Our guest speaker on January 23rd, 2012, was Michael Quinn from Elections New Brunswick. He was accompanied by Paul Harpell, and the Rotary Club of Sussex was their first stop on their tour. Their responsibility is the renting of the offices for the elections, hiring and training of over 3500 staff and purchase of the equipment necessary for the polls. There are 101 municipalities and four rural communities, with a total of 335 elected council members. To be nominated for a municipal position, there had to be ten signatures on the nomination by qualified individuals approved to sign.
As we all know, the council members don’t do it for the money. The compensation is not huge. The Sussex Mayor’s position pays around $11,000 and requires tremendous dedication, time and sacrifice. The May election will nominate 47 council members for seven education districts for the district education council. One of the best ways to help out your community is to join an elected board for a local council.
Right now, the objective of Elections New Brunswick is to get people talking. The deadline for nominations is April 13th and starts on March 26th. There are two ways to help with the elections. You can identify and nominate good candidates and vote!
Robert Lockhart had a question about whether or not the positions for regional health authorities will be on the ballot, and the answer was yes. He also asked if they have corrected the wait times outdoors at the voting stations, and was advised that Elections New Brunswick have streamlined the waiting/registration process at the polls. There are two lines now- one for the majority without any issues and a smaller separate line for the voters that need assistance. This will translate into less waiting!