ROTHENBURGER – The many benefits of a snap election during the pandemic
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING (including my own) about holding an election during the pandemic, things have gone quite nicely.
With only a week to go until election day, everyone seems to have adapted to big changes to accommodate COVID-19, not to mention the effect of ignoring the fixed election law. More than that, this election has actually been more pleasant than the ones held in normal times.
Let us count the ways.
NO SILLY SEASON. Because it was a snap election, and nobody except John Horgan knew for sure whether it was going to be called, there was very little of the obnoxious pre-election unofficial campaigning and promise making that is normally part of the lead-up to the campaign period.
LACK OF SIGNAGE: While I’m a fan of election signs because they serve a purpose in establishing name recognition for candidates, I haven’t missed the sparsity of signage.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
The race in the North Thompson is somewhat interesting considering two of the candidates have spent time as municipal politicians.
During their tenure at the horseshoe table, opportunities were given for them to engage with the taxpayers. One of the ways in which they could have engaged was to reply to emails addressed to them.
In my case, neither of them bothered to give me the time of day.
Being that I now have the opportunity to vote for one of them running as candidates for the Provincial government, should I take into account their lack of interaction with me while they had the chance in local government?