On Monday, January 6th, 2020, guest speakers Kim Poffenroth and Paul Harpelle of Elections New Brunswick joined us to share the mandate, vision and current focus of the organization.
Kim was introduced by Rotary Paul Kearley. The current Chief Electoral Officer began her 10-year appointment as a Legislative Officer in March 2017. She most recently served as Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Chief Legislative Counsel, a post she held from October 2010.
Kim received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of New Brunswick in 1992 and a Bachelor of Laws from the same university in 1995. After clerking with the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, she was admitted to the New Brunswick bar in 1996.
She started her career with the Province of New Brunswick in 1998, when she joined the Legislative Services Branch of the New Brunswick Office of the Attorney General as Legislative Counsel.
A native of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Kim is married and has one daughter.
Kim shared an overview of Elections New Brunswick, one of the first organizations of its kind in Canada, helping to administer all elections at the provincial and municipal levels...
Kim shared an overview of Elections New Brunswick, one of the first organizations of its kind in Canada, helping to administer all elections at the provincial and municipal levels...
Kim proceeded that "[w]hile it may seem a little early to be talking about the upcoming municipal council, district education council and regional health authority board elections coming in May, it isn't for those who may be considering running as a candidate." Kim continued that there are over 700 positions that require candidacy and that these positions are the 'grassroots positions ... on the front lines of the decision-making process".
Kim and Paul are only just starting a province-wide campaign, 'Local Choice-Local Voice,' to increase awareness for the upcoming elections. The campaign will include several speaking engagements and will also run on social media platforms.
"As the non-partisan agency responsible for administering these elections, we [Elections New Brunswick] actively encourage as many eligible people as possible to consider running... The fewer vacancies that exist means we are required to hold fewer by-elections, which reduces workload, but also saves taxpayers money."
Kim discussed details on candidate recruitment, upcoming eligibility for Municipal Council, District Education Council (DEC) and Regional Health Authority (RHA) elected openings and several metrics on vacancies, acclamations and elected demographics.
Kim closed by confirming elections are to take place Monday, May 11th, 2020, and that for any prospective candidate, the first day that nominations can be delivered to the local Returning Offices is March 23rd. Nominations close on Thursday, April 9th at 2 p.m., which provides approximately three weeks for filing nomination papers.
Kim lastly shared some literature and invited everyone to check out further details at electionsnb.ca.
Rotarian Paul Kearley thanked Kim and Paul for their time and presentation and presented them with a book that will be donated to the local Sussex Regional Library on their behalves.
