Get re-elected as trustee, then run for MLA

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/08/2015 (3428 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

School trustee Colleen Mayer’s ambition could cost Louis Riel School Division taxpayers more than $100,000 if Mayer wins a provincial seat next April.

The Ward 2 trustee was re-elected to another four-year term this past October, but a few months later won the Conservative nomination in the St. Vital provincial riding now held by retiring New Democrat Nancy Allan.

City election officials say a by-election could cost as much as $6 a voter for the ward, in which 17,625 voters were registered last fall.

With fixed election dates at every level of government, it’s becoming unusual for someone holding office to win re-election to that office and then contest another level of government — especially so early in a four-year term.

Mayer said in an interview that she was not considering a provincial run when she ran for re-election to the school board last fall, but the timing of her decision to make a provincial bid in February so soon after winning a four-year term wasn’t a deterrent: “That wasn’t an issue for me.”

All levels of government now have fixed election dates, and Manitoba’s next provincial election will be April 19, 2016.

Mayer said she didn’t consider a provincial run until four months after taking her school board seat.

“It wasn’t until this year, around February, March — I hadn’t given it much thought,” said Mayer.

But when she heard that New Democrat MLA Nancy Allan was retiring, Mayer talked to her family, and then sought and won the Conservative nonmination.

“The rumours became strong that Nancy Allan was stepping down. It was an opportunity,” she said.

I had had it in my head for quite a while now that Allan wouldn’t be running again, which may have been why she was dropped from cabinet in the fall of 2013 a year before the school board election, or maybe being dropped was the reason she decided to retire; regardless, I thought the likelihood Allan wouldn’t run again was out there by the time candidates filed for school board.

Not seeking another school board term might have been a consideration had she been thinking last year about a provincial bid, Mayer said: “Had it been on my radar, it’s something I would have considered at the time.”

Liberal federal candidate Dan Vandal retired from city council, knowing he planned to run federally. On the other hand, Coun. Jeff Browaty unsuccessfully tried for a federal Tory nomination only months after being re-elected to council last fall.

“I’ve not heard one negative comment at the door” about her decision, said Mayer.

As for the cost of a by-election, “Nobody wants to force anyone to have to pay for something,” she said. But, it gives her a chance to represent those same constituents at the provincial level with the benefit of already having seen the education system from a school trustee’s perspective.

Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders said voters may see a lot of problems in Mayer’s choice.

“We often talk about the cynicism the public has about politicians: ‘What is her motivation for going into politics, will she jump ship again?’,” asked Saunders. “The behaviour of this trustee is pretty disturbing.

“It sounds very convenient for her, maybe not as convenient for the taxpayers,” Saunders said. “I find it a little too self-serving — she’s looking for new opportunities, even though she’s been elected to serve.”

Saunders said it also concerns her that it was Allan’s retirement that prompted Mayer to go, and that Mayer says she’ll still be a school trustee even if she loses provincially. “You don’t hedge your bets — you’re either committed or you’re not.”

Said Mayer: “I’m committed to being their trustee until that time (provincial election). If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go back to being a trustee,” and then see what is best for everyone come the October of 2018 school board election.

Saunders said that even with fixed election dates, there can be times when it may be acceptable for a politician to run elsewhere during his or her term. Tory MP Merv Tweed’s mid-term retirement took everyone by surprise, and Conservative MLA Larry Maguire sought the seat. In unexpected circumstances between fixed elections, a politician could have health problems or other personal issues, or a minority federal or provincial government could suddenly be brought down before the fixed election date.

But Saunders doubted situations such as Mayer’s can be legislated — the BU prof doubted barring elected officials from seeking another office before their term ends is possible. It’s up to voters to let politicians know what they think of such actions, Saunders said.

Up until a few years ago, candidates could run for multiple offices — some ran in the same municipal election for mayor, council, and school board — and then choose which seats to fill if they won. I can’t recall anyone’s having to choose post-election between being a mayor or a councillor. In rural Manitoba, several people sat on both school board and local council.

Mayer was uncertain if she will declare a leave of absence from school board once the premier drops the writ — the timing would be touch and go on a direct overlap with the school board’s setting its budget in mid-March, and the rest of the board would have to excuse any absence that caused a trustee to miss more than three consecutive regular board meetings.

“I want to put a full effort into my campaign,” said Mayer, who pointed out that she also has a full-time job as th​e executive director of the Old St. Vital Business Improvement Zone and is a partner of the Marlene Street Resource Centre.

Mayer uses her Twitter account for all purposes: school board matters, her provincial campaign, and her full-time job.

Her Facebook page is labelled ‘Colleen Mayer politician’ and identifies her on the main page only as the Conservative candidate in St. Vital.

 

Here’s some background:

On the Louis Riel School Division website, Colleen Mayer says: “As a school board member, Colleen takes pride in knowing that her work helps to make St. Vital a better place to live, work and play. She believes that LRSD leads the way for other divisions to strive to be better and make citizenship a priority. “It takes a village to raise a child,” she says. “If we, as active members of our own community, can help create an environment that encourages children to become active citizens, we are all better off. Our community will be even stronger in the future.”

On the Facebook site Colleen Mayer, Politician, her short description reads: “Colleen Mayer is the Progressive Conservative candidate in St. Vital. Join the campaign, email: colleen4stvital@shaw.ca.: “With my passion for public service and strong belief in community, I know that as your MLA I can make great contributions to St. Vital and advocate for all of the citizens who call it home… A change for the better is coming to St. Vital! Join the team and help elect Colleen as the next MLA for our community.”

Profile at @Colleen_Mayer Twitter account: Proud Momma, School Trustee in the Louis Riel School Division, Executive Director for the Old St. Vital BIZ.

 

And this is from city election officials:

“For stand-alone school division by-elections, we would charge the entire cost of the election to the school division. That said, these are fairly uncommon; usually school division by-elections are done in concert with councillor by-elections, so there are economies of scale for the school divisions.

In the last 10-plus years, only two standalone by-elections for school trustee have taken place, which were:

— June 24, 2008: Seven Oaks Ward 2, Cory Juan elected.

— October 15, 2003: Louis Riel Ward 3, Christine Melnick elected.

Costs of these by-elections were in the $45,000 to $70,000 range. Costs today would be higher than these examples, and would be set to cover all actual costs to be incurred to undertake the by-election according to the legislation and previous standards set. Costs also differ based on the size of the by-election, as larger by-elections require more workers, more locations, more supplies, etc. Estimated cost for a by-election today would be in the range of $4 to $6 per voter.

The final voter count for Ward 2 Louis Riel School Division for the Oct. 22, 2014 Municipal School Board Election was 17,625.”