A chance for people to make an impact on their local communities by putting their name on the ballot in the upcoming Municipal Elections.
The Town of Yarmouth now has candidate information packages.
Town returning officer David Sollows explains that whether you’re running for Town Council for the first time or re-offering, now is the time to book an appointment and get the info you need.
“I ask that they give me a call at my office in town hall, I’ll book an appointment,” he explained. “It takes about 30 to 40 minutes, just going through the package to make sure that they have their questions answered. I’ll go through things, ask if they have any questions. Then as they have the time to think about the process after that, then we’d have to think about booking a time to actually file the nomination papers.”
Sollows notes that there are free sessions being offered online via Dalhousie Campaign School for potential candidates.
“They’re doing four sessions, and the first one actually starts this [Tuesday] evening,” he explained. “It’s easy to find the information if you just put into your web browser yourdecision.ca, follow through to register to find out about the election process and things that people might need to think about if they want to run for office.”
Potential candidates can attend one, or all of the sessions.
He says post your complaints about council on social media is one thing, but it’s time for people to start actually engaging with councillors – or even declaring candidacy.
“Running for council, it’s an important commitment for anyone who’s interested in getting engaged in the community,” he stated. “Actually just finding about the process -even if you end decided that you’re not going to run, it’s a good opportunity for you to learn about how municipal council works.”
The deadline to file your candidacy is September 8th.
Municipal elections are slated for October 17th.
