Anyone wanting to put their name forward as a candidate for mayor, councillor and school trustee has until Sept. 14 to sign up, and eight days later the official election campaign kicks off.
General voting day for municipal elections for the City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver and the District of West Vancouver is Oct. 20, but there are several opportunities in each municipality for voters to cast their ballots. The nomination period opened Tuesday and will close at 4 p.m. on Sept. 14. Candidates have until Sept. 21 to withdraw their nomination. Elector organizations also have until this day to withdraw their endorsement of any candidate.
District of North Vancouver
In addition to voting on Oct. 20, residents of the District of North Vancouver can cast their ballot in advance on Oct. 10, 13 and 15 at municipal hall as well as at Parkgate on Oct. 13.
Mail-in ballot options are available to those with mobility and health issues as well as to non-resident property electors, seasonal residents and anyone in a geographically remote area.
The District of North Vancouver will update its elections page as candidates file their paperwork at dnv.org/our-government/election-2018.
A mayor, six councillors and four school trustees will be elected – the District and City of North Vancouver have a joint school board with four trustees from the District and three from the City.
There will also be two questions on the ballot whose results will be non-binding. First, voters will be asked if they support establishing and funding an advisory body of City of North Vancouver and District of North Vancouver residents, not to exceed $100,000 in costs, to “investigate the costs, benefits and potential implications of reunifying the two municipalities.” The second question is to authorize the District of North Vancouver to spend up to $150 million in order to create at least 1,000 units of non-market housing to be built by January 2029.
By 11:45 p.m. on the first day of nominations, the first candidate for school trustee, George Tsiakos, had filed his nomination papers.
City of North Vancouver
Residents of the City of North Vancouver can vote in advance on Oct. 10, 13, 17, 18 and 19 at city hall and at The Pipe Shop on Oct. 16 (from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Anyone with a physical disability, illness or injury, or who will be away during advance voting days, can apply to vote with a mail-in ballot, available after Oct. 1.
City of North Vancouver residents elect a mayor, six councillors and three school trustees. Info at cnv.org.
To vote in municipal elections, residents must be Canadian citizens, 18 years old by general voting day and have been a resident of B.C. six months prior to Oct. 20.
West Vancouver
West Vancouver residents will elect a mayor, six councillors and five school trustees. Voters will have the opportunity to vote in advance on Oct. 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 at the municipal hall. Info at election.westvancouver.ca.
Mail-in voting is available to those with physical disability, injury or illness. Anyone who can get to the polling station but can’t enter the building will have the option of curbside voting whereby an election official will bring a ballot to the voter.
Two all-candidates meetings are listed on the district’s website, both on Oct. 17. At 1 p.m., the Seniors’ Activity Centre Advisory Board will host the first one at the Seniors’ Activity Centre. The West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce will host the second at 7 p.m. at Kay Meek Centre, which will focus on business issues.
