MULGRAVE/MODG — What if we held an election and nobody ran? It’s a question that’s been on Ron Chisholm’s mind over the past few days. Mulgrave’s incumbent mayor has been acclaimed to hold office for another four years and he says, that while he’s grateful to serve, he’s also, well, “perplexed.”
After 11 years on the job, he told The Journal in an interview last week that this will be the first time he’s ever been uncontested at the ballot box. “I’ve had to run in my previous two terms. I would have liked to run this time. I’m kind of perplexed.”
He may not be alone. All four Mulgrave town council candidates – Bob Russell, Jane Tate, Joanne Maas Latimer and Helen Michel – were acclaimed after the nomination deadline last week (Sept. 10). As a result, Chisholm said, “There’s no voting at all in Mulgrave this year.”
The scenario is similar, though not quite as stark, at the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), where the incumbent councillors in seven of eight districts were acclaimed: Paul Long (District 1), Mary Desmond (District 2), Neil DeCoff (District 3), Dave Hanhams (District 4), Janet Peitzsche (District 5), Hudson MacLeod (District 7), and Fin Armsworthy (District 8).
The only outlier was District 6, where – in a repeat of the 2020 municipal election – Susan Cashin will face off against incumbent Vernon Pitts, the MODG’s warden, in the Oct. 19 vote.
The acclamation trend doesn’t appear to be restricted to Guysborough County.
Observers, like Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak, note that the large number of unchallenged council seats in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality – five out of 12 – for example, may be a sign of the times.
“It does suggest a kind of level of resignation, either that things won’t change or maybe [a] particular councillor is doing a good job, but has to operate in a system that doesn’t function well,” he told the CBC last week, adding: “If that pattern continues, you have to be worried about voter animation.”
That’s what worries Nancy O’Regan, local affordable housing and anti-poverty advocate and former MODG District 1 councillor. In a letter to the editor published by The Journal on Aug. 14, she said, “It’s a pity that so few people seek the nomination and run for municipal office. There is no other political role that is closer to the ground in rural areas and more impactful in terms of supporting citizens, community organizations and communities.”
She added: “Municipal councils set the tone for growth and development of a region. They identify strategies [for] a host of things we don’t even see, but that matter to us all. It is around the council table that decisions get made on community benefit agreements with prospective industrial partners… land use bylaws and zoning… annual budgets and tax rates. Yes, it means going to meetings, but bringing your voice to the table to represent your communities’ dreams and desires is no small thing.”
Said Chisholm last week: “People sometimes ask me, ‘Why would you put your hat into the ring for another round?’ It’s true to do this you have to have thick skin [and] not many people want this job… But there is some gratitude that comes out of it, too. I walk the streets, and I get people who stop and say: ‘You guys are doing a great job.’ And I’ll say: ‘It’s not just me; it’s the rest of the gang.’ We’re five people with one voice and we do what we can.”
