Background
With the aim of increasing voter turnout in the upcoming municipal election, candidates for Mayor and Ward Councilor in Prince Edward County were invited to share their thoughts on a wide range of issues once a week.
The County’s official list of certified candidates includes 4 candidates for Mayor and 29 candidates for Ward Councilor (13 offices in 9 Wards). Eight incumbents are seeking re-election, including the Mayor and 7 Councilors.
Candidates received Invitation 8 on October 5, 2022 and were asked to forward their responses by October 17, 2022.
Responses were received from 19 candidates (57.6%).
Public engagement
Low voter turnout in municipal elections partly reflects voters’ sense of disconnection from their local government. Council has been trying recently to engage better with the public. Online resources, like the Have Your Say platform, have helped residents to stay informed and to share their thoughts about new and on-going municipal projects. Some Members have regularly reached out to constituents over social media or have occasionally attended town hall meetings.
Candidates were asked how they would enhance Council’s approach to public engagement.
Why support me
Candidates were asked to share why they were running and why voters should support for them in the municipal election (max. 500 words).
As usual, everyone is encouraged to read the candidates’ unredacted responses to Invitation 8.
Overall response
Table 1 summarizes candidates’ overall response to the 8 Invitations:
| Office | Candidates | Total Responses |
Rate of Response |
Median Response |
| Mayor | 4 | 11 | 34.4% | 2.0 |
| Picton | 5 | 5 | 12.5% | 0.0 |
| Bloomfield/Hallowell | 3 | 19 | 79.2% | 7.0 |
| Wellington | 3 | 22 | 91.7% | 7.0 |
| Ameliasburgh | 5 | 13 | 32.5% | 0.0 |
| Athol | 4 | 31 | 96.9% | 7.5 |
| Sophiasburgh | 2 | 7 | 43.8% | 3.5 |
| Hillier | 3 | 7 | 43.8% | 3.5 |
| North Marysburgh | 2 | 15 | 93.8% | 7.5 |
| South Marysburgh | 2 | 16 | 100.0% | 8.0 |
For candidate-level response data, see RSVPs at a glance.