Turnout for municipal elections has traditionally been a low numbers game.
For the Municipalities of Saskatchewan, that’s a worrisome issue that they want to fix with their municipal governance workshops.
Starting Sept. 1 with the Municipal Governance 101: Introduction to Local Government, these workshops will work to both educate people thinking of running for office as well as get them more interested in municipal politics, said Gordon Barnhart, Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s president.
“These workshops will give them a better idea of what a council’s supposed to do, what their powers and their rights are, how to relate to their administrator and out to the public.”
Barnhart has worked in countries where people have literally fought for their right to vote, he said, so it is hard to see Saskatchewan people take this right for granted.
“We have to be able to vote and Municipalities of Saskatchewan is putting these webinars on to try and encourage people to run for office, and stir up some more interested in terms of the elections generally.”
While Municipalities of Saskatchewan has offered workshops in the past, including their summer school for existing councillors, this is the first time they are offering the workshops in this way, Barnhart said.
“This will give them a better idea of what they're getting into.”
Rennie Harper, Nipawin’s mayor, thinks these workshops are a great idea.
There’s a lot of things that people need to think about before running, she said, and the workshops will give people that information.
“Oftentimes people have the sense that sitting on a council is about getting your way or something like that and it really isn't. It's about looking after the entire population. And that's what these sessions will do. That's what good governance is, it's about codes of conduct, being fair, and being responsive.”
Rick Lang, Melfort’s mayor, often wonders if people realize the time commitment involved with people on city council.
Lang said they have rarely had an election where Melfort was short on people running for the six council seats, especially since he ran for a councillor. However, people should be aware of what the position entails.
When Lang was first encouraged to run, a former Melfort mayor told him that it is not about experience, but just need to have an open mind and be willing to see all sides.
“That was a very accurate description of what makes a good councillor. You have to be willing to put in the work to be informed and then you have to be also willing to hear the other side of the argument if there is one, and be willing to change your mind, if that's the right decision to make.”
For more information and to register for one or all of the four workshops available through Municipalities of Saskatchewan, visit suma.org/events.
