Maybe Claude could take a night off from politicking

Gosh, is it possible for a politician not to politick, even once in awhile?

At times, you’d have thought last night’s 4th annual Keystone Awards gala at Sun Peaks was a political convention, thanks to some of the politicians in attendance. The event honours the region’s home builders for outstanding work in their industry. It’s supposed to be about paying respects to the best and about having some fun, not about political speeches.

MLA Claude Richmond was picked as the keynote speaker, probably because he’s stepping down after this term, and because he can tell a pretty good story. Claude cracked a few jokes and in the main had an appreciative audience but, for crying out loud, could he not have left the campaigning at home? Nobody would expect him to stay totally clear of political issues, but surely it’s a little early to hit the hustings.

He found it necessary to spend time blasting the NDP and to urge the re-election of Kevin Krueger in Kamloops South and election of Terry Lake in Kamloops North in the next provincial election, still eight months away. “Let’s not screw it up,” he said of next year’s vote, painting a dire picture of what B.C. was like in the 1990s when the New Democrats were in power.

It was like a mutual admiration society, with Richmond’s praise of Krueger (who wasn’t there) and Lake matched only by Lake’s praise of Richmond and fellow City councillor Peter Milobar. Aside from heaping kudos on Richmond, Lake all but officially endorsed Milobar for mayor.

Milobar, though he had a couple of appearances on-stage as chair of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, tactfully avoided abusing his microphone time with political messaging.

Maybe I’m being overly sensitive here, but there are occasions when I think an audience would appreciate a rest from blatant partisan politicking. Aside from that, I must add that the Keystones were once again a huge success, and the Central Interior branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association deserves a lot of credit for a masterfully organized and enjoyable event.