Rocco Rossi says if elected mayor he would work to institute a system that would give voters the power to throw out municipal politicians before their four-year term is up.
Known as “voter recall” and employed in the United States and British Columbia, Mr. Rossi said he would start working on the legislation on “day one” of his administration, and within six months forward a resolution to the province “demanding that voter recall become law.”
“The sad fact is that in this town, it’s a whole lot easier to get rid of a broken blender than it is to recall a rogue politician,” Mr. Rossi said. “And that’s not right.”
He said he would use community consultation to determine the right threshold number for recall. “Under the current system, voters cast their ballot and hope for the best. It’s a four-year blank cheque,” Mr. Rossi said in the Cambridge Club on Monday morning, overlooking Nathan Phillips Square. “Voter recall is a tool to channel our disappointment into action.”
Mr. Rossi has been trailing in the polls, with the latest survey of the top five mayoral contenders giving him 7% support.
He recently changed his campaign manager, giving the lead to veteran political organizer Bernie Morton, and confirmed Monday that Liberal political strategist Warren Kinsella had joined his team.
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