There is still time to submit your name to run in school board or municipal government elections in Quinte, but I won’t be joining you.
I will say, however, that it’s an experience well worth having and a job (if you are fortunate) that serves a vital role in our community.
The deadline to submit your nomination papers is 2 pm this afternoon, along with the fee and the required signatures.
I remember well my own experience running for one of the six seats on Belleville Council is 2018 (where I finished in the middle of the pack in ninth).
It was rewarding, challenging, eye-opening and also entirely predictable.
You see, most people who run the first time don’t get elected. It often takes two or more tries to learn the ropes of running a campaign and also to get a better idea of what voters are looking for.
Neil Ellis first ran in 2003 and lost to a close race to Mary-Anne Sills before he returned in 2006 to become Belleville’s first Mayor to serve a four-year term.
Councillor Garnet Thompson and former Councillor and now MPP Tyler Allsopp both had to run multiple times before they were each appointed as replacements during the term.
Even the late great John Williams ran provincially before he served multiple terms in Quinte West as one of the most popular Mayors the region has ever seen.
The responsibilities are large, the feedback is often negative, but the direction and leadership that Councils and School Boards provide is powerful and priceless.
Good luck to all the candidates. I won’t be joining you at the podium or on the ballot but you will have my appreciation from this side of the microphone.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
