Halifax election candidates call for term limits for councillors

Five of the candidates hoping to win a seat at Halifax city hall this October are calling for term limits as a way to bring new voices to council chambers, but critics say the idea is undemocratic.

Carlos Bealsin District 6, Brenden Sommerhalder in District 8, Shawn Cleary in District 9, Pamela Lovelace in District 13, and Lisa Blackburn in District 14 helda joint newsconference in Halifax on Sept. 13 where they called for 12-year term limits for municipal councillors.

Brenden Sommerhalder in Peninsula North said if you look at the results from the last two municipal elections in Halifax, councillors who ran againwon approximately 90 per cent of the time.

• Halifax mayoralty candidates' debate covers transit, environment, arts

Little support for new candidates

Sommerhalder said the incumbent advantage is exacerbated because there are no political parties at the municipal level to support new candidates.

"The process of running a municipal campaign is expensive, emotional, and demands a lot on your personal network," he said, adding you can only rely on those family and friends who "you're willing to rope in to help you."

Incumbents, on the other time, have had four years to build up a profile, a list of contacts, and to win favour by funding local projects using their annual discretionary funds, Sommerhalder said.

Incumbent advantage 'ridiculous'

Gloria McCluskey, who is retiring this year after representing Dartmouth Centre for 12 years and serving as the Mayor of Dartmouth before that said the idea that incumbents have an inherent advantage is "ridiculous."

"I beat an incumbenttwice in my elections," she said. Residents set the term limit every time they vote, McCluskey said. "You're doing a good job, your term is extended;you're doing a poor job, it ends."

• Halifax campaign finance reform top of mind ahead of fall election

"I think it's ridiculous for those people to be going around, wanting to take the vote away from the general public," she said. "That's what it boils down to. If you've served your time, the residents will tell you that."

'Same old faces'

Lisa Blackburn, who is running against the incumbent in Middle/Upper SackvilleBeaver BankLucasville, said a lack of term limits cuts down on voter engagement overalland keeps people home on election day.

"People aren't interested because it's the same old faces and the same old names that they're seeing time and time again," she said. "Look at our current council. Where's the diversity? It doesn't reflect the true nature of HRM."

Blackburn said term limits "would encourage more people with more diverse backgrounds to step up and put their name forward" as candidates.

Value in turnover

The outgoing councillor for Peninsula North, Jennifer Watts, is sticking by her promise to leave municipal politics after two terms. Watts said there's value in seeing turnover in the council chambers.

• Jennifer Watts won't re-offer for Halifax municipal election in 2016

"New people will bring forward new strengths," she said.

Watts said when long-time councillors continue to run, it discourages new people from giving it a try. In her case, she said she never would have runif she had been up against an incumbent.

Continuity matters

Russell Walker is running again after representing the riding of HalifaxBedford Basin West for 22 years. He said you have to learn how the system worksbefore you can really be effective, and every time an experienced councillor leaves, it's a loss.

"It takes you at least three years to get into the groove of actually knowing what a councillor does and how to get things moved forward," Walker said.

• ANALYSIS: 5 districts to watch in the upcoming Halifax municipal election

Watts disagrees. "The idea that, you know, there's a huge learning curve and people don't bring value because they're new, I don't actually think it's true," she said.

It's common for an experienced councillor to shut down an idea from a newcomer saying, "No, we've tried that before and it doesn't work," Wattssaid, but then, "It happens and then it works."