Citizen X: A Case Study of Municipal Elections

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Citizen X: A Case Study of Municipal Elections
Election of officials is a major part of liberal democracies around the world. It is through elections that electorates can choose political leaders to represent them. This process also allows leaders to attain legitimacy as they are given mandate by the electorates to address their issues. The four main types of electoral systems include majoritarian, semi-proportional, proportional representation, and mixed systems (Norris 1997). As informed by Dickerson, Flanagan, and O'Neill (2010), the single-member-plurality system (SMP) is used in Canada, and it involves each geographical district having a single representative, and each voter has one vote to cast. This paper examines the case of Citizen X and argues that she would have voted for Dyanoosh Youssefi because of her immigration status, gender, and values.
As a resident of Jane Yewtree apartments, Citizen X falls under Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence. It is important to recognize that the new Ward 8 comprises of former boundaries: the whole of old Ward 16 and parts of old Wards 15 and 21 (Marshall 2018). The re-drawing of the ward boundaries brought the number of wards down to 25 from 47. In the October elections, Ward 8 attracted eight candidates whom Citizen X had to choose from. The candidates for the elections included Jennifer Arp, Mike Colle, Darren Dunlop, Dyanoosh Youssefi, Peter Tijiri, Josh Pede, Beth Levy, Lauralyn Johnston, Randall Pancer, and Christin Carmichael Greb (Hayes, Friensen and Gibson 2018). As such, Citizen X had to choose among these candidates the one who will represent her interests as well as her family’s in the ward.
There exist some factors that are relevant to Citizen X’s political preferences, the first one being her immigration status. Having moved to Canada in 2005 from Jamaica, Citizen X is a minority whose interest might be different from others. As such, her immigration status would have played a role in her choice during the elections. Her gender is also a relevant factor in her political preference. Gender is one of the socio-democratic characteristics that are important in shaping how Canadians vote (Dickerson, Flanagan and O'Neill 2010). Her family also determines her political preferences. The aspects of her family that are likely to determine her political preferences include the unemployment status of her eldest son, her husband’s business, her youngest son’s education, and her ailing mother. Therefore, it is evident that there exist a variety of factors that influence her political preferences. She would have voted for a candidate who would represent best her preferences. Before the October elections, her counselor was Anthony Perruzza, and she probably supported him because of fair rents and improved services to seniors, which are among his primary commitments (Toronto.com 2018). These commitments of the councilor favored his husband’s business as well as the condition of her ailing mother. However, as a result of the redrawing of the ward boundaries, Perruzza decided to vie in the Ward 7, meaning Citizen X would not have a choice of electing him.
In the new Ward 8, Citizen X would have voted for Youssefi first because of her immigration status. Given that Citizen X immigrated from Jamaica in 2005, there is a high probability that she would vote for someone who would address the challenges she and family may be facing as members of a minority group. Youssefi is of Jewish-Iranian origin, and according to her website, she is committed to building a city that embraces compassion, diversity, and engagement (Youssefi 2018). Her website describes how she faced struggles that a typical immigrant would and her commitment to addressing issues of inequality and injustice (Youssefi 2018). One of the variables that explain a voter’s choice is leader evaluations (Dickerson, Flanagan and O'Neill 2010). It is probable that after evaluating the leaders, Youssefi would have been Citizen X’s choice because of her immigration status.
Another key factor that would have influenced Citizen X’s decision to vote for Youssefi is gender. It is probable that she would have voted for her because they belong to the same gender. Dickerson, Flanagan, and O'Neill (2010) mention gender as one of the socio-democratic characteristics that influence how Canadians vote. Also, one of the four ways through which agents represent voters is the microcosm. There is a common feeling in the contemporary world that th...