A provincial election call, coming just three days after the municipal campaign period's start, raises questions most local political organizers have never grappled with before. For one thing, it introduces the possibility of one candidate running in both races concurrently

During Tuesday’s live broadcast of B.C. NDP Leader David Eby’s speech announcing a snap provincial election, municipal politicians from around the province were contacting each other to commiserate.

Prince George Coun. Cori Ramsay said her phone was lighting up Tuesday with a group message that included municipal politicians from around B.C. expressing their frustration and concerns. The thrust of their comments, she said, were along the lines of: “I can’t believe this is happening right now” and “I’m going to throw up right now.”

At the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference last week in Vancouver, the province’s annual local government convention endorsed an emergency resolution calling on the province to respect the local government election process, and wait at least four weeks before calling an election, to avoid overlapping elections.

Ramsay, who oversaw last week’s convention as UBCM president (her term ended last Friday), said Tuesday’s election call didn’t come as a surprise after the past week’s rampant speculation but still left her and other municipal candidates in “total disbelief.”

“With the critical issues facing B.C. communities, voters deserve to have a campaign period dedicated to local issues,” Ramsay said. “Instead, the noise of the provincial election will draw media attention and voter attention away from local campaigns, and these overlapping campaigns run the risk of suppressing voter turnout.”

Tuesday’s provincial election call, coming just three days after the start of the official campaign period for B.C.’s municipal elections, raises several questions most local political organizers and candidates haven’t had to grapple with before.

It was the topic of much conversation among the politicians, operatives and journalists at the UBCM last week. Many wondered if municipal candidates might abruptly change lanes and run provincially.

Candidates seeking to run for mayor, council or school board for any of the more than 160 local governments across B.C. needed to submit their nomination paperwork before a Sept. 11 deadline, but then had until Sept. 18 to withdraw their candidacy.

Some municipal candidates around B.C. withdrew their names last week.

John McEwen, longtime mayor of Anmore and Metro Vancouver vice-chairman, submitted his nomination papers and then withdrew last week. Reached Tuesday, McEwen said he submitted his paperwork at the urging of several local residents but was unsure whether he actually wanted to serve a fourth term as mayor. He decided to withdraw after he saw a reasonable number of council candidates had joined the race after the Sept. 11 deadline, he said.

The possibility of a provincial election didn’t influence his decision to withdraw from the municipal race, he said. “But I’m not going to rule out anything.”

“Going to Victoria has not been an aspiration of mine, but who knows?” McEwen said.

McEwen might consider a provincial run if he were approached by a party that aligned with his values, he said, although he’s not currently sure which one that might be.

It’s not likely to be the NDP, he said. Despite professing to have a good relationship with many B.C. NDP members over the years, including Eby, McEwen said he’s concerned about the provincial government’s current trajectory.

“This province is in pretty bad shape,” McEwen said. “And I’ll be honest with you, I am not a big fan of our local MLA, (NDP member) Rick Glumac, as well.”

Henry Yao, a former NDP MLA, had filed his paperwork to run for mayor of Richmond before withdrawing last week. Yao didn’t reply to the Richmond News on Monday, or Postmedia News’s inquiry Tuesday.

Municipal candidates who didn’t withdraw before last Friday’s deadline will still be on the ballot Oct. 17 — but even for them, there’s nothing to prevent them from running provincially if they want to.

“Provincial elections and general local elections are two separate events governed by two different pieces of legislation. As such, there is no rules preventing someone from running in both events,” an Elections B.C. spokesperson said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

“However, there are rules that prevent a MLA from also holding local office. If someone was to be elected at both the local and provincial election, they would lose their local seat once they are certified as an MLA following the provincial general election.”

Although the municipal parties operating in B.C.’s larger cities may have many members in common, the rules limit how much the civic organizations can co-operate with their provincial counterparts. That’s true even for parties that share a name. Vancouver Green party executive director Nick Poppell said despite what some might imagine, the B.C. Greens and Vancouver Greens are “separate organizations,” and not allowed to fundraise together.

“It’s not uncommon for us to show up at each other’s events, but we’re there as individual supporters,” Poppell said.

Some Vancouver Greens support provincial parties other than the B.C. Greens and vice versa, he said.

The rules of the Burnaby Citizens Association, the dominant force in Burnaby politics for decades, require anyone applying for membership to also be a B.C. NDP member. Still, that doesn’t mean the civic party can share resources or expenses with its provincial counterpart, said Burnaby Coun. Joe Keithley, a BCA member running for a third council term this year.

“There’s a strict division, you’re not allowed to mix the two together. You can’t have someone out door-knocking for two different elections,” he said.

Keithley’s not overly worried about BCA volunteers jumping ship, to go canvass for the B.C. NPD instead, he said. “I think our volunteers will stick with us, because we’re close now … It’s down to the crunch here.”

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