Public should be able to hear political messages directly from local messages
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on March 29, 2019.
It is only natural that during an election campaign, political parties would like to ensure candidates don’t stray from the party line and therefore control the message. However, one of those candidates will become the local MLA. There is plenty to suggest that the leader of a party can sway voters and one of them will form the next government. However, voters would do well to remember it is not the leader who will set up a constituency office in Cypress-Medicine Hat or Brooks-Medicine Hat. Candidates will do that. For this reason it is important to know the candidates and get an understanding of their grasp of provincial issues. It is these people you will be visiting if and when you face an issue that you would like them to solve or have something you would like the government to address. It is true that staff in the constituency office handle most of the load but they do not have the sway that an MLA does in Edmonton. It is understandable why a political party would want to control what its candidates say to the media. Historically there have been cases where a candidate went off on a tangent because of a burning issue, leaving a party leader to deal with the aftermath. That appears to be the motivation for political parties wanting to speak on behalf of their candidates in media interviews – in short, control the message. The problem with this approach is that the voters might not get to know the individual campaigning to be the next MLA. Party leaders have a daily platform with plenty of media exposure for their announcements and the political positions they take. The News brings you that news plus stories that attempt to introduce you to local candidates vying for your vote. If political parties control what candidates say, voters have no idea who they are actually voting for. Of course it is important that candidates don’t make silly statements that embarrass their party but perhaps a better way to do that is provide a one-day course for candidates, inform them on the main issues and full details on the party’s position. For a candidate to be effective they need to have a grasp of those issues and should be asking questions, and doing research on a number of levels prior to even running for office. Voters would be wise to listen to the party leaders and get a sense of the type of government they would form. It is equally important, though, to understand what kind of MLA the candidate who wants your vote will be. (Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.) 15-14
