Dear Editor:
I am very happy with the results of the B.C. election last week.
At the beginning of the campaign I didn’t think it would happen, but as the campaign drew to a close and Adrian Dix was receiving a lot of criticism for never answering any straight questions with straight answers, flip-flopping on the Kinder Morgan pipeline, and providing no solutions to any of our problems except tax increases, I started to think it could happen.
Congratulations to Dan Ashton for becoming our new MLA. I know you will not disappoint and you will work hard for us.
I also want to thank all the candidates who put their names forward, and who put their opinions out there for all to see and hear, and to have them accepted or rejected. It’s not easy and depending on how people react to you and your ideas it can be very uplifting, but it can also be somewhat demoralizing. It takes guts to run for public office and no matter your political stripe, I respect you all.
It can be especially tough to run for office when 48 per cent of registered voters don’t even vote. That is the one thing I am very disappointed with. Voter turnout was horrific.
All those that didn’t vote should be ashamed. I have voted in every single election since I turned 18. I couldn’t wait to turn 18 and vote. I looked forward to it as much as I did to getting my driver’s license.
My kids already know the importance of voting and they’re just eight and five.
They even go to the voting booth with us, and we explained to them why it’s important to vote and what it means to live in a country where we have the right to vote.
We also explained to them that there are countries all around the world where people are killed for wanting to vote and sometimes just for waiting in line to vote. Yet here in Canada, half the adult population doesn’t even care enough to exercise their democratic right to cast that ballot and to have their say.
To all those that didn’t vote, I say this: As far as I’m concerned, you lose your right to complain about legislation, tax policy, or the governance of our province in general. If you don’t like what is happening here then do something about it and vote next time.
Craig Bloom
Summerland