Saskatoon’s elected officials could be in office longer than expected.
The provincial government is looking at pushing back the municipal election date by one year so it won’t conflict the 2020 provincial election.
Coun. Darren Hill supports the idea.
“I don’t think it’s in the best interest for the citizens of Saskatchewan if you have two levels of government campaigning at the same time,” he told CTV News.
“You run the risk of them pinning issues and policy against one another to gain favour with the electorate. That’s not good democracy.”
However Gordon Barnhart, president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, said most of the group’s members don’t want the date to change.
“We may have people resigning their post, say as mayor or council, saying, ‘listen, I agreed to go for four years, but now I’m expected to do one more,’ and we may have a rash of resignations.”
University of Saskatchewan political studies professor Joe Garcea says it probably makes more sense for the province to change its date.
Changing municipal elections would require an amendment to the Local Government Elections Act, while the provincial election law provides greater flexibility, he said.
No decision has been made; the province is looking for feedback from municipalities and school boards.
