Municipal candidates list leadership as top issue, but say it's difficult to define

Gary Gardiner laughs when asked how he defines leadership.

"It's a really difficult issue to quantify, but my number one issue is leadership," says the North Bay mayoral candidate.

He says if he thought two-term incumbent Mayor Al McDonald was doing a good job, he would have run for council. 

"You know I don't think North Bay's better off than it was eight years ago. In fact, I think it's getting worse," says Gardiner.

Many candidates, especially those challenging incumbent mayors, councillors and trustees, list leadership as a top issue, but it isn't as easy to pin down as a policy on taxes or infrastructure spending.

Former mining executive George Pirie is also trying to unseat an incumbent mayor, Steve Black of Timmins.

"I think what I bring to the table is the quality of leadership that can get people to work together and turn the ship around," he says. 

"I wouldn't get involved in this campaign unless it was absolutely necessary. I believe it's a critical juncture in the town's history and it requires serious people be involved to handle serious issues."

Sally Hagman says she comes from a long line of community leaders and has been involved in many projects in the small town of Blind River.

Now, she's listing that as one of her qualifications to be the mayor.

Hagman says it is tougher in a small town to question the leadership of the existing mayor, whom she counts as a friend, as she does with the third candidate on the ballot in Blind River.

"Both of them are excellent candidates, I know I can do a better job," she says.

In 2014, Matthew Shoemaker ran for city council in Sault Ste. Marie on a slogan of "fresh ideas and new energy."

He feels he lived up to his end of the bargain with voters, but admits he can't use that tagline as an incumbent.

"You can't say they've done things wrong, as a challenger without proposing how you would do things differently and if you have to be sure you're knowledgeable on the issues if you're going to challenge the incumbents on them, because they know most of these issues inside and out," says Shoemaker.

Brock University political scientist David Siegel says candidates fall back on a vague topic like leadership because it works with voters.

"I think it can very effective, but you have to listen carefully to what the candidate is saying." he says, advising voters to ask candidates tough questions about the issues they care about, rather than falling for simplistic slogans and tag lines.