A dozen candidates are vying for one open West Vancouver council seat in this November’s byelection.
The nomination period closed on Friday, officially starting the campaign to elect a replacement for former Coun. Michael Lewis, who died in August.
When registered West Vancouver voters get their ballots on Saturday, Nov. 19, they’ll have their choice of: David Ayriss, Farzaneh Bamani, Joanna Baxter, Tom Dodd, Tara Haddad, Rosa Jafari, Jon Johnson, David A. Jones, Andy Krawczyk, Peter Lambur, Vernon Pahl and Carolanne Reynolds. The candidates’ names will appear on the ballot alphabetically.
Twelve candidates in a midterm byelection is a deep field, given the municipal election in 2014 drew only 15 candidates for six council seats. That’s something of a paradox, as municipal elections generally, and byelections specifically, tend to have very low voter turnout, said Michael Markwick, a West Vancouver resident and Capilano University communications instructor.
“The question is: will people actually reciprocate as voters and turn out?” he said.
Only 27 per cent of estimated eligible West Vancouver electors showed up for the 2014 vote. A District of North Vancouver council byelection in 1991 drew just 12 per cent.
“There’s this weird disconnect because everything we do with our day-to-day lives, from where we can park, to what we can do in our yard, to how we put our garbage out, is all affected by what municipal governments tell us to do,” he said. “It’s easier to go to the wine store than it is to go vote in the municipal polls.”
People only tend to get involved in municipal politics when an issue impacts them in a hyperlocal way – “when it literally comes down to people’s backyards,” Markwick said.
Having a likely small turnout means candidates would be wise to organize blocks of supporters to show up on Nov. 19 through their existing networks at churches, work and schools, he added.
Despite just being one council seat up for grabs, Markwick said the byelection could be pivotal for West Vancouver in the long term, as the municipality faces big decisions about sustainability, emergency preparedness and the ongoing housing affordability crisis.
According to West Vancouver’s demographic research, Markwick noted, in 20 years, children will make up just eight per cent of the municipality’s population.
“Twenty years out from that, when those kids have families, what’s going to happen to the population of West Vancouver?” he asked.
Two all-candidates meetings have been scheduled by community organizations already. The Ambleside and Dundarave Ratepayers’ Association will hold a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. at the West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre activity room.
The West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce has booked the Kay Meek Centre on Nov. 16 for a hustings starting at 7 p.m. Attendees must RSVP at [email protected].
The budget for the byelection has not yet been finalized.
