B y the end of next week, Comox Valley residents will know who is officially running for local government offices in our three municipalities, the three regional electoral areas, School District 71 and the Islands Trust.

In the last municipal elections of 2022, there were a total of 57 candidates seeking the 31 local elected offices – seven in Courtenay and Comox, five in Cumberland, seven on the school board, three regional district area representatives and two for the Denman/Hornby Island trust area.

That’s a lot of candidates for voters in each voting jurisdiction to assess. In 2022, there were 14 candidates seeking the seven School District 71 positions alone, and another 18 for Courtenay City Council.

For many Valley residents, it’s just too much work and too confusing to gather the necessary information to make thoughtful selections. It could partly explain why only 30 percent of eligible voters turn out for local government elections.

With no single source of information about each individual candidate – such as comprehensive news media coverage – some eligible voters don’t bother casting a ballot. Others rely on conversations with their friends and neighbors.

Perhaps the best advice for voters is the simplest: You do not have to vote for candidates to fill all the vacant seats.

In response to last week’s pre-election article in Decafnation, subscriber Dede Fitton expressed this wide-spread frustration.

“To be serious, I live in Courtenay and I don’t know how any voter can sort through the “debates” on local (social media) forums. I’d like to make casting an informed vote easier but damned if I can figure out how.

“I think I should keep an open mind about new candidates. And a critical look at present council members. Now, how do I do that? I don’t follow council meetings.
I also know that most of a council member’s job is performed on committees and in the community, not at the public meeting.

“I wish there were criteria for candidates. Even more, I wish there were criteria for voters! (Tongue firmly in cheek).”

Ms. Fitton has identified the main obstacle facing Valley residents seeking factual information about individual candidates: Absent robust election coverage in the Comox Valley Record or the local radio stations’ news websites, people often resort to the Facebook pages devoted to local municipal politics.

But that almost never helps because although some people try to post factual information, they are usually overrun by paid trolls, bots and people hiding behind fake names. The pages are dominated by people who really just want to rant about one thing or another without adding anything useful to the conversation.

For example, when incumbent Courtenay Councilor Wendy Morin recently announced she is running again, her post was greeted with vile comments. Mark Jackson wrote, “No fing way. 18% tax increase a few years back cause (sic) of her. Sooner vote for a dog.” Jonny Valentine wrote, “We need to clean all these usless (sic) politicians out of city hall. Not voting for this chick for sure.”

Both Jackson and Valentine appear to be fake names on empty FB accounts. They might be bots or trolls paid by organizations determined to defeat forward-thinking council candidates.

There are only two elector organizations registered for the Comox Valley with Elections BC. One is the Conservative Electors Association run by David Denhoff, of North Vancouver, and the other is ParentsVoice BC, run by Marc Vella, of Langley.

ParentsVoice BC is a new BC party pushing school board candidates with anti-vaxx and conspiratorial views, per CBC news. Their slogan “Take Back Our Schools” translates to opposing education programs on health, racism, gender and sexuality.

For these reasons, sitting council members, school trustees and mayors generally avoid engaging in social media frenzies. It’s unfortunate, because without these online harassments and personal attacks, people could be getting factual information directly from their local government representatives.

So, how should voters assess this year’s candidates?

Perhaps the best advice for voters is the simplest: You do not have to vote for candidates to fill all the vacant seats.

If you have found a few candidates that you believe will represent you well, just vote for them. Period. You already have all the information you need to cast a thoughtful ballot.

It’s not necessary to fill the ballot with six council members plus the mayor. Just show up and cast a vote for the two or three or four who seem capable. Voting for only three or four candidates makes a perfectly valid ballot.

For many, the overwhelming part is getting a grasp on every candidate instead of just identifying a few worthy of support.

To help people do that, the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce has scheduled three distinct candidate forums in late September.

– A forum for Cumberland candidates at 5:30 pm on Monday, Sept. 21 at the Cumberland Cultural Centre location.

– A forum for Comox candidates at 5:30 pm on Monday, Sept. 28 at the Comox Legion.

– A final forum for Courtenay candidates at 5:30 pm on Thursday, Oct. 1 at the North Island College Stan Hagen Theatre.

The Comox Valley Social Planning Society will also host an all-candidates forum specifically on substance abuse strategies at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at the Westerly Best Western Hotel in Courtenay. Candidates are being invited to meet the public starting at 4:00 pm.

There are rumours that Project Watershed and the NIC student union may hold candidate forums. In the past, there have been election events at Gladstones Brewing Co. in Courtenay and at some of the senior assisted living facilities.

That’s not much, but maybe the Record newspaper will engage more deeply during this election cycle. And Decafnation readers can read our upcoming Candidate Survey to compare individual responses.