{"id":20809,"date":"2018-05-31T11:57:29","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T15:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=20809"},"modified":"2018-05-31T11:57:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T15:57:29","slug":"inside-aurora-donts-if-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/inside-aurora-donts-if-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"INSIDE AURORA: Don’ts, if you do"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Scott Johnston<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week in this space, my colleague Stephen Somerville provided a number of excellent suggestions for those first timers wishing to enter the race this Fall for municipal council.<\/p>\n

Reading them over, they all seemed to be things that one should do to help get elected. While important, they were missing some key elements, specifically, what NOT to do.<\/p>\n

For example, if you plan to run for council, don\u2019t wait until the absolute last minute to submit your nomination papers. Nothing says \u201cI can\u2019t make a timely decision about my own life, let alone on your behalf on some expensive and important piece of Town business\u201d, than being the last one to sign up, especially when you\u2019ve had many years to decide.<\/p>\n

Perhaps even worse, it might also suggest that you tend to dangerously flirt with missing important deadlines, which is generally not something the general public looks for in a politician..<\/p>\n

Another potential \u2018don\u2019t\u2019; please don\u2019t promise things you can\u2019t deliver. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll reduce taxes\u201d is a good example. No one in authority in Aurora has ever reduced taxes, at least, not in living memory. Keeping increases in single digit percentage territory is the usual benchmark for council success. <\/p>\n

Promises suggesting costs will go down under your watchful gaze are more likely to generate extensive eye rolling from the electorate than votes. In fact, you\u2019d probably get more votes for honesty with the slogan \u201cI promise to raise your taxes\u201d. That\u2019s one any Aurora politician would be guaranteed to be able to keep.<\/p>\n

Another don\u2019t is on the issues; don\u2019t base your campaign on an issue that will not resonate with the average Aurora voter. Yonge Street and development downtown will pique the interest of most Aurorans. A platform whose main plank is a debate over raising the height of the stop sign on Cliff Road at Deerglen Terrace by two centimetres likely will not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to be involved and know what\u2019s going on in the community, but don\u2019t over-extend yourself attending meetings, going door to door, and participating in similar activities while on the campaign trail. You\u2019ll know you\u2019ve gone too far if your kids quietly ask each other you who you are on the rare times that you\u2019re home during the election period.<\/p>\n

Stephen spoke about the importance of good literature, and there are a few don\u2019ts to consider there, as well.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stretch on your accomplishments. Unless you haven\u2019t achieved much since then, we don\u2019t need to read that you came fourth in your high school spelling bee, no matter how proud of it you may be. <\/p>\n

For achievements, it\u2019s better to follow the \u201cB.R. Rule\u201d; be recent and be relevant.<\/p>\n

As for visual identify, don\u2019t use a photo more than a few years old, or one that has been subject to several hours of intense photoshopping. You don\u2019t want people in the audience at the next debate referring to the picture in your pamphlet and asking the folks sitting beside them why you sent your grandfather to represent you as you make your appearance on stage.<\/p>\n

If you participate in an all-candidates\u2019 debate during the election campaign, it\u2019s likely you won\u2019t be the first one to respond. In that case, when they get to you, don\u2019t point at a fellow candidate and say \u201cI agree with him\u201d, or \u201che said what I was going to say\u201d, and then sit down.<\/p>\n

And finally, perhaps the most important \u2018don\u2019t\u2019 of all, although sadly, a bit out of your control; with only 6 councillor positions available this time around, when the votes are counted, don\u2019t come seventh. <\/p>\n

Feel free to e-mail Scott at: machellscorners@gmail.com<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Scott Johnston Last week in this space, my colleague Stephen Somerville provided a number of excellent suggestions for those first timers wishing to enter the race this Fall for municipal council. Reading them over, they all seemed to be things that one should do to help get elected. While important, they were missing some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5pD","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-05 15:35:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20809\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}