And we’re off … on another election campaign.
In just over six weeks, most of us in B.C. will have the opportunity to make our mark to help chart the course for our fine province.
I can already see the eyes rolling. Okay, so let’s address that cynicism — because clearly it’s out there. Only 52 per cent of eligible voters turned up at the polls in B.C.’s last election, and that was even higher than the 2009 provincial election, when only 50 per cent bothered to make their mark.
We could call all those non-voters lazy and berate them for not doing their democratic duty. But if those same folks genuinely thought election results would impact their personal lives and that they, as individuals, could help sway those results, I believe they would show up. But then, I also believe who’s in power matters — as does every vote.
I get that politicians of all stripes are often at the whim of larger forces, and that campaigns can be full of self-serving slogans and promises that are never realized, but to dismiss the whole process is to throw the baby out with the bath water, as they say.
At the Richmond News, over the next five weeks, we hope to illustrate ways in which politics impacts you personally; what it means when you break your leg and end up in the north tower of Richmond Hospital — that very tower that hospital administrators are begging to have replaced because it may not survive even a moderate earthquake; what it means for your kid to attend a school that may close because of declining enrollment; what it means when your ability to grow your business is limited by gridlock in the Massey Tunnel.
We’ll look at the ongoing debate between protecting the environment and fostering economic growth through a local lens, weighing the interests of agriculture and fish habitat against what may be substantial financial spin-offs of dredging of the Fraser to support international energy markets, such as LNG.
We’ve already been covering candidate announcements, but next week we will start our campaign coverage in earnest. Look for our election logo throughout the paper; on our website, you’ll find an election tab featuring candidate bios and stories.
At this point, 13 candidates have thrown their hats into the ring. Each of Richmond’s four ridings has a Liberal and NDP representative; there’s a Green candidate in every riding except for Richmond South Centre, a Conservative in Richmond-Queensborough and an independent in Richmond Centre North. Congrats to them all for stepping up.
It’s easy to become cynical about politics, but it’s always worth it to be involved. For our part, we will at least ensure you have no excuse to be uninformed.
