Tomorrow is polling day for our city and region. I am fairly certain that nearly everyone I intend to vote for (for city council, mayor, regional council, and regional chair) will not in fact get elected. I still intend to cast my ballot. I think that’s important.
It has been enlightening going through this election. After 3 years back in Canada, I sometimes forget that there are still many differences between here and the UK on which I have not yet had a chance to refresh myself. For example, municipal and regional politics here is not party political. In my ward, there are a large number of candidates for a single council seat. All I have to go on is what the candidates have said in their election materials or at the various of organised debates which have been well-reported in the local media.
There are also a couple of local plebiscites that will be on this ballot, both of which have been divisive in the campaign.
However, without party allegiances to fall back on I have found myself casting about in my own pool of thoughts, principles, and preferences. That has been useful because it has given me a useful matrix against which to test the opinions of those who would seek my support. Some things stand out for me. It turns out I don’t really mind paying taxes, or even more taxes, so long as those funds are going to develop and enhance my community. So if your whole reason for being in politics is to ensure that I have an extra 50 cents in my pocket at the end of the year, you really need to look elsewhere. If the first thing you want to do once you get in office is to remove a piece of anodyne public site art, then look elsewhere. If you sign up to an aggressive campaign of fear-mongering pseudo-science, I’m sorry you’ll have to look elsewhere. If you confuse public health issues with personal rights issues, again elsewhere.
That’s just a sampling of what I’ve found in my personal selection criteria. It’s surprising that there is anyone at all I’m willing to vote for. But I found enough candidates to make the short walk over to the polling station worth the effort. Sure, none of the candidates that I’ll be voting for is likely to win. But they still need my vote. And I need it too.
Elections – they can be a useful tool for the personal as well as the political.
Considering the narrowness of margins by which most municipal elections are decided, every vote really does count. I guess I should be a good citizen and go vote.