Saint John councillors Donna Reardon and David Hickey. (Submitted: David Hickey)
Municipal elections are coming up this spring, and current Saint John councillors are offering their wisdom and advice.
A council veteran of eight years, Donna Reardon, says the job can be difficult, but rewarding.
She says being a city councillor may be a part-time job, but it requires a lot of dedication.
“You need to do your homework if you’re going to sit at that table. You need passion, you need time to invest in the preparation for your meetings, and you need to do some homework. It’s a big job but if you’ve got the passion for it, it’s not work,” she said.
Reardon says you can learn a lot about your city by being a councillor.
“You’re well aware of the grassroots of all your issues. Our kits are sometimes 600, 700 pages long. By the time you get through all that, you’re pretty well informed at the end of the day to make those decisions,” she said.
Reardon says she’s enjoyed her time on council and the freedom it’s given her to make changes she wants to see.
She says anyone who wants to see change in their community should consider running.
Her biggest piece of advice for those hoping for a spot around the horseshoe? Manage your expectations of what you want to accomplish.
She says the city is going through big changes and will need dedicated and passionate people at the helm.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s a big operation, and no organization really likes change. So change, I find, happens slow,” she said.
Saint John’s newest city councillor is urging those with even the slightest interest in municipal politics to consider running in the upcoming election.
David Hickey was elected last spring during a byelection.
At 24, Hickey is the youngest city councillor around the horseshoe by close to two decades, and the youngest to ever be elected in Saint John.
He says what the council horseshoe really needs is more diverse perspectives.
“We need more people of colour, we need more women, we need more new Canadians, and we need different perspectives around the table because that’s what allows us to challenge the status quo, and make sure that we are as adaptive and as growth-focused as we can be,” he said.
David Hickey is the newest councillor for Ward 3.
Hickey says making the decision to run for council isn’t an easy one, and campaigning is hard work.
“When you’re not necessarily consistently represented around the table, it can be a difficult decision to run,” he said.
“A campaign is a hustle. If you want to keep up, you really need to make sure you are having conversations at the doorstep with people consistently. I know for me and my team in the byelection, we knocked on about 6,000 doors in Ward 3.”
Hickey says he hopes to run again in this spring’s election and plans to knock on 8,000 doors.
Hickey says although he was a council “nerd” before running in the by-election, and had a fair understanding of procedure and politics, he’s still learning as he goes
“I don’t think that’s a reason not to run or a reason to be intimidated. The reason we want people to run is for passion, is for a vision for the city, for issues that they care about in their community,” he said.
“That’s what I hope these candidates bring to the table, not an understanding of procedure.”
He urges candidates to use the resources available to them through Elections NB, or reach out to current councillors for advice.
“If you think you want to run, please do it. Don’t be intimidated. Take the leap of faith because we need more perspectives around the council table,” he said.
Eligible applicants must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age and a resident of the area in which they are running for at least six months.
Elections NB says nomination forms are due no later than April 9th and can be found online.
The election takes place on May 11th.
