Fonds - City of Kitchener - Municipal Elections fonds

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City of Kitchener - Municipal Elections fonds

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  • Multiple media

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  • 1916-2010 (Creation)
    Creator
    City of Kitchener Corporate Archives

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40cm textual records
40cm of videos
5cm maps
3 artifacts

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Municipal elections have been held yearly, bi-yearly, every three and now every four years. Citizens have been asked to elect mayors, council members (aldermen), wardens, reeves, Public Utilities Commission members, Water Commissioners, Board of Education Public/Separate School members, and Roman Catholic Separate School Board Trustees over the years. Voter turnout for municipal elections has not been known to be high. There have been years where it has been as low as 29% and as high as 60%.

For the City of Kitchener, referendums and questions have been put to the electorate over the years. In 1930 voters were asked to pass a by-law for market improvement which they did. Also in 1930 the question regarding daylight savings time was put to voters for the first time, it was turned down. Again in 1936, and 1957, it was put to voters, it only passed in 1957. The question regarding having two year terms for council was put forth in 1939, 1940, 1956 and 1962. It was passed in 1962. The change to three year terms began in 1982 and four year terms began in 2006. In 1960 and 1962, voters were asked to vote on movie theatres opening on Sundays, it was not passed, but was passed in 1965. In 1967, voters were asked to vote on fluoridation of the water and it was not passed.

The question in the 1974 election was regarding the ward system. Two questions were asked, ‘Are you in favour of the election of Aldermen by wards rather then by a general election?’ and ‘Are you in favour of a candidate for the office of Alderman being allowed to stand for election only in the ward in which he resides or in which he is qualified to vote in the event that a ward system of elections is adopted? Both questions were passed. In 1976 the ward question was asked again with the second question changing. Question one, ‘Are you in favour of the election of Aldermen to City Council by wards? It was passed. Question two, ‘If a ward system of electing Aldermen to City Council is adopted, would you favour – a) A Council of 10 Aldermen with 1 Alderman elected from each of 10 wards. The 8 Aldermen to sit on Regional Council to be selected by City Council? or b) A Council of 16 Aldermen with 1 Alderman elected from each of 8 wards and 8 Aldermen elected at large. The 8 Aldermen elected by wards to sit on City Council only and the 8 Aldermen elected at large to sit on both City Council and Regional Council? Option ‘a’ was selected by voters.

In 2001 the number of councillors decreased to 6 and in the most recent election in 2010 the number increased to ten.

This fonds consists of correspondence, maps, videos and a voting machine and ballots

1: Correspondence – 1916 – 2007. 30cm

    This series consists of the correspondence, newspaper articles regarding municipal elections of the City of Kitchener.

An index is available in Appendix A.

2: Artifacts – 1972 – 1999. 10cm

This series consists of a voting machine used during municipal elections of the City of Kitchener.

An index is available in Appendix B.

3: Videos – 1990 – 1999. 11cm

This series consists of videos of election debates of the City of Kitchener.

An index is available in Appendix C.

4: Maps – 1990 – 1999. 11cm

This series consists of ward maps of the City of Kitchener.

An index is available in Appendix D.

Appendix A
Series 1: Correspondence

Title Date Volume/Item Box
Ward/referendum information 1926-2000 1-1 12855
Voting machine instructions 1990’s 2-1 12464
Newspaper Articles 1970’s 3-1 10158
Election Information 1988 4-1 10942
Amalgamation Information 1963-1967 5-1 10171
Amalgamation Information 1916-1979 5-2 10171
Amalgamation Information 1955-1959 5-3 10171
Amalgamation Information 1980’s 6-1 11173
Posters 2007 10-1 11281
Regional Reform 1999 13-1 13599

Appendix B
Series 2: Artifacts

Title Date Volume/Item Box
Voting machine 1990’s 2-2 12464
Election ballots 1972-1976 7-1 10140
Election ballots n.d. 8-1 10911

Appendix C
Series 3: Videos
Title Date Volume/Item Box
Election/debate videos 1990-2004 9-1 11177

Appendix D
Series 4: Maps

Title Date Volume/Item Box
Ward Maps n.d. 11-1 11195
Election Ward Maps 1991-1997 12-1 CH

Notes area

Physical condition

good

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      Restrictions on access

      The City of Kitchener follows the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) regarding privacy of personal information; therefore, some records might not be accessible.

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Members of the public or staff may request reproductions (e.g., photocopies, reprints of photographs, digitized images) from the City of Kitchener Corporate Archives for personal use and are charged the applicable cost of the reproduction plus any delivery, shipping and handling costs.

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      A finding aid is available

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