I received an e-mail from BC Liberal candidate Jody Twa‘s campaign office informing me of an all candidate’s meeting here in Sooke. The meeting will take place at Edward Milne Community School on Monday, May 4th, at 7:00pm.

The panel will consist of Jody Twa of the BC Liberals, John Horgan (incumbent) of the BC NDP, and James Powell of the Green Party of BC. The moderator will be local Sooke lawyer Peter Faulkner.

Jody Twa, James Powell, and John Horgan

I’d encourage all Sooke residents to attend and hear what the candidates have in mind for our region. The Juan de Fuca riding is very diverse, stretching from the urban centres of Langford and Colwood all the way out to the sparsely populated areas of Port Renfrew and Jordan River (map). The needs of our residents are as diverse as their communities, and you should be asking the candidates what their plans and vision are locally if they are lucky enough to be elected, instead of giving too much thought to the spectacle that is the leaders’ campaign provincially.

In my view, the party vs party, leader vs leader portion of the campaign has thus far been an unmitigated disaster. It’s been a boring, childish, name-calling affair, with no real issues. Both major parties seem more content to sling mud and dig up dirt on each other’s candidates on Facebook and the Provincial Court Registry than talk about real issues. It’s painful and it doesn’t do us, the electorate, any good.

Hopefully, voters will get involved at the local level and give their candidates some issues to take to Victoria. This is the way our system is supposed to work – regional representatives actually representing their constituents instead of spewing party gibberish.

How do Juan De Fuca constituents feel about the campaign? Care to share who you’ll be supporting? Both Langford and Sooke mayors have endorsed Jody Twa – do you agree?

What about BC-STV? Do you think this is a solution to our voting system’s flaws?

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Troy De Souza

Dr. Keith Martin

UPDATE Oct 27, 2008: Keith Martin Keeps His Seat

You know it’s close when all the news coverage is over and you are still unsure of a winner. That’s exactly what happened last night in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, the federal electoral riding which covers from Port Renfrew to Sooke, into Langford, View Royal, Esquimalt, and parts of Saanich and the Highlands. It was back and forth all night, with Desouza and Martin at times ahead by margins of a few hundred votes. Just after 11:00 pm, it was reported that Martin had won by a mere 68 seats. Election rules state that a race this close is subject to an automatic recount, so technically, we still don’t know.

Congratulations to Dr. Martin and Mr. Desouza for a well-fought campaign, and good luck to the eventual winner in Ottawa – I’ll be watching.

UPDATE: It was reported this morning that Troy DeSouza will not seek a recount. Barring any unforeseen issues that come up during the validation process which is currently going on for all ballots in Canada, Dr. Keith Martin will be heading back to Ottawa on behalf of Esquimalt – Juan De Fuca.

UPDATE 2: It was reported today that Mr. DeSouza will in fact be seeking a recount. If a judge approves the request, it should be carried out by the end of next week.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

Your comments are welcomed and encouraged!
Just use the form or link below this post.

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