We are now at the beginning of a very long march to the Oct. 19 federal election.
More than one analyst has said this excruciatingly long campaign will favour the incumbent Conservative party, which has more financial resources than its NDP, Liberal and Green rivals, not to mention the many smaller parties that will also be fielding candidates.
But there is a fairly obvious risk of running a campaign for more than two months – the increased possibility of a faux pas that turns voters off.
The experienced Conservatives, with their reputation for internal discipline, would seem more likely to avoid that sort of crash and burn.
But experience and discipline don’t always guarantee re-election.
Sometimes, political parties get too comfortable with being in power and they lose touch with the people who put them there.
After several victories, a sense of entitlement can creep in.
If that happens, the electorate may come to see even worthy policies as the the product of people who are out of touch, and the opponents of that party can use that feeling to their advantage.
Many people will vote purely because they think Stephen Harper should remain prime minister or because they think he should be replaced by Tom Mulcair or Justin Trudeau or Elizabeth May.
Even though none of them are running as candidates locally.
Sadly, Langley candidates and Langley issues don’t get nearly as much attention as they should in the sound and fury of a national campaign.
Langley City and Township interests used to both be represented by a single member of parliament, Conservative Mark Warawa, but that changed when the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for B.C. split the community in two.
The result was the new Cloverdale-Langley City riding that combines Langley City and a sliver of the Township with Cloverdale and a portion of Surrey.
The Langley-Aldergrove riding that remained will include all the rest of the Township and a portion of Abbotsford.
This paper thinks residents should consider voting for the candidate who best understands their local issues and is prepared to act on them.
In Cloverdale-Langley City, matters of crime and public transit should be top-of-mind for a would-be MP, while in Langley-Aldergrove, transit, density and preservation of farmland are important issues.
So, please.
Get informed about your local candudates. Go to the candidate forums, read your local community papers and, most importantly, when Oct. 19 arrives, vote.
