Female candidates fill the leadership pipeline in Greater Saint John

Above, from left: See Jane Run Founders Katie Bowden, Brittany Merrifield and Tiffany Mackay French, with just some of the signs associated with candidates who participated in the grassroots group.

Saint John, NB:  Election day is upon us, and See Jane Run is wondering if we will see a female sweep in the Mayoral contests between Grand Bay-Westfield and St. Martins. 

“We have women running for Mayor in all of our regional municipalities except for Hampton,” says Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor-Elect Brittany Merrifield. “We are really looking forward to seeing the results on May 25.”

The number of women running for councillor in the Greater Saint John region jumped from 8 to 25 in this election – a jump of more than 300% – but the number of female candidates for mayor mirrored the numbers provincially by staying essentially the same.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the uptick in female candidates for councillor this year,” says Katie Bowden, one of the co-founders of See Jane Run and President of Duke Creative Collective. “With respect to our Mayoral candidate numbers, we have work to do. There is a lot of research out there on why women don’t apply for jobs they don’t feel 100% qualified for, and I believe we can work with our female councillors to build their confidence about taking the next step in their political careers. In fact, we can do that all the way to the Premier’s office. It’s a leadership pipeline, and it needs active stewardship it if we want this kind of representation.”

In the lead-up to this election, See Jane Run opened a private candidate Facebook Group as a place where regional candidates could share ideas and concerns. They also ran a 9-part campaign college over zoom, tackling platform building, public speaking, governance, media relations, social media and more. Guest speakers included Eleanor Austin, Cait Milberry, Trisha Perry, Alyson Townsend, Joanna Killen, Katie Bowden, Nancy Grant, Mary Jane Banks, Donna Reardon, Grace Losier, Bev Day, Libby O’Hara, Lorraine Gilmore Peters, Brittany Merrifield, Leslie Kierstead, and Robyn Tingley.

“Today the most important message is to get out there and vote,” says Merrifield. “If you want women represented around the council table, you have to put the power of your vote behind that idea.”