Many people unable to run for council

Re: Who gets to represent us at city hall?

I’ve spent the last while seriously considering a run for Brandon city council.

I have decades of experience running a business, earning a master’s degree and I currently work full-time while still hustling a small business to make ends meet. I’m raising and financially supporting kids through university. I care deeply about this city, its affordability, its neighbourhoods, its culture, its people. And the more I’ve looked at what it actually takes to run for council here, the more I’ve realized how few people like me are able to.

Municipal politics is supposed to be the level of government closest to residents. In practice, it often isn’t. Research on Canadian municipal elections consistently shows that the time, money and networks required to run, let alone to unseat an incumbent, filter out a huge share of the population before a single vote is cast.

People with flexible schedules, financial cushions and name recognition have a real head start. People working 9-to-5 jobs, raising families and living paycheque to paycheque generally do not.

I know this isn’t abstract. I have been part of residents groups, art committees, climate activism and served years on the municipal heritage board, where I have presented multiple issues and presentations, all to result in little to no change. This reveals how easily ordinary residents can be left out of decisions that shape the streets we live on.

I don’t say any of this to discourage anyone from getting involved. Quite the opposite. I say it because I think Brandon deserves a city government that reflects the people who actually live here: women, new citizens, low-income families, working parents, retirees and everyone in between, not just those with the time and money to spare.

That means taking a hard look at things like support for candidates from all walks of life, being honest about how incumbency advantage works, and regardless of who sits on council, building real habits of listening and giving people more direct ways to weigh in between elections, not just once every four years.

Whether or not I end up on a ballot this October, I hope more Brandonites who see themselves in this, the person who has never felt like city hall was listening, consider getting involved in whatever way they can. Our city works better when it’s shaped by all of us, not just the few who can afford it.

MARCI BOMFORD

Brandon