Important Notes about Running for Office:

Mayor vs. Councillor: As the Mayor is an equal member of Council, information materials that refer to 'Council' or 'Members of Council' also refer to the Mayor. Once the election is over, the Mayor (Chief Elected Official (CEO)) is expected to abide by the same expectations as any other member of Council AND several additional responsibilities. More details can be found in the 2021 Chestermere Prospective Candidate Guide. 

Council Salaries: As a result of the extra duties a Mayor is expected to undertake, the Mayoral position is considered a full time position and is paid differently than Councillors. Council members are considered part time and are paid accordingly. Find out about Council's current salaries here.

Campaigning: In accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA),  it is an offence for any person to commit bribery either directly or indirectly by himself or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf or directly or indirectly by himself or herself or any other person on his or her behalf threaten, damage, injure, harm or practice intimidation to influence a person’s vote. Anybody who contravenes these provisions is liable for a fine of up to $5000 and/or to imprisonment for up to two years (LAEA s. 121). More details can be found in the 2021 Chestermere Prospective Candidate Guide . 

• Signage is very specific and has been addressed in the Candidates Information Workshop (see video above)
  • Signs of any description (lawn signs, larger signs 1m x 1m on boulevards / City land, signs on cars) are permitted, BUT only 30 days prior to Election Day
  • No City permits are required during the election period
  • All signage must be removed no later that 7 days after election day, or fines will be incurred

• Campaigning– this is allowed as soon as you are a registered/confirmed candidate. Campaigning activities may include:
  • Going door to door to residents
  • Handing out flyers
  • Holding information sessions or rallies
  • Any activity that involves getting the word out about your campaign/promoting yourself – without the use of temporary signage
  • If you have a campaign office that you are renting – you are allowed to put up signage in the window or in your office. These are not considered election signs out in the community.

Financing: While each candidate may decide on his or her amount of campaigning, there are specific guidelines regarding the use of money in a campaign. All candidates must read the Local Authorities Election Act for all rules and regulations. Basic requirements include not accepting contributions until the nomination period commences, opening a bank account, and filing disclosure statements. 

Campaign Contribution Limits:

• A candidate whose campaign is entirely self funded has a funding cap of $10,000 in a campaign period.
• Campaign contributions by any person, other than a candidate to their own campaign, to a single candidate shall not exceed $5000.00 in any year (LAEA s. 147.2(1)).

Additional financing information: 

• The financial campaign period is from Jan 1, 2021 to Dec 31, 2021. 
• You are able to collect donations for your campaign for this whole period 
• You are able to incur campaign expenses for this period only 
• If your donations/expenses exceed $1000, you must have a separate bank account open for campaign purposes only
• You are responsible for your financial reporting due in 2022

More details can be found in the 2021 Chestermere Prospective Candidate Guide .