Well, there it is. Election 2018 is in the history books.
We have a new mayor – congratulations to George Harvie – half a new council and three new school trustees. A couple of long-time incumbents lost seats this time, which hasn’t happened for many, many elections.
The first column I ever wrote for this space was about losing the election in 2011. My 50th column was about losing the election in 2014. Maybe that’s why I didn’t run, the thought of my next article being about losing another election was too much to stomach.
After two attempts, I decided to sit this one out. It is a lot of dedication, effort, expense and just plain hard work to run in an election, and doing it as an independent makes it that much tougher. Not only do you have the responsibility of attending all-candidates meetings, door knocking and just trying to get your name out there, you also have the deal with all the signs.
There were many late nights after work out in the community pounding signs into the ground. With so many candidates, and so few prime locations, it becomes a bit of a sea of colour. What’s worse is not winning, and still having to drive around and pick them all up that day after. Ouch.
I still have a storage shed full of signs and lumber. I reused them in 2014, and fared no better than the time before. I was trying to think of a good use for them instead of just recycling them. I heard someone talk about shelter for homeless, although I don’t want to subject anyone having to look at my name day in, day out. Once every six weeks here is enough.
Our next big decision is how we will vote provincially in the future.
I have stated before, I’m not a fan of proportional representation. It’s difficult to analyze the impacts of pro-rep in the current context. I get very frustrated when someone, typically in the media, says, “If we had proportional representation, the outcome would have been this.” It’s impossible to gauge the outcome, and irresponsible to speculate, because the context will be so very, very different under a new system.
Even now, there are more than just the three main parties, but more will come out under a new system. Some will be on the fringes of politics, both left and right, and now have a chance at getting a seat, as long as they convince enough people around the province to tick a box for the party, not the person. Who will end up in the legislature? Not up to us to decide. That, to me, isn’t very good democracy. I want to know who I’m voting for, and who will represent me. That’s my choice to make.
A political party is already a compromise, so better to control the various viewpoints within the party, instead of within the legislature.
And while we might say there will never be another Vicki Huntington, there will definitely never be another independent MLA, unless they show up on every ballot in the province.
Congratulations to all those who won a seat, and thanks to those who ran and didn’t win. Your commitment to Delta is appreciated. And that makes you all winners.
Brad Sherwin, MBA is a long-time resident of South Delta, and has almost 30 years’ experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He teaches marketing at Douglas College, coaches hockey goalies and is president of the board of directors at Deltassist.
