I'm far from a Tory strategist, but I feel compelled to offer some free, totally unsolicited advice to our MP, Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
Our rookie member of Parliament, who cruised to victory in her first election and was subsequently appointed to the federal cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, had been enjoying a rather charmed first term in Ottawa as the representative from Delta-Richmond East. That honeymoon has now ended, however, as Findlay finds herself smack dab in the middle of the controversy swirling around the proposal to erect radio towers in Point Roberts.
The first-term MP has certainly worked on the file, having arranged meetings, passed along information and attempted to obtain answers to questions posed by constituents. We know she's hard at work because, well, she's told us so. What she hasn't told us is that she thinks the idea of erecting five 150-foot towers just south of the border is ludicrous. She hasn't told us it's absolutely crazy to subject the 22,000 or so Tsawwassenites to the same blanketing interference that's wreaked havoc on the good folks of Ferndale and their household electronic devices for years.
I don't doubt for a minute that Findlay and her staff have been hard at work navigating large bureaucracies on both sides of the border, but - and this is where the advice comes in - she hasn't jumped in with both feet.
There's a difference between working a file because it's your job and working a file because you believe in the cause and desperately want to right a wrong. A politician can expend the same effort, and even meet with the same results, but the public perception is completely different if they think you're on their side. Findlay hasn't made that leap.
This is a riding, after all, that has elected an independent to the provincial legislature not once, but twice, because voters ache for someone to speak out on their behalf. There's only so much Vicki Huntington can do in an 85-seat legislature, but the sheer fact she's voicing our queries and concerns in the capital is sufficient for a great many.
It should also be noted it's the same riding that re-elected the original maverick, the always outspoken John Cummins, on multiple occasions.
Findlay, on the other hand, has the look of a facilitator, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but if the results don't go in the public's favour, she could be left holding the bag.
At least she can't say she wasn't warned.
