Acclaimed wards in Waterloo and Kitchener bad for democracy, says expert
Democracy and voter turnout suffer when candidates are acclaimed, says a Waterloo Region municipal affairs expert.
On Friday, Waterloo announced incumbent Melissa Durrell will be acclaimed in ward 7 and newcomer Bob Mavin acclaimed in Ward 1. Incumbent John Gazzola will be acclaimed in Kitchener's ward 3.
I was at the starting line, ready to go, and no one showed up to race.- Melissa Durrell, acclaimed to second term in Waterloo's Ward 7
Municipal affairs expert Robert Williams said he is surprised by the acclamations and told The Morning Edition host Craig Norris that ultimately democracy takes a hit when candidates run uncontested.
"There are disadvantages for the community, obviously, because when there is an incumbent this is the one chance you get to do a job assessment. How well did they do? Did we like what they did?" said Williams, who is also on the city of Waterloo's voter support committee.
He said acclamations can also deter voters, but said that's more likely when a mayor is acclaimed, rather than councillors.
"The biggest impact seems to be when there's no race for mayor. When there's no race for mayor in a municipality through an acclimation, the voter turnout just seems to drop like a stone."
Durrell still plans to campaign
Meanwhile, Ward 7 councillor Melissa Durrell, who will be acclaimed for the next term, said she still plans to run a full campaign even though she doesn't need to.
"I was at the starting line, ready to go, and no one showed up to race. It's really a tough spot to be in. I feel like I've put my platform out there, I've engaged with citizens," said Durrell. She says that engagement won't stop even though she's not fighting for votes.
"It's a great time to engage with people and actually have those conversations because they actually know more about municipal politics over the next six weeks than they will over the next four years."