There’s a lot to know if you want to run for town office
Fort Frances town Clerk Gabrielle Lecuyer is hosting an information session for people interested in running for town council in Fort Frances.
On Friday April 8, at 6:30 p.m. Lecuyer will host a virtual information session for anyone interested in running in 2022 municipal and school board elections or those interested in being a third party advertiser. The session will be held over Microsoft Teams. Lecuyer says the information provided at the session will be invaluable to anyone seeking to run for office in the fall election.
“The candidate information session is an opportunity for candidates to get some really key information they’re going to need to have a successful campaign or candidacy,” Lecuyer said. “There’s a lot of rules under the municipal elections act and it can be a bit overwhelming for candidates.”
The info session will include representatives from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
“They’re going to present the legislative side,” Lecuyer said. “They’re going to get into the details of the Municipal Elections Act, talk about nominations and key dates and the process of nomination.”
One of the other big aspects that these people will speak on is campaign finances. A lot of people may not know that candidates are all responsible to submit financial statements at the end of the election to ensure all campaign finance laws have been followed. Failure to submit financial statements results in ineligibility to run in future elections.
There are many other details that the ministry representatives will present during the session including the election and possible recount process as well.
Lecuyer also said that she has invited a mayor and council member from another jurisdiction to tell people in the session what the work is like.
“That will provide a bit of a perspective on their experiences in this municipal world and point out some of the benefits of being a mayor or a councillor and some of the issues that they’ve run into,” Lecuyer said. “A real analysis of what life has been like for them, and not just for them but for their families because there’s oftentimes an impact on your family as well because of the scheduled time commitments.”
Lecuyer also has her own part to say in the session.
“My piece is going to be looking at what orientation is going to look like in terms of when you start, what the orientation would look like, the training requirements, we’re going to talk about the code of conduct and municipal conflict of interest,” she said.
Another part of the session will talk about a recent hot-button issue among town councilors with regards to the time commitments and the scheduling of meetings.
Lecuyer wants people to register ahead of time for the session by Monday, Apr. 4. She already has some people registered but would like to have more. If she doesn’t get more she will likely postpone the session until early in May. The event will be recorded when it does happen but she wants most people to be able to ask questions about the process rather than the whole time being spent with people talking.
Nominations for Fort Frances Town Council open on May 2 and close on Aug. 19 at 2:00 p.m. To run in the municipal election for Fort Frances you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age on the day that nomination papers are submitted, a resident of Fort Frances or an owner or tenant of land in Fort Frances. You must also be an eligible voter. Those interested in more specifics or to register for the information session can contact Lecuyer at 274-5323 ext. 1215 or by email at glecuyer@fortfrances.ca.
