It's not over yet...

One down and the municipal vote to go.

The federal balloting is done and counted and we’re going to have to live with the results for the next while. But we’re off to the polls again this Saturday to choose municipal leadership. This time we know it’s for four more years.

It could be seen as an indictment that there wasn’t interest enough to ensure mayoralty races in Windsor and Hantsport. But five candidates are vying for the four Windsor council positions and eight candidates seek the six Hantsport council seats, which shows the democratic instinct is more than just alive and well.

In West Hants, the tenants of five of the nine council seats have been acclaimed, leaving only four elections to take place in the municipality.

One of those seats, however, District 6, is held by current Warden Richard Dauphinee, who faces one opponent. The same goes for East Hants, where Warden John Patterson is challenged by two opponents in District 13.

The councillors in the municipalities of East and West Hants elect their respective wardens and deputy wardens from among their members. Indeed, there could be big changes in the county’s senior leadership.

Meanwhile, things are even slower in the school board elections. The Annapolis Valley Regional School Board seats for West Hants, Windsor, Hantsport are acclaimed. In East Hants, there is still an election for the African Nova Scotian board member of the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board.

It can be disheartening to think of the lack of candidates in the some of the districts in the rural municipalities. On the other hand, it shows people are satisfied with the choices and are willing to live with them for four more years.

People show relatively greater interest in the federal and provincial contests and the following carryings-on, but the councils handle important matters. If you are concerned about someone opening a roadhouse or mine next door to your children’s school, or about the declining farmland resource, or concerning dangerous properties or policing, don’t bother to call Messrs. Brison, McDonnell or Porter.

There is a line of politicians who deal with that stuff and much more and they don’t go to Halifax or Ottawa to ply their trade.

Why do these people do it? There is the satisfaction of serving the community, but that only gets you so far and it could be done in a number of service clubs and organizations. There is a bit of money in it, depending on the council in which you’re serving, and in what position. But then there is the aggravation, too, the 24/7 responsibility and the fact that many electors think they now own you, or at least your time and attention.

Many of these people often confuse municipal elected officials with their MLAs and MPs, whose pay packages tend to be somewhat larger and responsibilities broader.

But we owe it to the various municipal council members – those who have had to scramble for votes this time around and those who were fortunate enough to have the voters’ confidence already – to support them in their duties.

For those scrambling for votes, we owe it to them to go out and vote. That way, if something comes up and we want a say, there is no doubt that we earned it, if only by casting a ballot Oct. 18.