By Dominic Abassi

Nanaimo voters stake claim on the community with record turnout

Oct 22, 2018 | 9:55 PM

NANAIMO — If turnout is any indication, Nanaimo voters were a motivated bunch on Saturday.

At just under 41 per cent participation, Nanaimo’s preliminary turnout was much better than the estimated provincial average of 36 per cent. The number also represented record involvement for a municipal election in the harbour city, breaking the 34 per cent mark set in 2014.

VIU political studies professor Alex Netherton said he felt the last several years of Council-related issues produced a clear response from the community.

“This election brought out everybody who was concerned,” Netherton said.

“When there’s a big issue, people are going to pay attention. And our crisis of governance became a big issue, that’s clear. So many people just thought they had to voice their stake in the community.”

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Netherton said it was clear voters connected with themes of rebuilding civic engagement and restoring effective and stable governance. He expected interest in local politics to continue to be high in Nanaimo as residents keep an eye on the new group they selected.

While some may consider 40.8 per cent turnout still woefully low, it’s a strong showing when compared with historical civic elections in Nanaimo.

• 2008 – 32%
• 2011 – 27%
• 2014 – 34%
• 2017 referendum – 35%

It’s also a notable turnout compared to how some other municipalities fared Saturday night.

• Kelowna – 33%
• Kamloops – 31%
• Vancouver – 39.3%
• Victoria – 44%

Councillor Bill Bestwick, who did not run for re-election, topped the polls from 2008 to 2014 but none of his vote totals would have been good enough to crack the top five compared to Saturday’s numbers. 

The councillor-elect with the fewest votes this election was Zeni Maartman at 8,558. That total would have placed her third compared to 2014 numbers.

According to the City’s preliminary breakdown of results, the majority of votes were cast during two days of advance polls.

On Oct. 20, McGirr Elementary led all polling stations for votes cast. The Departure Bay Activity Centre and Randerson Ridge Elementary were also popular, while Coal Tyee saw the least number of votes cast of any polling station (with the exception of Protection Island).

Sheila Gurrie, the City’s chief election officer, said she was amazed and impressed by the community’s involvement.

“People were happy even when they were waiting in line. Barely any complaints about having to wait. And there has been significantly longer waits when normally a municipal election in Nanaimo people are in-and-out,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW Saturday night after polls closed.

She said the City did extra advertising to get the vote out and it seemed to be effective.

“But I also think the public is just amazingly interested in getting out to vote for this election…Seeing the engagement of the people is extremely satisfying. Working in local government and seeing the community so engaged, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

She said given the popularity of McGirr, there were discussions already around potentially moving the north end location to nearby Dover Bay Secondary School to accommodate more people.

Mayor-elect Leonard Krog was immediately curious about turnout numbers Saturday night, asking NanaimoNewsNOW what the projected total was just moments after a victory interview.

“For me, that is quite possibly more exciting than my victory,” Krog said when told the number was around 40 per cent. “The people in Nanaimo, when called upon, stepped up and voted in overwhelming numbers.”

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi