Right in the centre - Why we should love elections

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Published on Thursday, August 6, 2015

By Ken Waddell

The Neepawa Banner

We are now into a federal election campaign. It will be a long campaign and many people will wrinkle their nose at such a long campaign, we shouldn’t. We should be thankful. Compared to some countries where they don’t have fair elections or hold elections at all, we are a very well off country. Over the next number of weeks, people will get a chance to hear the leaders, hear the candidates and to decide how they want to vote. If you don’t vote, you have no reason to complain. It’s that simple. If you are going to complain about the government, then get out and vote. If you aren’t going to vote, then keep your mouth shut, you have no basis to speak.

If you are among those who figure your vote won’t count, then you don’t know history and you don’t know math. There have been many elections and many votes that turned on just a handful of votes, sometimes, as few as one to three votes. In 1999, a prominent Manitoba cabinet minister lost her seat by three votes. The winner went on to be a cabinet minster. In 2004, I lost a federal party nomination by less than 30 votes. I won a mayor election in 1998 by fewer than 25 votes. There have been many town council seats decided by less than five votes. Every vote counts.

This fall’s election will be good for the country. It will also be good for newspapers and I know some will be cynical about that. However, please understand that newspapers operate on very small margins. After wages, postage and printing, there isn’t a lot left to pay the heat and rent and make the debt payments. So, yes, newspapers like elections. We also like grand openings, special sales, festivals, rodeos and fairs. We work darned hard to get advertising so we can keep our newspapers afloat. Watch the pages of The Banner over the next few weeks and you will see election stories and advertising that will help you make an informed decision. 

I often hear the criticism that our politicians don’t do anything for us, that we never see them or hear from them. Then, when they show up at events, people accuse them of being out politicking. Politicians can’t seem to win in the arena of public opinion. If you think your politicians, be they school board, town councillors, MLAs or MPs, haven’t done anything for you, when was the last time you actually went and talked to one. Politicians are always ready to talk. Sometimes they even listen but you have to get off your butt and go see them. They may come to your door during a campaign but it will only be for a matter of minutes. Do you want to tell a politician something? Then go and see them. But be nice, be respectful. Why should anyone listen to you if you are going to be all nasty and mouthy?

You know their phone numbers, you may even know where they live. You see them at social events or in the case of more local politicians, you see them occasionally at the coffee shop. Go talk to them. It’s a lot easier to sit in front of your computer or TV and whine and complain than it is to actually get out and make your opinion heard and known.

I have talked to prime ministers, premiers, MPs, MLAs, councillors and school trustees. I have never had one ignore me. And yes, I have had some influence. You can too.

In the two most recent announcements about federal money for Neepawa’s new sewer project, they came about, in part, because I lobbied with the federal government. I did so when I was mayor and I have done so since. The project will be a huge step for Neepawa and it came about because some people in Neepawa, myself included, went after it and convinced the government that it  was what was needed. That particular project isn’t a glamorous one, but if you can’t flush your toilet or drain your sink, that’s not glamorous either. 

Sometimes, politics isn’t very glamorous. Getting out and campaigning is hard work, getting out to vote takes a commitment. But if people aren’t even willing to talk to politicians or aren’t even willing to vote, how sick is our society anyway?

Remember that when you get annoyed with an election campaign, election signs and advertising, suck it up folks. Elections are lot better than shooting at each other and that’s what they do in some countries. When you imagine our streets chattering with machine gun fire or you see blood dripping from a machete, the idea of the “annoyance” of an election will seem pretty good.