Workshop prepares candidates, voters for election

Those considering running for council might be in for a surprise if they don’t educate themselves first.

That’s one of the messages former Golden, B.C., mayor and councillor Christina Benty will share in a candidate readiness educational workshop she’s hosting at the Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall Sept. 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The workshop challenges candidates and voters to dig deep before the Oct. 16 municipal election.

“It’s about how we prepare people to make good decisions whether they’re going to put their name on the ballot or whether they are going to vote,” she said. “It’s critical that we have good solid politicians who know what they are doing.

“The most effective elected officials are the ones who understand the system, not the ones who blame the system.”

Benty, owner of Strategic Leadership Solutions, will teach those in attendance the roles and responsibilities of local government and officials, what attributes to look for in a candidate and what to consider before putting one’s name forward.

Benty has worked with elected officials on strategic planning, assessment management, policy development and team development.

“It’s meant not only to prepare candidates but it’s also to prepare the community to ask the right questions — are they a team player, are they open minded, how many council meetings have they attended,” said Benty.

In many cases, the public looks to local government to solve their problems, but Benty said they don’t realize local government deals largely with land use planning, recreation, infrastructure and policy making.

When running for council, many candidates have a specific agenda in mind and often make promises they aren’t able to keep, she said.

“You don’t get to reinforce your individual agenda,” she said. “You don’t have that power. There is a lot of misunderstanding.”

Promises made like lowering taxes are often unrealistic, she said.

“It’s rather naïve to think you can reduce taxes without reducing service levels,” she said. “If they talk about cutting taxes what services are you going to cut? Questions like that need to be asked.”

A big part of being on council is working as a team, not only with each other but also with staff, Benty said.

“Lots of time staff takes the blame, yet their job is to carry out the policy direction of council,” she said. “If council provides no policies then staff has no direction and they are floundering.”

Benty said she sees many cases where there is dysfunction among councils.

“I’m watching this happen all over B.C. where there are councils that are in-fighting and as a result they are unproductive and are costing money because of their lack of forward motion,” she said. “It usually boils down to an inability to communicate and a lack of understanding around roles and responsibilities.”

Being educated before deciding to run for mayor or council is critical, Benty said.

Often, people run for council with plans to fix a particular problem, yet once they’re elected they realize it’s more complex than they thought, she said.

“If you are considering running for office it’s important to understand what the roles and responsibilities really are,” she said. “Candidates need to go in being thoughtful and curious and realize this is a complex environment and local government provides a broad range of services and so it’s important to recognize that with that broad range of services there is a cost associated with it.”

With 12 years of experience in local government, Benty feels she has a lot to contribute including helping to prepare candidates to be thoughtful and methodical in their approach and looking at challenges from a larger systemic point of view.

She’s also eager to get those planning to head to the polls in two months a lot to think about.

She plans to engage those in attendance to be better voters.

“If people are going to make promises citizens have to be armed with thoughtful and meaningful questions,” she said. “I want them to have an understanding that the relationship between local government and the community is reciprocal. It’s important the public understand they have a role not just in voting but voting from a place of being informed and educated. It is their responsibility.”

Heather Thomson, Turner Valley manager of legislative services, said bringing Benty to the community is an initiative of Black Diamond, Turner Valley and Longview, yet it’s available for anyone in the region to attend.

Benty was invited to present on the topic after several council members and staff attended her presentation on asset management at the Local Government Administrators Association conference last spring.

“The focus of this workshop is not just for candidates, it’s for the community,” she said. “It’s engaging the community so that when they’ve got people going door to door campaigning they have a better understanding of what they’re looking for in a good municipal leader.”

Thomson said it’s important to educate the community so they understand what local government does and what they should be looking for in a candidate.

“It’s about empowering yourself to understand what local government is,” she said. “We want everyone from the whole region to join the conversation.”

Attendance is free, yet registration is required at www.eventbrite.ca as seating is limited.