BKAD: Victoria
Better Know A(n Electoral) District: Victoria
Yesterday’s post went off so well I immediately received another request for a BKAD, I was planning on making my bottom-up bailout alternative proposal today but then I remembered how Harper is trying to time this election such that everyone is paying attention to the antics south of the border; time to take care of home first. So I present a semi-in-depth look at the race in Victoria.
The candidates are:
John Cooper (Christian Heritage Party of Canada)
Jack McClintock (Conservative Party of Canada)
Anne Park Shannon (Liberal Party of Canada)
Adam Saab (Green Party of Canada)
Denise Savoie (New Democratic Party)
I will immediately dismiss the Christian Heritage Party solely because they are not running candidates nation-wide. And if that isn’t reason enough, how does “separation of church and state” sound?
First some history: the district was established in 1924; a Liberal won in 2004 by 2,305 votes, Denise Savoie won in 2006 by 6,783 votes.
Let’s take a look at the candidates.
Jack McClintock (Conservative)
No Wikipedia page, will the trend of this meaning not a serious candidate continue? He’s a police officer who took one year of university and dropped out – not an auspicious beginning but that’s exactly what his bio starts with. He has some decent things to say about health care but his top issue is “Representation in Government” which he says “members of the opposition are outside the decision-making arena, and are unable to influence government policy and action in any constructive way.” This is what I would call the Emerson Doctrine – essentially saying that anyone not in the government party is useless – I’m sure many dictators would agree with this philosophy. I suppose he doesn’t know what private members bills are or understand that the current government is a minority and has to get MPs from the opposition to support whatever bills they want to pass. This to me shows a limited understanding of government – not something you want in an MP. As for the rest of his platform they are just brief statements that barely outline his beliefs and give no specifics whatsoever – they don’t even qualify as mission statements. Think “the children are our future” type clichés.
Anne Park Shannon (Liberal)
Again with no Wikipedia page. Apparently she has experience as a bureaucrat and as much as that word has a negative connotation to it when it comes to serving in government it is definitely an asset when you understand the apparatus that supports you organizationally. Her policy section is divided into 2 categories: “Arts and Culture” and “Early Education and Childcare”. Frankly if she thinks “Arts and Culture” is one of the top two biggest issues facing Canada today she is not my candidate. Childcare is an important issue but I would put something like, oh say the entire future of the planet (read: the environment) above “Arts and Culture”. What do her policy stances boil down to? She’s upset at the Conservatives for cutting funding to the arts and she blames Jack Layton for no Childcare. That’s right; she thinks the NDP is to blame for no Childcare. She may understand the nuts-and-bolts of government but her view of the larger picture is that of an abstract piece. (Like how I got that art reference there? Don’t expect much more of that).
Adam Saab (Green)
No Wikipedia page. He graduated UBC this year. His primary issue is Arts and Culture. What is it with this riding? Doesn’t anyone know or care that we are, for example, in a war right now? His website is a sparse collection of links. Clearly not a serious candidate but if he somehow wins, I will announce my candidacy for public office as I am clearly more qualified than he is.
Denise Savoie (NDP)
Her background is a teacher and apparently she joined a coalition to make the city more bicycle-friendly. Sigh. She is currently the NDP’s Intergovernmental Affairs Critic, Post-Secondary Education Critic, Literacy Critic and Human Resources Deputy Critic (for Training). Her primary issues currently are homelessness, environmental protection, child care, and health care. On health care she wants more nurses and plans to fight privatization both of which I agree with her on.
Conclusion
Geez, I dunno, I guess I have to give this one to the NDP candidate. She beats the only other person with relevant experience, the Liberal, both in relevant experience and her platform. This riding has a sorry selection of candidates I must say and while I would probably vote NDP I wouldn’t exactly be skipping on my way to the polls.
Let me take a different approach. You pick the issue that matters to you most; I’ll tell you who you should vote for: If you think Arts & Culture is the most important, pivotal issue in this election you should vote Liberal or Green - however I feel the need to point out that you are also an idiot. If you think the environment is the most important issue vote Green or NDP. If you think the personal ambition of your MP is the most important thing (although I can’t really see this mattering to anyone but the candidate, his family, and his staff), vote Conservative. If Health Care, Child Care, and Homelessness are your key issues then vote NDP.
Good night and good luck.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I would urge you to dig a little deeper. You’ll find that Denise Savoie is an excellent candidate. She’s done far more than simply make the city more bike-friendly. As a longtime resident of Victoria, I know that she was on city council for 7 years and that she was the director of the CRD. In terms of her work as an MP, I personally approached her for assistance with OAS troubles my mom was having and my mother and I both found her and her staff to be very helpful and sympathetic. They assisted us in getting a correction on my mom’s payments. She’s also an advocate on housing and education, and succeeded in getting her bill to create a national child care system debated in Parliament. I’d say that’s not too shabby.
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Thanks for the comment and information Darren. I have to say I greatly respect an MP that is both reachable by and willing to be an advocate for their constituents. I’ll see about doing a follow-up when the US VP debate slaughter is over