Will Campaign Links Be Restored?
- allardkg
- Sep 20
- 2 min read
At a community engagement event Thursday night Chief Electoral Officer Mr Andres Cardona Arias told me that the City will be making an announcement next week that will make me “very happy”. I believe this may be in regards to the Candidate Campaign Links that were removed from the City website on after a complaint was received about my website.
Timeline
Sept 2 Only my link was removed.
Sept 3 I went to City halI to ask Mr Arias what happened, he was not available so I made an appointment to see him the next day. I was told that they had received a complaint about my website. I asked what the complaint was; I was told I had to file a FOIP request. (I am still waiting for the results.)
Later that day all of the candidates' links were removed. Mr Arias emailed me and said that the appointment was being cancelled as it was not necessary. I said I would be there as I did not accept the unilateral cancellation.
That same day the City put out the following statement about Candidate Campaign Links.
Medicine Hat - As part of our commitment to maintaining neutrality and transparency during the municipal election period, the City has made the decision to remove links to candidates’ personal websites and social media feeds from the official municipal website.
This decision was guided by two key considerations:
Avoiding Perceived EndorsementWhile the City supports open access to election information, linking directly to candidates’ personal platforms may inadvertently suggest endorsement of the views or content shared on those pages. To ensure impartiality, the City is limiting its role to providing verified candidate names as submitted during the nomination process.
Jurisdictional Best PracticesA brief scan of municipal practices across Alberta revealed that most municipalities do not provide direct links to candidate websites or social media accounts.
Sept 4 I received an email from the City Clerk confirming my appointment was cancelled. She also confirmed it was one complaint about my website that prompted this action.
The following was posted as an update on the city website.
* September 4 Update: The initial jurisdictional scan was conducted under time constraints, and upon further review, it was confirmed that many municipalities do link to candidate information. However, the decision to maintain neutrality and avoid the perception of any endorsement of candidate viewpoints or content remains the primary driver behind the decision.
The City thanks residents and candidates for their understanding as we strive to uphold the principles of fairness and neutrality in the administration of the municipal election.
Sept 6 I sent an e-mail to all of Council and the City Clerk, offering to agree to leave my link off if the rest of the candidate links were restored. I received no response.
Read full details of how the story unfolded below.
The Candidate Campaign Links Saga
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