have plenty more in common and the last four years have shown their ability to work well together, particularly on infrastructure upgrades, community engagement and targeting problem properties and their owners.
Voters should have a choice, depending on how they feel this group has performed over the past four years. If they are unhappy, ideally there would be enough quality candidates on the ballot to vote out all of the incumbents. If they are happy with some incumbents but less satisfied with others and would like some change, ideally there would be enough quality candidates to do so.
And with two open seats with the departure of Albert Koehler and Jillian Merrick, even voters completely satisfied with the status quo should have the choice of candidates who will challenge the current group to be better and who will speak up fearlessly when they feel the direction is wrong but will also be hardworking teammates that will come together on common interests.
The same goes for School District 57 and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, where there also hasn't been a rush of candidates so far.
Some would say that a lack of candidate interest speaks to a general satisfaction from residents, that the current levels of government are doing a good job and nobody needs to be shown the door. Political history at all levels demonstrates a strong tendency to vote people out of office, as opposed to electing the best the ballot has to offer.
A less optimistic observer would argue that a lack of candidates points to a population so dissatisfied with politics, so disillusioned with politicians and so distrustful in governments that work for people and not for the bureaucracy that they'd rather stay home and see what's on Netflix.
What's the point in running or even voting? Nothing changes but the names and the annual tax bill, which is always higher than it was the year before.
If that's your defeatist attitude, then you may as well stop caring about democracy, the rule of law, your community and your country.
The best alternative is to make both outlooks wrong.
Whether you're happy, unhappy or somewhere in between with your elected local representatives, it is your duty and your democratic responsibility to vote.
And if you honestly believe you could do as good or better than those who came before, it is your duty and your democratic responsibility to seek public office.
Let nothing but fear that you might actually win and have to work on behalf of your fellow citizens stop you.
-- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
