It is important to vote, but it isn’t always easy to do so.
Sometimes, it is hard to choose a candidate to vote for. The voter may like a candidate, but disagree with much of his or her party’s platform. Or the voter may be disappointed with a candidate, even though the party platform seems very appealing.
Sometimes it isn’t even that simple. The voter may not have enough information about the candiate, the party or both. It may be hard to get to the polls — not everyone drives, and sometimes polls are a fair walking distance away.
There are other complicating factors. In this election campaign, two Surrey Conservative candidates are quite deliberately staying away from candidate forums, where they may face some pointed questions. I was asked to moderate one of these forums on Monday night, and most members of the audience were very frustrated by the fact that the candidate was a no-show. She gave organizers 90 minutes notice that she wouldn’t be coming.
The missing candidate, Nina Grewal in Fleetwood-Port Kells (and also Dona Cadman in Surrey North), should take lessons from Mark Warawa, their Langley counterpart. He has shown up at almost all public candidate events during this campaign.
If the going gets a little rough for incumbents at times, so be it. A few hard-hitting questions are a far better way for people to settle their differences than what we’ve seen happening in Libya or Syria.
I talked with several voters after Monday’s forum, and some indicated they had been planning to vote for Grewal. They are now considering other options — but none of them seem all that palatable to them.
What makes things more complicated in that riding, which borders the northern part of Langley Township, is that there is no Green candidate. The nominated Green was asked to step aside by his party after a controversial Facebook posting became public.
In Langley, there have been plenty of chances to meet and hear the five candidates, and it’s now up to voters to make their choices.
Warawa had a record as MP for the past seven years. Liberal candidate Rebecca Darnell has been very involved in the community, with everything from Langley Community Services to the Langley Chiefs.
NDP candidate Piotr Majkowski is passionate about health care, his chosen profession. He has been working hard to connect with voters.
Carey Poitras of the Greens is a political newcomer, but has a good track record of community involvement and an abiding interest in Langley. Craig Nobbs of the Pirate Party is a long shot, but he has injected some new ideas into the local campaign.
Voters may find all of the choices come with some drawbacks, but it is still worth voting. If nothing else, it is an expression of thanks for a system which allows us to choose a government in a bloodless and relatively painless way.
For those who are seeking to find out more about the candidates, take a look at the profiles in this edition and Friday’s. All five candidates will be featured. There are also two-minute video clips of each candidate on our website.
