Municipal Elections - Powered by Fear or Hope?

What do you think drove the voters in your area to mark their Xs where they did? Was it fear or hope?

During the last week before the municipal elections on Nov. 15, I attended two candidates' forums. In one, attendees had the opportunity to speak with each candidate in a small group setting for five minutes and explore questions of importance to them before moving on to speak to the next candidate. Tough questions were posed and people spoke with passion, but there was respect.

In the other one, a panel of candidates faced an audience of 50 or 60 where 5 or 6 people dominated the questions, often haranguing the candidates with harsh words referring to their answers in a previous forum and loudly calling into question the candidate's integrity and veracity. The moderator did not ensure that everyone who wanted to speak had a chance before others were allowed to ask a second or third question. And he treated at least one of the candidates with a condescending manner when it was his turn to answer a question. It was clear that a group of people who didn't live in that area and weren't eligible to vote in that area were there to create conflict and discredit the candidate.

As a voter, I think you know which forum gave me the best information on which to base my opinion - after all, that had been my reason for attending.

While I believe it is important to ask candidates tough questions, to elicit their views on important issues and to hold them accountable for their actions, I believe we must do that with civility and respect and allow them to answer the questions without cutting them off and calling them names.

Everyone who stands for office believes that they have something important to offer as a member of council, school board or regional district. They are willing to stand out in front and declare what they believe in and to defend it.

When people can do that without fear of being attacked, we will entice our best candidates to put their names forward.

When we attack those who are brave enough to come forward, we discourage many others from taking that important step and we significantly reduce the number of capable candidates we have to choose from - and diminish our chances of having the best people for the job elected to create a future full of hope for our communities and our world.

Just ask most people why they don't run and you'll hear them say, "It's too negative. Why would I want to put myself and my family through that?"

It's a sad commentary on the way we have allowed a few to divert a process meant to ensure good governance.

If you agree, then you know what to do for the next election - demand a respectful process and don't settle for anything less.

On Leadership, Trust and Hope

It was amazing watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech on Nov. 4th. He was so sincere, so humble, urging voters and supporters to put aside their differences and work together to tackle the difficult problems facing their nation and the world.

He was a spellbinding speaker, but not because of flashy rhetoric, but because he spoke from his heart sincerely and authentically, and without downplaying the difficulties ahead gave everyone hope.

It was amazing to watch as people of all ages, many of whom who had never voted before, lines up for hours to cast their ballots because they believed it would make a difference - believed that they could make a difference - that their one vote counted.

We had a low voter turnout for our Canadian federal election - the lowest in 50 years. It seems that our candidates didn't hold us spellbound with their sincerity - and it must have been that few people believed that their vote would make a difference. Or perhaps we are happy with the status quo.

We have an opportunity on May 12, 2009 to vote to make sure that our province stays strong. Let's not be complacent. Let's be active and engaged. If we are leaders, let's show our sincerity and authenticity. Let's talk about the difficult decisions we will have to make. And let's inspire confidence and hope in all British Columbians that the BC Liberal party is the one to entrust our future to, the one that will honour that trust, and the one that will lead us into the next decade, keeping BC strong.

Affirmed as the Candidate!

Two Candidate Selection Meetings - October 28 in Sechelt and October 29 in Powell river - two speeches, meeting members who have come out to see "Who is Dawn Miller, anyway?", "Why does she want to run?", "What's her strategy?". Lots of discussion, lots of answers, lots of issues. The biennial convention in Whistler on the weekend - a heady opportunity to meet cabinet ministers and MLAs...and the Premier. Lots of support - media training - Halloween party - celebrations....time to jump-start the team - and the campaign really begins.