It’s Municipal Election Day and the polls are open!

As an excellent post over at The Squid Zone points out, of the various levels of government that you vote for, your municipal government probably has the greatest impact on your day to day life, yet the turnout for municpal elections are usually the lowest.

There are a number of campains to oust the existing mayor and council by voting for “anyone but the incumbent”. but they shouldn’t be interpreted as giving your vote to some random candidate. You should always be voting for the person you feel is most qualified to do the job. If this happens to be the incumbent, then you should probably give them your vote. However, if you’re determined not to vote for the incumbent, then pick the next most qualified candidate, but you should be able to answer the question “why am I not voting for the most qualified person?” if you opt to do this.

If you live in Ottawa, you can find out where to vote and who you can vote for on the City of Ottawa’s website.

It’s everyone’s civic responsibility to be engaged and vote. Remember, you don’t have the right to complain about what the municipal government is doing if you don’t vote.