Province Appoints New Chief Electoral Officer

Richard Temporale has been appointed Nova Scotia's new chief electoral officer, the first under the province's new Elections Act.

A nationwide search was held for the position.

As head of Elections Nova Scotia, the chief electoral officer is accountable to the House of Assembly. The chief electoral officer provides independent, non-partisan, strategic advice on election-related matters and best practices in accordance with the terms of the Elections Act, and relevant laws. The chief electoral officer supervises the conduct of elections and provides leadership on other Elections Nova Scotia programs, services, operations and infrastructure.

Seven candidates were interviewed by the selection panel, which included representatives from each political party and the chair of the Nova Scotia Election Commission.

Mr. Temporale has been the assistant chief electoral officer at Elections Nova Scotia since September 2008. Before that, he was with Elections Ontario in several capacities including director, corporate services and manager of elections officials. He also worked in municipal elections with the City of Toronto.