With a nomination deadline coming up in early September, those thinking of making an entry into the 2022 Municipal Election race don't have much more time left to come to a decision.
As we noted earlier this week, Electoral nomination packages are now available at City Hall and those looking to test the political waters in Prince Rupert in 2022 have until September 9th to fill out their papers and submit their names for the ballot in October.
So far, the Mayoralty race has attracted the most interest in the city, with three candidates having now publicly declared their candidacy for the Mayor's chair.
A number which may grow before September as would be candidates consider the mix of public service and a somewhat generous municipal compensation package into their calculations.
The top job in Prince Rupert now comes with a fairly rewarding base salary of $86,349 per year, along with additional financial compensation for duties with Regional District and other regional Boards.
It's a financial package that places the Prince Rupert Mayor's salary as one which provides a strong financial incentive for candidates as they contemplate a run or not.
In a study of municipal salaries for public officials by the CBC's Justin McElroy in July, Prince Rupert's mayor's salary fared pretty well for a community of just 12,000 residents, placing the Prince Rupert post in the company of much larger communities than those of a similar population base to ours.
City Councillors in Prince Rupert make a tad less than the Mayor's position when it comes to the pay envelope, compensated to the tune of $21,472 per year; though again those fortunate enough to make it onto Regional District and other Boards can top up their pay package.
At the only Council session for the month of July, City Manager Rob Buchan responding to a question from a resident during the Committee of the Whole session, confirmed that the new salary structure would be the one in place for the successful candidate come the October election.
Though he did observe that the next Mayor could reopen the topic, if he or she felt that was the course of action they wished to follow.
"There are no planned changes, I would anticipate that whomever assumes the office may want to revisit, you know the role and there could be discussions following that. But at this point there are no planned changes. -- City Manager Rob Buchan speaking on the topic of the Mayoralty salary at the July 25th Council Session
Whether the Mayor's compensation not only brings out more entrants for the 2022 election contest, but makes for an election theme through to October, will be one of many interesting things to watch for in the weeks ahead.
That as the list fills out towards the campaign ahead following the September 9th deadline for nominations.
More notes on the 2022 Civic Elections can be explored from our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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