Latest news with #localpolitics
CBC
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
You might not know 97-year-old star citizen Jack Edwards — but here's why you should
At 97, John (Jack) Edwards is a star citizen of Amherstburg, Ont. He doesn't miss a council meeting, sits on the local economic development advisory committee, and every two to three weeks has lunch with the mayor. "I like people. I've always loved being with people," Edwards said, explaining his passion for political volunteerism. "I have always enjoyed being on small committees, very intimate, and that's what this is all about." Passion for local politics Edwards is a beloved member of the community and a close friend of Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue. "Jack is a character. Jack is lovable. Jack is fun.... He's just a good, good guy," Prue said. "I'm so proud he's my friend." Edwards's passion for local politics began many years ago when he lived in nearby Windsor. He joined committees when Bert Weeks was the mayor in the 1970s. Throughout that time, he also went on some exciting "twin city" visits to Europe, including a 1977 trip to England, during which time the group from Windsor in southwestern Ontario was invited to attend a celebration at Windsor Castle for Queen Elizabeth II's 25th anniversary of her coronation. "It was a sensational trip," he recalled. He eventually moved to Toronto to work in the pharmaceutical industry and his political volunteerism was put on pause. Twenty-five years ago he eventually made his way back to Windsor-Essex in retirement and settled in Amherstburg. Appointed every year Meeting Prue drew Edwards back into politics. Prue knocked on Edwards's door while campaigning when he was running for town council (he was elected in 2018). That meeting marked the beginning of their friendship and Edwards's return to politics. "He is such a regular, and the town and the council love him," Prue said. "He gets appointed every single year to serve on the [development] committee because he's a fountain of knowledge. He knows everything that has happened around this community for the last, I don't know, 50 or 60 years." During their lunch meetings, Edwards offers advice and helps inform the mayor on what's best for the town. "It's like listening to a whole bunch of really good ideas of what I should do, what the town should do and what he wants to do for economic development. It's just a joy to come with him," Prue said. "Some people don't like modernization, or movement or the town to change, and Jack is steadfast in saying this is what the town needs." Won a special award His efforts haven't gone unnoticed. The mayor explained that earlier this year, the town chose two individuals to receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal, given to someone who has made a significant contribution to their community. Prue said the town made sure Edwards was a recipient. "It was humbling," Edwards said. "I'm so proud of it." The mayor also said he believes Edwards is the oldest contributing member to any council committee in all of Ontario. "He comes religiously. He knows what he's talking about. He commands the show," Prue said. Aside from his passion for community engagement, Edwards is deeply proud of his family: his wife, six children, 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. As for what keeps him going, good health and keeping an active mind are key. "It's when you lose the ability to recognize, to remember — that's when the pain steps in. And that hasn't happened to me yet," he said. "I keep active. I'm on committees, I meet with people, and that's what keeps me feeling great."
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania undecided on future as Parliament calls grow
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania has yet to decide whether he will seek a second term. Photo: Peter de Graaf A high-profile Northland mayor has yet to decide if he'll seek a second term, with multiple political parties trying to convince him to run for Parliament instead. Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said he would make the call about seeking re-election in the next few weeks after talking it over with whānau. Tepania confirmed he'd also been shoulder-tapped by a number of parties about entering national politics - but said he wasn't considering a tilt at Parliament "at this point". Tepania was just 31 when he was elected Northland's youngest mayor in 2022. He was also the Far North's first Māori mayor. The Kaikohe-based te reo teacher, who entered local politics as a councillor in 2019, said he was still considering whether to contest the mayoralty for a second time. "It's such a big decision, so it's not one I want to take lightly ... and it's not one that I can make on my own, because if I run again, and I get it, it's not just me that's going to be carrying the responsibilities of being there, but it's also my whānau by extension. So it's something that we are still giving careful consideration to." Tepania said he decided to run for mayor in 2022 around the same time of year, Matariki and Puanga. "It's a really good time to plan ahead, so I'm looking forward to making a decision in the next couple of weeks. If that decision is yes, Far Northerners are going to have me 110 percent for not only the campaign but, if successful, as mayor for the next three years." Asked if he was considering a run at Parliament, Tepania said he would do it only if he was in "a position of power to see transformative change for the people of the Far North". "Yes, I've been shoulder-tapped by a number of parties, but I wouldn't be looking to go to Wellington at this point. I wouldn't close any doors, of course. But for me, this decision is about the people of the Far North and whether or not I will run to be the mayor again." Far North Mayor Moko Tepania celebrates councillors' unanimous decision to retain the district's Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf One thing Tepania didn't have to mull over was his support for Māori wards. He was already campaigning for retention of the district's four-seat Ngā Tai o Tokerau ward, with its future to be decided in a government-mandated referendum held alongside the local elections in October. While Māori wards had failed to win majority support in past polls - including in the Far North in 2015 - he believed this time would be different, because during the past three years Far Northerners had seen the "incredibly positive benefits" for council decision-making and communities. Tepania said it was "really unfortunate" that only the Māori ward was subject to a binding poll, and none of the council's 16 other wards or community board subdivisions. Nominations for the upcoming local elections opened on 4 July and a list of candidates confirmed so far had been expected on 7 July. However, the Far North District Council said publication had been delayed because Election Services had to check the candidates' eligibility first. In 2022, veteran councillor Ann Court led the race to be Far North mayor in the initial election-night count, but Tepania pulled ahead as special votes were counted. The final result put Tepania on 7805 votes to Court's 7362. Court served as deputy mayor when both Wayne Brown and John Carter were mayors. She told RNZ she would not contest the mayoralty but would seek re-election as a councillor. Former Horowhenua Mayor Michael Feyen, who now lives in the Far North, has previously stated he wanted to put his hat in the ring. Feyen confirmed to RNZ he would stand for the council but had yet to decide on the mayoralty. He has been a city councillor in Palmerston North and was a candidate for the New Zealand Loyal Party in the 2023 general election. Northland has two other mayoral contests to look forward to, at least one of which will see a changing of the guard. In the Kaipara District, Mayor Craig Jepson said he would seek re-election only as a councillor representing his home town of Mangawhai. Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson (left) is seeking only a council seat at the upcoming election, and urging his supporters to back deputy Jonathan Larsen for the mayoralty. Photo: LDR / Susan Botting He called on his supporters to back deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen as his successor. Jepson made national headlines early in his term by removing karakia from council meetings. His council was also the first in the country to abolish its Māori ward following a law change in 2024. High-profile iwi and business leader Snow Tane has also put his hand up for the Kaipara mayoralty. Te Roroa Development Group general manager Snow Tane has put his hand up to be Kaipara's next mayor. Photo: Peter de Graaf/RNZ Currently general manager of Dargaville-based Te Roroa Development Group, Tane's previous career was in supermarket management. In the Whangārei District, sitting mayor Vince Cocurullo confirmed to RNZ he would seek another three-year term. Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo is seeking a second term at the helm of Northland's most populous district. Photo: NZME / Michael Cunningham First-term councillor Marie Olsen has also stated she would contest the mayoralty. Earlier this year a Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll found Tepania was the most popular mayor in New Zealand and Jepson the third most popular, despite their diametrically opposing positions. However, the poll had a large margin of error due to the small sample sizes. Tepania had a 39 percent approval rating, with an almost 5 percent margin of error, while Jepson had a 35 percent approval rating with an almost 10 percent margin of error. Nominations for the mayoralty, council and community boards close at noon on 1 August. Candidates will be announced on 8 August. Voting in the postal ballot will take place between 9 September and 11 October, when preliminary results will be announced. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
How Miami's city commission gave themselves an extra year in office without voters' permission
Candidates for local office in Miami have been prepping mailers, gathering volunteers, raising money and hitting the street for the last year, with voters expecting to see a robust campaign to replace the city's term-limited, scandal-chased mayor. Last week, Miami's city commission told those voters they'll have to wait an extra year. In a 3-2 vote, the commission changed the city's election bylaws to push the municipal races back to 2026. Commissioners said they made the change in the name of cost savings and increased voter engagement when higher-profile races for Congress or the presidency may be on the ballot. But they gave themselves an extra year in office without asking voters for permission first. And in a moment when the underpinnings of democracy appear to be cracking in America, a cavalier attitude toward an election seems ominous to some Miami residents. 'What worries people about this is, we don't want to give the guy in the White House any ideas,' said John Jackson, a Miami resident and former political operative. There's no real mechanism to try something like this at the federal level, he said, 'but it still kind of makes people a little worried. I don't know anyone on any side of the aisle – Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal – who just thinks that this was a good thing'. Florida attorney general James Uthmeier sent Miami's mayor a warning letter on 26 June, telling the city that the proposal to change election dates without asking permission from voters first violates the city and county's charter and the state constitution. Miami is home 'to thousands of patriotic Cuban Americans who know better than most about regimes that cavalierly delay elections and prolong their terms in power', Uthmeier wrote. 'The City of Miami owes to its citizens what the law requires.' City leaders could have avoided this problem by placing the question on the ballot and accepting a shorter term if voters chose to hold future elections on even-numbered years, said Michael Hepburn, a Miami mayoral candidate. 'The city of Miami is actually still scheduled to have a election this year for other ballot referendums,' Hepburn said. 'So what they're doing is actually just stupid, because you literally still gonna have people come out this year on November 4 and vote for, like, three other questions on the ballot.' By structuring the change this way, however, it permits city commissioner Joe Carollo and Miami mayor Francis Suarez – both term-limited – to remain in office for an additional year. Hepburn said he thinks Juarez wants to use the extra year to his advantage. 'He's started thinking about how he could stay in office and use his current office to parlay that into his next office. He may be running for governor next year. He may be running for US Congress. Who knows? But he'll be able to do it from the office of mayor, which just helps him.' Hepburn and other candidates have either filed lawsuits or are awaiting the actions of the attorney general in response to the ordinance change. 'The decision by city leaders to arbitrarily extend their terms by a full year without voter approval is exactly why so many are up in arms by the chaos and dysfunction of our city government,' said Eileen Higgins, a Miami-Dade county commissioner running to become the city's next mayor. Instead of extending current elected terms, Higgins said she would support shortening a new mayor's term by one year and moving the election to 2028 to achieve optimal voter participation. 'That's why I believe moving forward with the planned elections this November should have been the only decision. More troubling, a run-off in December 2026 will only cost taxpayers more money and result in lower turnout than this year's planned election.' The mayor's office did not respond to requests for comment. 'I support and encourage participation in the electoral process,' said city of Miami commissioner Christine King. 'Voting is the single most important act one can do for their country and in this instance our community. In the city of Miami, voter turnout is historically low for odd numbered year elections. My vote in support of moving our elections to even numbered years was a vote for democracy.' The argument for on-cycle elections makes sense to students of civic participation. Suarez defeated his challenger 21,479 to 3,166 in the 2021 off-year election. In a Miami referendum about residency requirements for the Miami mayor in 2024, with Donald Trump facing Kamala Harris as the marquee matchup at the top of the ballot, 127,460 people cast a vote, more than five times as many voters. 'The upshot is that on-cycle elections … are generally viewed as a win for democracy,' said Matthew Nelsen, an assistant political science professor at the University of Miami. 'On-cycle elections ensure that the media attention and campaigning that comes along with a national midterm or presidential election will also trickle down into local races.' Commissioner Damian Pardo, the author of the election change, argued that holding municipal elections on off years is a form of voter suppression. 'The reason behind this is to boost voter participation,' he told local media. 'When we realized we actually had potentially three votes to get this done, we moved forward. When we can take reform, we take it.' Nonetheless, the commission chose not to let voters make this change. 'Ideally, the voters would have had the ability to vote on this,' Pardo said. 'However, given the situation in this context, where we had the opportunity to pass it … in order to give the voters what they want, you might actually undermine them by putting it to a vote, because by the time that time lapses, you may no longer have those three votes.' Two of the three commissioners who voted for the change – Pardo and King – are Democrats. 'If they can move it, why not the president?' said Marion Brown, a candidate challenging King in the election that the commission postponed. 'Let the president move it, let the governor move it, let everyone in the election do the same thing.' The third commissioner, Ralph Rosado, is a Republican, as is the mayor. Municipal elections are technically nonpartisan in Miami. 'Our county mayor is Democratic. Miami's mayor is Republican. But none of that really matters, because politics is just weird here,' Jackson said. 'To me, it was just entrenched politicians who said 'well, gonna save money and we're gonna raise turnout'. But the reality is, they're term-limited, and now they get an extra term.' Politics in Miami tends to protect a group of four or five politically-powerful families at the expense of the public interest, said Marisol Zenteno, president of the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade. 'People are very irritated. They don't trust in the system. They feel that it's the same people manipulating it and that it's pretty much the same people winning all the time,' she said. 'Voters are just disillusioned.'
New York Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Ask The Times About New York City's Mayoral Race
This year's mayoral race in New York City is already historic in many ways. What questions do you have about the candidates, the electoral process, City Hall or our coverage of local politics? We'll get them answered by our beat reporters and share the results in future editions of New York Today or our flagship newsletter, The Morning. (Sign up for The Morning newsletter here.) Ask The Times
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chapel Hill council member blames political climate for decision to step down
Adam Searing cited special-interest groups and political attacks Thursday among the reasons that he won't seek a second term on the Chapel Hill Town Council. Searing, who ran a heated but unsuccessful campaign in 2023 to unseat Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson, has served on the council since 2021. He was the only one of two candidates supported in the 2021 election by the grassroots group Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town, which advocates for shorter buildings, slower growth and environmental preservation. He regularly stood alone against other council members during the first two years of his four-year term. The opposition has softened somewhat since the 2023 election, with other council members voicing support for his ideas at times. Karen Stegman is one of those voices. She was elected to the council with CHALT's support in 2017 but lost that support in 2021, because of her development votes. On Wednesday, she stepped down from the council, five months before her term expires, because her family is moving to Carrboro. Chapel Hill races have always been politically charged, but in the last several years, Anderson and fellow council members have noted an increase in anonymous attacks and threats in comments from the dais and in blog posts and campaign messages. In an email message announcing his decision Thursday, Searing said he's enjoyed his time on the council, but 'the thought of enduring a third election in our current local political environment makes my decision today not to run again this November an easy one.' He noted other people involved in local issues are also 'finding other ways to volunteer and civically engage.' 'A few of the reasons include multiple special interest groups demanding several thousand-word 'election' questionnaires on obscure topics, political attacks that often get personal and even extend to family members and student volunteers, a local social media cesspool where any questioning of impractical or unpopular ideas can quickly lead to accusations of racism or sexism, and the appearance on the scene of well-funded anonymous-donor political group activity,' he said. The 2023 races set records for how much money the candidates and political groups raised — over $251,000 reported prior to the election — largely due to donations collected by political-action committees and local advocacy groups. Triangle Blog Blog, an online source for news and opinion, and the nonprofit Next Chapel Hill-Carrboro group emerged to counter CHALT's view of how Chapel Hill should be managed and grow. Next also has a NEXT Action Fund, a 501(c)4, or so-called 'dark money,' political action group that does not have to disclose its finances, and some of its supporters write for the blog. The group responded to online allegations about its money and donors by posting some information online. CHALT is allied with the Chapel Hill Leadership political action committee, which raised the most money ever in its history during the 2023 election cycle after the organizer of a rumored, new political action committee said that group would not be forming and urged donations to the Chapel Hill Leadership PAC. Anderson has announced she will run for another two-year term in November. A challenger has not yet emerged. Four Chapel Hill Town Council seats will be on the Nov. 4 ballot. Council member Paris Miller-Foushee has announced she will run again, and a challenger, Planning Commission member Wes McMahon, also plans to run. The filing period for the 2025 election runs from 8 a.m. July 7 to noon July 18. His supporters may be disappointed with his decision to leave the council, Searing said, but he will stay involved in local projects and activities. 'I share that feeling,' Searing said. 'But we've created a local political gauntlet where the price demanded for participating — personally, reputationally, and professionally — far outweighs my strong commitment to public service.'
