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Countdown to November 15 Local Elections

It’s that time again when we need to decide who will chart the direction of both our regional and school districts.

It’s that time again when we need to decide who will chart the direction of both our regional and school districts. If you have been happy with the results of your last decisions, it’s time to reward incumbents with re-election. If things did not turn out as you had hoped, it’s time to re-engage and try again.

There have been several changes to the Local Elections Act since 2011, the most significant of which is that we are now electing both CCRD Directors and SD #49 Trustees for four years, rather than three. That makes our task even more important! In order to increase both fairness and accountability, there are also new nomination/candidate requirements in terms of financial disclosures, both by candidates and by campaigns.

The first decision for each of us to make is…..Should we run ourselves? For almost all of us, the quick answer is…Are you crazy? Of course not! But wait - please think about it. If good people who care about our community, who have skills to offer and who have the time and energy to contribute in this manner don’t run, whom are we left with?

Your answer is still NO? Fair enough, but you are not yet off the hook. As citizens, we still have the responsibility to pay attention, to think about the issues, to question candidates on their platforms and, above all, to vote on Saturday, November 15. While voting doesn’t guarantee good representation, not voting certainly compromises your right to complain when you get something you didn’t want.

So, here’s the drill. All information for potential candidates, voting eligibility etc. is available from the CCRD office. See also their notices in Coast Mountain News and on line. Nominations for both CCRD Directors and SD #49 Trustees close on October 10, 2014.

As in previous local elections, CM News will provide space in this newspaper for candidates to deliver short messages to the community. For CCRD candidates, we invite you to address the questions listed in the sidebar to this article and submit them by October 17th. Your answers will be published in the October 23rd issue.

In addition, an All Candidates meeting will be held for CCRD candidates at Lobelco Hall, Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. Watch for notices on community bulletin boards and prepare your questions for the candidates.

Report on the All Candidates’ meeting will appear in the November 6th issue, along with messages from those SD #49 Trustee candidates who choose to submit copy by October 31st.

That’s it. The rest is up to us to make our choices of local elected representatives, choices that will guide the future of our Valley and our Schools for the next four years.