Electing trustees: pigs in a poke?

How in the world do people make up their minds about whom to vote for in school board elections?
Peel Board Chair Janet McDougald considers before she answers. There’s a pause, then there’s a sigh. I know what’s coming. She knows what’s coming. It’s the lecture — the same one she delivered in her inaugural address after the last election when she tore a strip off The News for its absence of coverage of trustee races.
“I believe the media does have a responsibility,” she says, “The Mississauga News, Cable 10, The Booster. Somehow they should be profiling all of the candidates.”
Absolutely. In my formative days working for The Mississauga Times for a decade and then The News, it would be unthinkable that there would not be information printed about every candidate. As they announced their intentions months before election day, in fact, stories would appear in the paper about the qualifications, experience and policies of the candidates.
You also knew that each person who took the step of offering themselves for office would be standing up on a platform two or three times during the campaign to explain who they are and to answer questions from the public at all-candidates’ meetings.
Now we are a bigger, supposedly more sophisticated, City and the level of scrutiny of candidates is not a tenth of what it once was. We seem to be rowing backwards in the democratic process.
There are so many candidates that the newspapers do little but provide thumbnail sketches, if indeed they do that. The TV debates on Rogers Community Television, which used informed panellists and were often the highlight of the campaigns are gone now too, replaced with prosaic three-minute monologues that are a test of the will of the viewer to stay tuned or stay awake. And those candidate blips are usually for mayoralty and council candidates, not school trustees.
There are also far too many phantom candidates, who register to run but can’t even make an effort to do the minimum required — tell the local press who they are, what their platform is and/or put up a website that outlines their campaign.
The people who should be organizing all-candidates meetings, just for school board candidates, are the community school councils. They are the parents who already have a stake in the process, are knowledgeable about the grassroots educational issues and share a common interest in ensuring the most capable hands are on the tiller. Problem is, they’re all too pooped from their existing volunteer efforts.
You can only feel sorry for public school electors in wards, like 9-10 and 6, who must choose between people who are largely unknown to the public with only minimal information. The best advice is still to pick up the phone and call your local candidate.
By the way, The News has asked board candidates for 300 words on how they would improve education in Mississauga. The intent is to publish them or put them on this web site. This, if it actually happens, now passes for election coverage.
* * *
McDougald, Vice-Chair Ruth Thompson and senior board officials met with new Education Minister Kathleen Wynne a week ago today in an informal get-to-know-each-other session. The Minister listened intently to the pitch about Peel’s many achievements in the classroom, heard the usual complaints about transportation funding and seemed surprised to learn that the board receives $800 per pupil less than the provincial average for funding across Ontario.
Like the last two ministers, the former Toronto trustee promised Peel would be the first to receive an operational review of busing. “She didn’t promise any major overhauls of the funding formula but she did indicate there would be room for tinkering,” said McDougald. The time for tinkering is over. The funding formula needs a major rewrite.

Comments

[Gary]

Taxpayers simply do not care about the trustee position. They allocate their taxes to either public or separate board and pay very little attention to who are elected and how their taxes are spent. The exceptions to this are those families with kids in the school system. The turn out is low and they don’t know the candidates. Some opportunistic candidates lobby members in their community and they get elected since the public does not care enough to vote and follow what is going on. Case in point in ward 6&11 separate board. One candidate published the following article on her website and in a Filipino newspaper. “A person that we Filipinos should be proud of. Let us help LUZ get elected as a trustee. Call all those you know whose vote will count on Election Day on November 13.” This appears to be a call to the Filipino community to support this candidate because of her ethnicity. As a matter of fact this should be reported in the Mississauga news. Link to full article http://arcticdemo.northernobjects.com/assets/images/Luz_Trustee_Candidate_2006_1.swf

[Roger]

I would like to respond to the ward 9 resident. In ward 6 & 11 things are different. The campaign is heating up for the trustee position. I had a vist from one of the candiadates Joe DiSalvia who knocked on my door and explained why he is running. I was most impressed by the gentleman who has taken the time to meet voters in person in my neighbourhood and to explain why he is running. He has a website with his bio and details of his platform clearly spelled out. This is quite different from my past experience where as the thread suggests it is like close your eyes and cast your vote. I hope MR Disalvio wins just on the effort that he has put into his campaigning as well as his resume.

[Mohan Kundra]

I am a candidate for Peel School Board Trustee (English). For me it's very painful experience that most of the people I met during my campaingn don't know much about Trustees. They don't know what trustees do.

Meet your candidate shows are organised for Mayor and Councillors but every body forgets Trustees. Media need to educate them about the importance of Trustee.

I feel Mayor and Councillors make and maintain the city but Trustees help in building the Nation. They contribute to help build the nation by preparing tomorrow's pillars of the nation. If I am elected I would certainly help in creating the awareness about Trustees.

[Walt]

In the good old days, residents' associations organized all-candidates meetings. Many neighbourhoods now don't have such associations, and many of those that do exist don't seem to be very active. It's part of the trend that everyone now is so busy busy busy with their many activities that there is no time to look outward to the community and to take an interest in issues that might be affecting all of us.

Your point is also well taken that there seems to be a proliferation of "phantom" candidates, apparently on some kind of ego trip, perhaps wanting to see their name on a ballot but not bothering to campaign or take the process seriously. Maybe we need to demand a more hefty deposit from candidates, to be refunded if you achieve 5% of the vote.

[OJ]

I think part of the problem is that the campaigning for the school trustee elections has been almost non-existant.

I live in ward 9 (where there are 10 candidates running for public board trustee) and so far we have recieved exactly one mailout from a candidate.

(and even that was tossed before i had a chance to read it over)

I also have yet to see a single lawn sign or info booth in the Meadowvale town center and so far nobody has come to our door.

That's despite the fact that i live in a neighbourhood full of young families who have a vested interest in whoever is elected.

If there is an election going on around here you would hardly know it!