Get involved in the electoral process however you see fit
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 14, 2019.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel Political junkies in Alberta, rejoice. For the second time this year, it’s election season. Signs have been going up around town and, in case you haven’t noticed, they’ve all been for one candidate – incumbent Glen Motz of the Conservatives. This makes sense. In the 2016 byelection he won, Motz received just about 70% of the vote in the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding, which includes Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Bow Island, Cypress County, the County of Forty Mile, Foremost, Stirling, Raymond, Milk River, the County of Warner and the country’s biggest First Nations reserve – Blood Tribe. It would make sense for the other parties to focus their energies on ridings that will be closer races. So far, we’ve got two candidates challenging the incumbent – Shannon Hawthorne of the Greens, who was born and raised in the Hat but now lives in Calgary, and Andrew Nelson, of the People’s Party, who resides in Cardston. It would be quite interesting to see a three-person race where the Greens were the only left-leaning option, but that’s unlikely. Although the writ has been dropped (a misnomer, as there are writs for each riding and they’re not dropped but signed by the returning officer), candidates have until the end of the month to coming forward. There will certainly be a Liberal candidate and a New Democrat. The parties just haven’t yet found someone to essentially stand in for the party in a riding where the result is all but predetermined. There also could be Christian Heritage, Libertarian or Rhinoceros Party candidates, which would make for an interesting race, even if its outcome is essentially foreordained. If you’re reading this and considering putting your hat into the race, do it. It doesn’t matter what the election’s outcome is. Get in there to bring attention to the issues you think are being ignored. You may not win, but at least you can get people thinking through participation in debates and interviews with the press. And if you’re one of those people who enjoy knocking down signs of your least favourite parties, don’t. Instead, vote for your party of choice and if you want to do more, volunteer on their campaign. You’d have a much more positive impact on the election by helping build something than tearing down another party’s sign. Nobody’s mind has ever been changed by seeing a lawn sign vandalized. If anything, it serves to solidify their views. And, finally, if all the passion the election brings out is giving you stress, try and take your mind off of it. Go see a non-political movie. Meditate. Take advantage of the city’s wonderful network of paths and trails. Politics should, at its best, be about making people’s lives better. If it’s stressing you out or making you behave in ways you wouldn’t tolerate from your political opponents, then maybe you need a break. The beauty of democracy is you get to decide how involved or uninvolved you can be in the electoral process. Happy voting (or not)! (Jeremy Appel is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to ww.medicinehatnews.com/opinions.) 22-21
