THIS WEEK: Election signs are everywhere; MLA Day joins the Findlay ship jumpers

The nomination period for the Oct. 17 municipal election begins Sept. 1 and closes on Sept. 11. Candidate’s campaigns officially begin on Sept. 19. But, of course, unofficial campaigns began a long time ago.

T

he 2026 Comox Valley municipal and school board elections must be getting close. The hints are popping up everywhere. Anxious candidates have made early announcements. Selfie videos with vague chatter about local politics have popped up on social media. And long – and I mean really long – threads on superfluous, even redundant Facebook pages.

You know it’s election time, of course, when the old dinosaurs who ran things around here in the 1980s and 1990s and still feel entitled to it, launch yet another temporary website under yet another moniker. Maybe they have teamed up with last year’s angry young men crowd to push a pro-development and anti-progressive agenda. 

You know it’s election time when Manno Theos drives up from Nanaimo or flies in from Greece to claim he lives in Courtenay and, therefore, should be elected its mayor. He’ll have to knock the sunglasses off Mayor Bob Wells this time, and maybe another challenger or two.

Out in Comox, where the Good Old Boys and Gals enjoy consistent 4-3 majority votes, you know it’s election time when Ken Grant and Maureen Swift announce they are running for yet another term to test the limits of longevity in office. But it’s necessary because, you know, the town couldn’t possibly survive without them and, anyway, they need to hang around to tell the other two how to vote.

But unlike Swift and Grant, regional district Area C Director Edwin Grieve knows when it’s time to retire and make way for new people with fresh ideas.

You also know it’s election time when Arzeena Hamir announces she’s running for something. After her failed run for MLA with the Green Party, she will try to regain the regional district Area B director seat she lost to Richard Hardy in 2022. She’s one of the few women seeking office so far this year.

You know it’s election time when people start popping up on social media to regularly post critical commentary about the current mayor and council, but stop short of announcing their own candidacy. Presumably they think it’s clever to surprise the public at the last minute. “Breaking news! I’m running for office!”

Note to obvious candidates: Nobody thinks that.

Local accountant Darryl Robbins was a regular social media star earlier this year, leading many to suspect he would run for Courtenay council or even mayor. Then he went quiet. Maybe he’s changed his mind? Maybe he was just visiting USA baseball shrines this summer?

Sitting council member Evan Jolicouer apparently told many people he was going to run for mayor and then he suddenly stopped talking about it. Maybe a good choice, when you think about it. Who wants to get into a crowded race where you might actually poll fewer votes than Manno Theos?

You know it’s election time when someone announces, “I’m running!” and then offers only platitudes, like “We could be so much better! I think we should have less homelessness. I’ll kill all future tax increases!” News flash: Everyone is for those things. Having a realistic plan to achieve them is something else.

You know it’s election time when some really nice people, who love their community and do good things for their neighbors, decide to run. Good for them, democracy demands participation. 

But running for office because you’re nice isn’t enough. You need an agenda that you want to accomplish and a clear and realistic strategy to achieve it. Without that, you’re just another pretty face hoping for world peace.

Finally, you know it’s election time when almost everyone who is not a parent – and some of those, too – cannot name a single District 71 school trustee or have any idea what school trustees actually do in that swank new district office building. 

Who cares how teachers are looking after our kids? Let’s go get worked up about traffic circles. Pow! Bang! Yeah!

But don’t worry if you haven’t noticed any of these telltale election signs. You’re not alone. 

Far from it, you’re just part of the 70 percent of Comox Valley’s eligible voters (55 percent in Cumberland) who didn’t vote last year and presumably don’t really care. 

If 2022 history repeats itself, only about 30 percent of eligible voters will cast ballots in Courtenay, Comox and the regional district (45 percent in Cumberland). Which, as it turns out, is almost identical to the provincial average. So we can feel good about that.

But should we? Should we pride ourselves that just as many Comox Valley residents as the rest of British Columbians aren’t interested enough about local government to bother casting a ballot? Standing in line to vote? It’s just too much trouble, right? 

But whining about local government later on social media? Well, that’s fun and easy to do. Just grab a beverage and your digital device and log on to one of the 5,000 or so Facebook pages devoted to municipal politics. It’s the modern cure for boredom.

We could do so much better.

BRENNAN DAY JUMPS SHIP

Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day announced late Wednesday that he has cut ties with the BC Conservative Party and will fill out his term as an independent. He cited disagreements with party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay as his motivation.

“I have lost confidence in the judgement, conduct and ethical standards of her leadership and those she has chosen to surround herself with,” he said.

As of a few moments ago, Day had received 584 thumbs-up likes on Facebook, where he posted his announcement. Most of the comments praised Day for being “brave” and taking a “bold” stand and for making “a difficult decision.”

Day is the latest defection from the BC Conservatives. The BC Conservatives came close to forming the government in 2024, winning 44 seats. That number has dwindled to 32 sitting MLAs today. 

The Findlay ship is sinking and MLAs are jumping off to save themselves and possibly to form a new right-of-center party.

Findlay is a right-wing populist, a west coast version of Alberta’s Danielle Smith, who believes governing is all about “Faith, family and freedom.” She courts the Freedom Convoy crowd who oppose vaccine mandates and sexual orientation and gender identity education in schools. She supports unencumbered oil and gas extraction and more pipelines for resources to flow to (and possibly into) the west coast. Her chief of staff is openly opposed to abortion rights and has promised to close abortion clinics.

Findlay wants to repeal DRIPA, the province’s commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She continues to claim that the BC Supreme Court ruling recognizing Aboriginal title on public and privately owned lands in Richmond undermines all BC personal property rights. 

These policies and values appeal to the far right fringe.

Given that, this is a smart move by Day. Courtenay-Comox is not a safe seat for either progressives or conservatives because fringe groups have a smaller influence on voting trends. He won this riding two years ago by the razor thin margin of 95 votes – only by the grace of the local Green Party, whose delusions of grandeur split the left-of-center vote.

Day is acutely aware that far more voters actually preferred other candidates.

So shunning a party headed toward a hard-hard right agenda, hardly seems like a brave or difficult decision for an MLA in a swing riding facing reelection sooner than later. 

Day did the right thing, of course. But, in terms of political survival, what other choice did he really have? And why did he wait so long?

This article has been updated to correct the spelling of MLA Brennan Day.