James Gordon is a former Guelph city councillor. He was the founding president of Get Involved! Guelph’s predecessor, the Guelph Civic League, and has been an activist and advocate for many social justice, cultural and environmental issues. He works in the arts sector.
Candidate information
I’m hearing from a lot of residents that it’s harder to find the information they need to be properly informed about their options with candidates in the upcoming election.
Here are some questions and guidelines I use when I make my decision at the polling station. I’m hoping they might be helpful to you. Here they are, in no particular order, when considering those candidates:
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Participation record. Do they have a track record of participating in the local democratic process? Have they served on boards and committees? Have they delegated to council on important issues? (A sure sign that they are staying aware of local issues.) Do they have a profile in the city for contributing to the well-being of our community? If they don’t, in my view they wouldn’t be bringing much to the table other than a specific agenda that might not be in the best interests of the city.
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Showing up to events. Are they showing up to electoral events, debates, or election forums? If they don’t care about sharing their views with you and subjecting those views to voter scrutiny, why should we care about them? If they are not showing up, too often they are taking a page from the conservative playbook that seems to suggest that the less they say beyond ‘we’re lowering your taxes’ the better.
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Are they part of a ‘slate’? These can be hard to spot, but I entirely disagree with the campaign platforms of candidates who claim that the city would be well-served by a ‘like-minded council’. ‘Like-minded’ is a euphemism for ‘we don’t want to hear progressive or diverse voices.’ We often hear that ‘like-minded’ would help our housing crisis since we could accept more proposals from developers without the oversight needed to assure that projects met our environmental, social, neighbourhood compatibility and affordability standards. I disagree. We don’t need just ‘any housing.’ It needs to make sense for the community, and a diversity of views on council makes for healthy discussions and wise decisions.
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Privileged white males. Is the candidate a privileged white male? We might have enough of those. Your vote could contribute to making the council look more like Guelph looks like these days.
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Have they taken campaign donations from developers? If it’s an incumbent candidate, have they taken campaign donations from developers? (This information is readily available.) If they have, did they ever declare a conflict of interest when planning proposals came to council FROM those developers? In my honest opinion, taking donations from developers is not a good practice.
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Scrubbed social media presence. Do they have a recently ‘scrubbed’ social media presence? This usually means they have something to hide. In the last election I was sent screen shots from a Ward 2 candidate who, before ‘scrubbing’, revealed a history of association with white nationalists and other racist groups. That certainly didn’t show up in their benign campaign literature. If they are concealing their past, they don’t resonate with me in the present. We have to do our own research since it’s hard to find this kind of information in the media.
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Voting records. Voting records for incumbents are not hard to find. It’s a good way to find out if they are voting in alignment with your values. Get Involved! Guelph has a growing capacity to offer clarity for this information. See our Community Candidate Survey for candidates’ answers to your questions, use our Searchable Record Tool to find out how incumbent councillors have voted in the past, and read our Council Watch Reports.
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Election signs. If our boulevards are covered with a candidate’s signs, this only means they are well-funded. Look for the signs that are on lawns or in windows. This shows actual support from voters. Also, a well-funded campaign can be compelling and persuasive, but remember that there are candidates with important platforms who have limited resources. Sometimes THOSE people have lived experience ‘living below the line,’ which can offer valuable insights.
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Rhetoric. When a candidate says that he or she wants to ‘trim the fat,’ ‘drain the swamp,’ ‘clean up the grime,’ ‘lower your taxes,’ etc. — these are often empty phrases that lack meaning and are undeliverable. Watch for substance over style. I want councillors who are going to give me the best value for my tax contribution, and who understand that the cuts needed to lower taxes would often negatively affect our most vulnerable citizens. Our housing crisis ought to be at the forefront this election. Are candidates willing to go the extra mile to find ways to house the underhoused? Remember that ‘austerity’ really means ‘growing the income gap,’ since austerity measures seldom lead to any sacrifice by our prosperous residents.
That’s it. I suggest making your own ‘checklist’. This is a crucial election. Get out and make an informed vote, and let me know if you can think of more for this list — email us at getinvolvedguelph@gmail.com.