Squamish’s municipal election candidates are born to be mild.
The Chief conducted criminal background checks on all candidates who are running in the Squamish municipal elections on Oct. 20.
The results?
It turns out a handful of those running either for the mayor’s chair or a council seat are guilty of nothing more than traffic violations.
Examples include disobeying traffic control devices, speeding on the Sea to Sky, parking in the wrong spot and failing to wear a seatbelt, among other things.
Having a criminal record does not bar candidates from running for office, though there has been some debate among municipalities over whether this should be the case.
However, people who are in custody and found guilty of indictable offences may not run.
For those of you who watch U.S. crime shows, indictable offences are Canada’s label for more serious crimes — roughly equivalent to felonies in the United States.
Other disqualifiers for running for municipal office in B.C., as listed by the province, are if candidates:
• have been found guilty of an election offence, such as intimidation or vote-buying, and are prohibited from holding office;
• are judges of the Provincial Court, Supreme Court or Court of Appeal;
• are involuntarily confined to a psychiatric facility or other institution;
• have been disqualified for specified reasons such as, failing to:
– file a campaign financing disclosure statement in a previous election;
– make an oath of office; or,
– attend local government meetings in the manner and frequency required by the Community Charter; or,
• have been otherwise disqualified from being nominated for, elected to or holding office under the Local Government Act, Community Charter, Local Elections Campaign Financing Act or any other enactment or law.
A candidate for mayor, councillor, or electoral area director must:
• be 18 years of age or older on general voting day;
• be a Canadian citizen;
• have been a resident of British Columbia for at least six months prior to filing nomination documents; and,
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from being nominated for, being elected to or holding office, or be otherwise disqualified by law. Prospective candidates for local office must be nominated by at least two eligible electors from the jurisdiction where the person is seeking election. Local governments may require 10 or as many as 25 nominators for each prospective candidate.
Conflicts of interest in municipal affairs are not disqualifiers for running for office.
However, if a candidate who has conflicts of interest is elected, those conflicts must be disclosed and candidates must recuse themselves from decision-making on those matters.
