"This is where I do my work": 2.1

 

CHAPTER 2: MOTIVATIONS

 The first question councillors were asked was: why did you choose to run for office? The purpose was to establish the motivating factors that brought women to elected office at the local level. Reponses were less varied than anticipated, showing a clear pattern of commitment to making a contribution to the local community through service and representation. Reasons for running were generally multiple, combining ideas of service with making a difference, bringing change to council through representation; a number were simply angry with Council because of particular issues, misrepresentation, and/or perceived lack of transparency and corruption.

The following table covers the motivations and reflects the pattern given in the responses.

 Chapter 2.1: COMMUNITY SERVICE

 

I start with a discussion of “community service,” because it is such a dominant reason given in the responses. The primary reason given for running was to contribute to the community; the message was that the work these councillors do is community service.

In their own words: community service To serve the Community, Ward and City of Mississauga (Missassauga) I had a business in town and met a lot of people. Found myself helping people navigate the system and pushing for positive change so it felt like a natural progression. (New Tecumseh) It was suggested by a friend that I would be suited for it. I considered it for a few months and attended meetings and decided to give it a try. … I chose the local level because of my involvement  in my local community. I already volunteered for a number of things at the local level and it made the most sense. (Bluewater) My community has seen drastic changes over the last 15 years and I wanted to ensure that the community I chose to raise my children in had the same benefits as I enjoyed growing up. (Caledon) To become more engaged in my community – to give back. And to become a town councillor had intrigued me for quite some time. (Prescott)   I had worked in many volunteer organizations within my community and had reached the level where there really wasn’t anything else I could belong to as I had done it all. … First ran for as a position of Trustee on the Public School Board – as noted above I had done everything at my local community level and was time to do other activities.   So ran and was successful – beat the long serving incumbent.   Was a trustee for 12 years (the last three served as Chair of the Board). Moved away from Thunder Bay for a couple of years and returned to the city in the fall of 2002.   The next year, 2003 was asked to run for City Council.   I thought about it and said why not?   Talked to a few people and even after being out of the city for two years I ran and topped the polls for Councillor-at-Large. (Thunder Bay) I chose to run for office to do a service to my community.  I already work for an upper tier municipality and was very interested in how the actions of the lower tier affected my community.  Running for municipal council, and subsequently service 2 terms, allowed me to contribute to my community in a meaningful way, close to home, and to experience the firsthand results of the difference that my contributions made to my community. (Bancroft) I decided to run for office to help the community in which I have lived in for most of my life. … I chose to run at the municipal level to help my own community and to gain knowledge on how things are done, how townships maintain their assets and how they move forward. (Wollaston Township) I had been a volunteer leader for my professional association … at the local level and finally at the provincial board level (Director, Vice President and Chair of the Board/President and finally Section Chair Coordinator) – this was over 15 years of volunteer service which included a log of governance; as well, I was the chair of our local revitalization committee for 5 years. These experiences gave me many skills that I thought would be useful at the municipal level of government. … The time was right to give back to my community/township with skills that I felt would be of value, i.e., budget, strategic planning, and  policy making. (Stone Mills Township) I have worked in public accounting as an advisory and auditor for municipalities, hospitals, school boards, mental health agencies, community living agencies, children aid society’s etc. so I felt that I had a knowledge that could prove useful in local politics. … I am very community spirited and volunteer for many organizations so at the local level it is like giving back to the community. (Leeds and the Thousand Islands) I was interested in and active in what was going on in my community and felt it was appropriate to take a turn. … I had been involved in local community activities ever since I came to the area at age 18 when I married. (Central Huron) We are a small Municipality but our Council provides so many great programs/facilities/equipment for our residents. Its something I'm very proud of and I wanted to be a part of such a hardworking and caring Council. We have such a strong sense of community here and I'd like to help do my part to keep it that way. (United Townships of Head, Clara, and Marra) I worked as Clerk for several years and after retiring for 5 years decided to run for Council. I felt it was a way of giving back to my community as well as quite frankly I missed the work. (Middlesex Centre) I wanted to make a change and give back to my community. There were a lot of issues that affected many people in our small community, and I wanted to be pro-active instead of being one of the complainers. (French River) I ran for municipal council in 1991 because I felt I could do the job and assist residents (Stoney Creek) I wanted to become proactive and contribute my knowledge and expertise to the municipal decision-making process (Loyalist) I had been involved in teacher politics for a long time and enjoyed helping form policies and interacting with governments. I wanted to continue in retirement to serve my community as a councilor and continue learning. (Cambridge) I chose to run for office as I have worked in municipal government for over 30years and was planning to retire at 55 and felt I had the skills and interest to fulfill this job. I ran in 2014 and once elected left my fulltime position and have enjoyed this role still serving the public. (Quinte) I choose to run for office as I loved living in my community and wanted to participate in the shape and future decisions that would shape my local community. (North Grenville) … because I thought I had something to offer and could do a good job (Thames Centre) Politics has always been of interest to me ... local issues that I felt I could contribute perspective and assist in solving (Smith Falls)  I was looking for another way to serve the community; the opportunity to serve as an elected official was a perfect next step for me. … [M]y decision to run for office was fuelled primarily by my desire to serve others, plain and simple. (Ajax) I saw municipal participation as another way to get involved in my community and to hopefully have a positive impact. (Township of Mulmer) I have volunteered in my community since I was 14 ((48 yrs) and thought being a city councillor would be the pinnacle of community volunteering. (North Bay) I chose to run locally because I was very new to politics and felt it was something I could do for my community. (Fort Frances) I was recently retired from my profession and was looking for ways to become more engaged in my community and to 'give back'. (Georgian Bluffs) [I] felt compelled/sense of responsibility to my community (Northern Bruce Penninsula) I ran for municipal office as I wanted to serve my community (London) I have a consistent background, particularly once I had children, of being involved in the community and acting from the recognition that no person is an island. We all need to consider the effect that each of our individual decisions have on the greater community. … I ran locally as a natural extension of my involvement in the community on local boards, and seven years of volunteering with my daughter’ school. (Lincoln) I have had a number of experiences over my professional career and personal community involvement, that I felt would be useful at the Municipal Council table. I had the time to devote to the job, and the interest in local politics. (West Elgin) I chose to run for municipal Councillor to participate in improving my community through local government. (Temagami) I wanted to help move my municipality forward. (Morris-Turnberry) I ran for local council because I did think I could do a good job. I was a local librarian and bartender. Service was my life. I made a good life and was ready to do something new and challenging (Essex) I have always been involved with my community and I was raised in a political family, with a strong background of serving. It was always of interest to me to take my community involvement to another level (Lucan-Biddulph). I had always entertained the idea of running, and the timing was right for me. I had helped other candidates in many elections in all levels of government for many years prior, so my interest in representing people was certainly there. I had also always been part of the executive committees in everything I ever joined starting in high school. Important to me to be part of the decision-making process have a voice and take action to improve things (Port Colbourne) I have always been interested in government at a local level, I started as a representative on our local Business Improvement Association when my husband and I owned a business. … I had volunteered on the Council Remuneration Committee and it was from being on that committee that I decided to run for council (Georgian Bluffs). It’s going to sound cryptic, but I feel like I am called to serve and need to answer (Thunder Bay) Being an active member of my community, I felt that I had a lot to offer with my on-the-ground grassroot experience. … I felt that with the backing of City Hall, together the community and I would achieve a lot of things I was hearing residents wanted done (Toronto). Believe in service to the community and this was a natural progression for me (Lucan Biddulph).

This commitment to community service was also confirmed in the Samara (2021) survey of municipal councillors which found that local politicians overwhelmingly cite their interest in public service and the well-being of their communities as key motivations for seeking office at the municipal level. As discussed in the last post, this is closely associated with the backgrounds of municipal councillors as volunteers in community organizations and/or as activists on local issues. Councillors come to see taking community office as the next step in contributing to community well-being. This is fully ensconced in the conception of civic duty and harkens back to De Tocqueville’s (1969) belief that the experience of getting involved in local voluntary associations was in itself capable of generating a sense of responsibility to the common good.

This has also been argued to be a significant feature of women participation. It is central to Carbert’s (2006, 55) study of women’s local leadership in Atlantic Canada, where “civic gratification was most commonly cited as the primary motivation for engaging. Civic gratification refers to the satisfactions of contributing to the public good or of doing one’s duty. As found in the Samara study, Carbert admits civic gratifications are the dominant way in which people everywhere frame and justify their participation, however, she goes on to point out that this is especially the case for women. Citing Kirkpatrick (1974, pp 143-5), she notes that it is women politicians are much more likely to be motivated by “service vocation” than by personal ambition or partisan rivalry.

For Crow (1997) the commitment to service to the community is also a significant feature of women’s municipal engagement. For her it demonstrates the mixing of public and private concerns found in women’s agency, These women argued that the best way to serve the community was to be there. They did not envision that role as passive ‘mothering,’ but as strong and independent action requiring autonomy as well as responsibility to the community. In her study, women councillors saw themselves as political beings, but practicing a politics that reflects a vision that is more democratic and open access valuing access to elected representatives for the community and access to the community for elected representatives.

This speaks directly to Bellah’s distinction between politics, one form of politics about consensual community that is “coextensive with ‘getting involved’ with one’s neighbours for the good of the community” which is not often considered politics at all” (p.200). A form of politics we have been referring to here as small-p. This is agency that is about community-building and development reached through face-to-face discussions where, to requote Bellah et. al., “citizenship is virtually coextensive with one’s neighbours for the good of the community.”

 

References:

 

Belah, Robert N., Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Anne Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York: Harper and Row.

Carbert, Louise. 2006. Rural Women’s Leadership in Atlantic Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Crow, Barbara. 1997. ‘Relative Privilege? Reconsidering White Women’s Participation in Municipal Politics,’ in Cathy J. Cohen, Kathleen B. Jones, & Joan C. Tronto (eds) Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Reader. New York: New York University Press, pp. 435-446.

Samara. 2021. Locally Grown: A survey of municipal politics. (January 2021) Available at: https://www.samaracanada.com/research/political-leadership/locally-grown.

Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1969. Democracy in America, George Lawrence (trans.), J.P. Meyer (ed.) New York: Doubleday, Anchor Books.