Minister Encourages Participation in
Local Governance
On September 29 of this year, Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians will go to the polls to elect their municipal
representatives for the next four years. Local government is where the
action is. Every day, this level of government impacts the lives of just
about all residents of our province.
From my experience, I can�t stress enough the level of
satisfaction and pride one can gain from contributing to your community
by offering yourself for election as a mayor, deputy mayor or councillor.
In 2007, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador,
through the Community Cooperation Resource Centre, conducted a survey
with municipal councillors where only 38 per cent said that they would
run again in the next municipal election. Strong municipal
representation is essential for our province's success. This primary
level of government contributes to the foundation that strong
communities are built upon. And our communities are the foundation of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Therefore, our government will soon announce a
campaign to promote participation in our treasured democratic process
leading up to the September 29 election. The anticipated launch of this
campaign is early June.
Today, however, I will say that the campaign will
incorporate means to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas.
We will actively recruit individuals who may have been on the fence
about offering themselves for election in previous years. Making a
contribution in this way can be of great importance not only to the
general population, but to their families and friends as well.
One focus of our plan is to encourage the active
involvement and full participation of women and youth in municipal
government. With the face of local government possibly changing forever
this year, it�s time to persuade young people and other potentially
interested groups to join this very important democratic institution.
We are excited about this upcoming campaign. At the
Department of Municipal Affairs, we see first-hand each and every day
how important strong representation is when working to make the
communities we call home better places to live and raise a family. I
feel it is our duty to encourage as many people as possible to take the
next step by offering themselves for election, because where you may see
a construction worker � I see a councillor. You may see a school
teacher, I see the next mayor of a town.
2009 05 25 1:50 p.m.