The ink was barely dry on my prediction that all seven Fernie city councillors would seek re-election in the fall when Mayor Nic Milligan announced he won’t be seeking a second term.
And then, the ink was barely dry on that announcement when Coun. Kyle Hamilton announced he will be seeking the mayor’s job. Maybe I should have just predicted that local politics will be wild and wooly this year. We’re already there are on that one.
Hamilton’s announcement is interesting in that it is really, really early to announce. Most people will start announcing their intentions by early to mid-summer.
Announcing this early has its benefits and its pitfalls. Hamilton is now the front-runner, which is easy when you’re the only one in the race. But he has the better part of a year to position himself on issues, campaign, and let people see him in action.
The downside of announcing early is that people can get tired of someone always in campaign mode. Potential opponents and their supporters can, and will, take potshots from the sidelines for a long time. Hamilton will be under the microscope for the rest of the year. His decisions on council will be analyzed and used as political fodder … for and against.
His decision to announce this early, however, does put pressure on other possible candidates. Hamilton has to be considered a serious contender for the job, so challengers will have to weigh whether they can beat him. In what constitutes highly accurate polling in these days of Tik Tok reality, Hamilton’s Facebook post announcing his candidacy has 628 likes and 245 comments. Most, but not all, are positive.
Nic Milligan was elected with 1,702 actual votes, so still a way to go, even by social-media-likes standards. But, to obviously over-state the obvious, it’s still early.
And who will step up to challenge? Will another sitting councillor throw their hat in the ring?
Scuttlebutt around town is that one will. But who?
One thing is certain, the dynamic around the council table will change. That’s a given, given that Milligan won’t be in the mayor’s chair and Hamilton won’t be in one of the six council seats. And, if another sitting member of council runs for mayor, that guarantees at least two new faces on council.
That’s assuming sitting members will get re-elected. Nothing’s a given.
Will the folks upset with locating the new firehall on Servello Field run a candidate. Scuttlebutt around town is they will run a bunch of candidates. That won’t help them as it will dilute the voter pool keen to vote on this issue alone resulting in none of them getting elected. They would be better to run one or two candidates.
However, I’ve never liked single-issue candidates. They are usually ill-prepared for the multitude of issues that will come at them like the steamroller they are on their one issue.
It will probably be quiet-ish through the rest of the winter, but we can expect to soon see promises pop up like spring tulips.
Born and raised in Fernie, Bill Phillips is an award-winning journalist and columnist. He was the winner of the 2009 Best Editorial award at the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards, in 2007 he won the association’s Best Columnist award. In 2004, he placed third in the Canadian Community Newspaper best columnist category and, in 2003, placed second. Read more Writer’s Block here.
