With the aim of increasing voter turnout in the upcoming municipal election, I have been inviting candidates for Mayor and Ward Councilor in Prince Edward County to share their thoughts on a wide range of issues once a week.

Fewer than half of eligible voters in the County turned out in the previous three municipal elections: 47.4 per cent (2010), 43.8 per cent (2014) and 43.3 per cent (2018). In the municipal election in 2018, voter turnout ranged from 37.6 per cent (Ward 4 – Ameliasburgh) to 60.3 per cent (Ward 3 – Wellington).

So far, candidates have been sharing their about ideas for increasing voter turnout, their history of involvement with municipal government and volunteering in the County, their strengths and interests in specific areas of municipal responsibility, and their understanding of talk of tension between “old” and “new” residents. Readers are now being encouraged to suggest questions to be included in the five invitations that will round out this series. Weekly updates, including summaries and the unredacted responses from candidates, are published on Facebook (https://facebook.com/allenpga and shared elsewhere) and online (https://pec.buzz/election-2022/).

Readers may post their suggested questions in these forums or by email ([email protected]). Paul Allen Hallowell