It’s going to be quite some time until the next time British Columbians head to the polls, but in some ways, the campaign has already begun — both in terms of the personalities that will be involved and the tone the campaign is going to take.
In the Parksville-Qualicum constituency for instance, we will see the incumbent, Ron Cantelon, a former Nanaimo city councillor, taken on by Barry Avis, a sitting councillor in Qualicum Beach. There will be other players, of course, with whoever goes Green likely siphoning off votes from the NDP’s Avis while whoever runs for the Conservatives siphons votes from the Liberal, Cantelon, but the two main players have been identified.
Which brings us to the tone of the period between now and the 2013 vote.
We sincerely hope we have seen the last of the gutter politics evidenced recently by the BC Liberals as they slagged Conservative leader John Cummins. The ad, aired well over a year before any election campaign, was a disgrace and reflected poorly — not on Cummins, but on the party that produced this example of airwave effluent.
We don’t need that kind of trash, at least not around here. If the candidates or parties have something to say, let’s trust they will say it with at least some element of decorum and class. This type of nonsense is one reason why voter participation is so low. Let’s change that.
— editorial by Neil Horner
