Thinking about running for council? Here’s some information:
Time Commitment of a Councilor
Council holds a Regular Public Council meeting every three weeks. As well, each Councillor is assigned to be on committees which meetings frequency varies depending on the committee. You may also volunteer/ be asked to represent Council at meetings of other organizations and at community events. Once elected you will be required to complete Municipal Code of Conduct Training and The Municipal Affairs Mandatory Training within 3 months of being sworn into office.
Nomination
Town of Flatrock’s nomination day is October 3rd, from 8am-8pm.
Candidate Qualification:
A person is qualified to be nominated as a candidate for councillor who
(a) is eligible to vote in an election held under this Act in the municipality in which he or she is nominated to serve as a councillor;
(b) is not in arrears of taxes or other charges payable to the municipality; and
(c) is ordinarily resident for a period of 30 days before the commencement of the nomination period either in the municipality or in an area that on election day is part of a municipality.
Nomination procedure
A candidate for councillor shall be nominated by persons eligible to vote who are a Flatrock resident. A nomination shall be in writing on the prescribed form; shall state the name and civic address of the candidate; be signed by the proposer and seconder, both of whom shall be present together in the Town Hall with the candidate who shall also sign signifying his or her acceptance. A candidate at the time of his or her nomination shall deposit a sum of $10 with the returning officer and that sum is not refundable. The Returning Officer will provide a Candidate Information booklet to take home with you. The returning officer shall give notice of the names of the candidates, the time of the election and the location of polling booths, by publishing in our local newspaper, in the Town Hall and in other public places.
Before you run

To better understand and prepare for the election and potentially the position of Councillor you may wish to consider
• Attend Council meetings and see how they operate (Next meeting is October 1st at 6:45pm
• Review a copy of the Council’s minutes, and other documents on the website
•  Speak to past and current Mayors and Councillors; and
• Speak to staff members

Campaigning
Campaigning is an opportunity to convince voters you are the best candidate. A campaign usually involves talking and listening to residents, distributing promotional materials, using websites and social media. Election signs policy is available here and states signs may be erected on or after nomination day on public property. On election day, a candidate or his or her agents shall not campaign or distribute or cause to have distributed campaign materials in an area that is less than 30 metres from the entrance to a polling station.
Voters
A Canadian citizen who is 18 years of age or older is qualified to vote at an election where he or she has been ordinarily resident for the 30 days immediately before election day in Flatrock. Note: The following rules shall determine the residency of a person:
(a) a person shall be a resident of the place where he or she lives and sleeps and to which, when absent, he or she intends to return;
(b) residency is not lost by a person who leaves that residence for temporary purposes only; and
(c) the place where a persons family resides shall be his or her residence unless that person commences and continues to live at some other place with the intention of remaining there, in which case, the person shall be considered to be resident in the place in which he or she intends to reside.
(d) A person shall have only one place of residency.
Voters List
After nomination day, candidates can contact the Returning Officer, to obtain the voters list.