One Election Down, One More To Go

It's all but certain that the US mid-term elections have gone the way of the Democrats, with a clear majority in the house and the slimmest majority possible in the Senate (51-49). Ol' Dubya done got bucked off his bronco.

The municipal elections across Ontario will be held next Monday. As noted before, the one in Toronto is sleep-inducing.

The only race that comes into your living room is the one for mayor. However, each ward in the City of Toronto will also choose a councillor and public school board trustee. Unless you're Catholic, then you vote for a Catholic (Separate) school board trustee. The right of the Catholic church to have its own school system from Kindergarten to Grade 12 (and to teach religion in class) is guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution. The Catholic schools also receive public funding from the province.

I happen to be in favour of one public school system for all, regardless of one's faith. If you want religion to be involved, then it should be through private schools. A hotly debated topic in this province is whether private school tuition should count toward an income tax credit. The provincial Conservative party which held power from 1995 to 2003 is in favour of such a policy and had actually implemented it just before they were voted out. The Liberal party campaigned to eliminate the private school tax credit and did so soon after they formed the government upon winning the October 2003 election.

The ridings (electoral districts) within the city correspond to the ridings at the provincial and federal level. At one time the boundaries of federal and provincial ridings in Ontario were differently named and laid out, leading to a lot of confusion. The Conservative government under Premier Mike Harris (1995-2002) put the provincial ridings in sync with their federal counterparts. (It was the one sole action taken by Harris that I ever agreed with).

There are 22 provincial/federal ridings within the City of Toronto. Each is divided into 2 wards for a total of 44. Each of these 44 wards will elect a councillor. For public scool trustee, each riding becomes a single ward for a total of 22 trustees. Unless you're Catholic, in which case there are 12 wards for the Catholic (Separate) school board made up of combinations of the 22 wards. If French is your first language, then you elect a French Public Trustee in Wards 2, 3 and 4. Except that the Trustee in Ward 4 (Alain Masson) was acclaimed. If you're French and Catholic, you elect a French Separate Trustee in Wards 3 and 4. Except that the Trustee in Ward 4 (Claude Legere)was acclaimed.

For the purpose of electing a councillor, I reside in Ward 15. For public school trustee, I'm in Ward 8. If I were Catholic, I'd be choosing a separate school trustee for Ward 5. What could be simpler?

It's hard to miss who the leading candidates for mayor are, due to all the coverage. It's at the councillor and trustee level where the voters have to do their own digging to be informed. There was a complete list of who is running where across the Greater Toronto Area in today's Toronto Star. At the ward level you have to keep on top of things, such as be on the lookout for candidates' meetings (if any) or find out their stand on the issues. Contacting candidates can be a chore, especially if no campaign literature has been dropped at the door. Not all of them have a web presence.

I think I have narrowed it down who I'll be voting for in each office. That's for an upcoming blog. But for now, I'm going to try and find out what happened to the sun. It was shaping up to be a nice afternoon for this time of year.