With a month still to go before the nomination period opens for this fall’s municipal election, an unprecedented number of Peterborough residents have confirmed they are “possibly considering” a run for mayor — with many going as far to say they are “seriously considering” becoming a mayoral candidate.
Based on anonymous sources, social media posts and comments, and remarks overhead in local cafes, the number of people who say they are “thinking about it,” “keeping the door open,” or “just seeing what happens” has surged to a record level for a municipal election in the City of Peterborough.
“I’ve never seen this level of early indecision,” Dr. Alf Sprolio, a political scientist based in Peterborough, told kawarthaNOW. “Historically, people have always waited until the nomination period opens before they publicly state they are undecided about running for council. That so many people are already declaring they are undecided about running for mayor is especially hard to believe.”
The nomination period for candidates opens on Friday, May 1 and closes on August 21 — meaning people already have almost four months when they can remain undecided about whether to run.
Dr. Sprolio, who is conducting a study on what he calls “speculatory politics” in Peterborough, is investigating the causes of this year’s early indecision. To support his research, he has been tracking the number of early potential mayoral candidates and reaching out to them.
“So far, I’ve contacted 17 people who have said they are considering running for mayor but haven’t actually committed to doing so,” he explains. “It’s fascinating to find out who these people are and what is motivating them to think about running.”
They include an older resident who once spoke at a city council meeting and was upset when no councillors asked her any questions, a younger resident who comments “Just fix it” on every Reddit post about city council, and a business owner who describes himself as “somebody who gets things done.”
Dr. Sprolio said some of the people who have publicly declared they are considering running for mayor are waiting to see who else is considering running before they decide whether to continue considering it.
One of those potential candidates told Dr. Sprolio she is “heavily leaning toward maybe, but it’s too soon to say for sure.”
“You don’t want to rush into something like this,” she added. “It’s all about timing, and that means waiting to see if anyone else goes first before I decide whether to throw my hat in the ring. Right now, I’m just putting some feelers out there to see what people think.”
Dr. Sprolio said he has also interviewed some people who are considering running for mayor but haven’t yet publicly declared they are considering it.
“In a race of undeclared candidates, there’s definitely a risk to staying silent,” he said. “If people don’t know you’re thinking about running, they might assume you’re not thinking about running. That’s a tough place to come back from. Chances are you’ll be perceived as indecisive if you say you’re thinking about running only after everyone else has already said they are thinking about running.”
It remains unknown how many of the potential mayoral candidates will actually file nomination papers on or after May 1, but city officials are taking steps to help people make a decision while preparing for the possibility of a deluge of nominations if all the uncommitted candidates make up their mind to run.
That includes hosting an information session called “What to Consider if You’re Seriously Considering Whether You Want to Run for Council,” with the goal of helping people make up their minds about whether they want to put their name forward.
The city is also reportedly exploring options to manage the field of potential mayoral candidates, including a pre-nomination process with a mandatory “confirmation of consideration” form and a cap on the number of people who are allowed to be publicly undecided at any one time.
According to one anonymous source, the city may launch a “Try Before You Decide” pilot program, where participants would spend an afternoon reading city staff reports and attachments and answering email complaints about potholes and non-functioning street lights, before attending a mock five-hour evening council meeting where they would learn how to speak coherently in three-minute increments while debating issues with other participants without taking a break.
After kawarthaNOW asked Dr. Sprolio when he will be publishing his study on speculatory politics in Peterborough, he said “I won’t actually be publishing anything, because this is an April Fool’s Day joke.”
With files from Jeannine Taylor.
