Sins of the Brother: Partisanship, Family Dynasty and Accountability in Toronto 2014 One of the simplest cues individuals use to inform their vote choice is a candidate’s party affiliation. If a candidate runs for the incumbent party, any blame or credit for the conduct and policies of the previous administration becomes part of the information voters can use to determine their vote preference. What happens in non-partisan contests, however, when party cues may be unavailable? Do voters perceive partisan ties, even in officially non- partisan elections? If partisan ties are recognized, do they influence retrospective evaluations of incumbents; do party ties formed at one level of government affect accountability in a non-partisan race at another? Finally, do retrospective evaluations factor into vote choice, even in the absence of an incumbent candidate? We investigate these questions in the context of the 2014 Toronto Municipal Election, using data from the Toronto Election Study. Though this election was technically non-partisan, the major candidates had varying degrees of links to parties at other levels of government. Additionally, although there was no incumbent candidate, the outgoing mayor’s brother ran for office. The election therefore provides a unique opportunity to evaluate whether non-incumbent politicians are held accountable for the actions of other politicians at their level of government, but also for those of political parties from another order of government. Laura B. Stephenson University of Western Ontario
[email protected] R. Michael McGregor Ryerson University
[email protected] Aaron A. Moore University of Winnipeg
[email protected] DRAFT - Please do not cite without permission.