A plea for candidates

In Dawson Creek, councillor Mark Rogers has decided not to run for re-election because there are “too many old white guys“:

“When you look at the candidates that are currently running they do not represent the Dawson Creek demographic. Our community is young with a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

“Many of the candidates are even endorsing one another. That is a slate and won’t provide our city with diverse opinions and ideas on council. I really hope that before the Friday deadline some people will step up and run to ensure we get some new voices on council. If they don’t, we won’t even have an election. We really need people to step up and challenge the status quo.”

Prince George Citizen editor Neil Godbout has similarly appealed to someone– anyone– to add their name to the list of candidates here. There is just one candidate for mayor, and nine people running for eight council seats. Godbout argues a lack of choice is bad no matter the circumstances, and could lead to a decline of democracy.

There’s still until the end of Friday afternoon for people to put their names forward, but if the current trends hold the most interesting question for many B.C. cities up north won’t be who will be the next set of city leaders, but why do so few people even want to apply for the job?