Work begins now to vote in a more gender balanced Edmonton council in 2017

Though the next municipal election is still more than a year away, the city's women's advisory group says it must move quickly to get more women on the ballot to avoid another male-dominated council.

To date, three non-incumbents have filed their intention to run as a candidate in 2017, and all are men.

In the last general election, only about 21 per cent of candidates — 17 of 79 — were women. The number was even smaller in the 2015 byelection for Ward 12, when only 19 per cent of candidates — six of 32 — were women.

The Women's Advocacy Voice of Edmonton wants women to run in equal numbers to men this election. The group told city councillors Monday the more women that run, the more likely it will be that some of them get elected.

WAVE chair Sandra Woitas said despite the progress women have made, there are still lots of barriers that prevent them from entering a political race.

She said balancing family life and the time commitment involved in being a councillor is a major factor. 

Fundraising major obstacle 

Woitas said WAVE also needs to examine what's keeping women who do run from winning.

"Did they have enough money in their political campaigns, did they have enough background experience? I believe it's a combination of so many things."

Though nomination day isn't until Sept. 2017, between now and January potential candidates will start getting serious about whether or not they plan to run.

Candidates must register their intention to run with the elections office before they can raise funds. That's why WAVE needs to work now to get women involved in the upcoming election, Woitas said.

She said women are less likely than their male counterparts to ask for money to fund their campaigns.

This September, WAVE plans to start keeping tabs on potential female candidates to make sure they can raise enough cash to run their campaigns.

Coun. Bev Esslinger, the lone woman elected to Edmonton's council in 2013, said those barriers ring true for her.

"Of all the councillors, I raised the least amount of money [last election,]" Esslinger said.

Esslinger said the push isn't about electing women over men, but about making sure qualified candidates aren't sidelined.

"I say we get … 50 per cent of the candidates to be women, and then let the best candidate win," Esslinger said.

One step at a time

Though the goal is to get more women to run for council, Woitas said there's lots of groundwork to be done before they put their names on the ballot.

She said the first step is to get women more politically engaged in general, whether by encouraging them to vote or getting them to volunteer on a political campaign.

"It's really important that we encourage women to start from where they're at," Woitas said. "That's where we need to meet them, and help them build that confidence to run for office one day."

Our goal should be making sure we're encouraging great people to run- Coun. Andrew Knack

Sometimes, she says, the most important thing is simply encouraging a woman to run, and that's where current city councillors can help.

"Our goal should be making sure we're encouraging great people to run, so that no matter who is sitting in the chairs, there will be great representation," said Coun. Andrew Knack.

Knack said he's encouraged several women to consider running, including one in his ward. He was also one of several councillors who took on a woman mentee as part of the Opening the Potential program, a six-month mentorship to give more women experience to help them run for municipal office.

He said there were a number of problems with the program, including.the need to be at city hall during the daytime and the relatively few number of spots available compared to the number of women who applied.

Opening the Potential will likely be rolled out again soon with some changes to make it more accessible to women considering an election run, Knack said.

Edmonton voters go to the polls on Oct. 16, 2017.