Everytime that there is a provincial or federal election in Canada there are some City Councillors, Mayors or MLAs* (or equivalents) that quit their elected office in advance of their term-end so that they can run for higher office.
This seems to me a breach of contract. They were hired (elected) for a specific term and they should serve that term in full. Rabbiting in the hopes of furthering their political career forces by-elections and causes their constituents both expense and hassle.
I think if you run for office knowing that it is a four (or whatever) year term and an election comes up for higher office; well then TS for you buddy. We generaly have a pretty good idea what time frame the next election will come in. If you are harbouring thoughts of moving up at the next opportunity then DON’T RUN.
I don’t know if this happens elsewhere but here it is rife.
Is there a POV that I’m missing - save for the obvious?
How are politicians supposed to advance their careers (or more flatteringly, how can the cream rise to the top) when the various positions’ terms are not aligned? It would involve “sitting out” for a large portion of their career. That’s not counting “star candidates” like, say, Ignatieff, who just come up to a high position from elsewhere.
It’s not a perfect system, but if you voted for someone you should be at least somewhat pleased with the idea of them achieving higher office.
IIRC, some states require it for running for some political offices.
I know that it killed Dole (like he had much of a chance anyway) when people started questioning did he really want to serve as President when he quit as senator of Kansas.
serving in local government is a good training ground for higher levels of government. I think it’s a good thing for MLAs and MPs to have previous government experience.
And then, since in Canada the municipal, provincial and federal electoral cycles aren’t in sync, it would rarely be the case that a municipal politician’s term in office ends just in time to stand for election to the Legislature or Parliament.
To put the question another way: would you want to be represented at the local level by someone who decides part way through his term that he really wants to be elsewhere? would you prohibit a local government representative from resigning at all?
Well, the voters for that higher office get to make their choice knowing full well that the candidate is leaving their previous job before the end of his or her term. If the voters don’t have a problem with it, what’s the problem?