With election day looming, I'm undecided, despite - or perhaps because of - hours of listening to debates. Since I'm not truly inspired to vote for any party, I'll try a process of elimination.John Reynolds: no.I never voted for Reynolds when he was in the Reform or Alliance because I disagreed with their policies, and the Conservative party isn't much different. But I've come to respect Reynolds. There are good reasons he keeps getting re-elected.Contrary to the accusation that he's unavailable to constituents, I find Reynolds easy to contact and straightforward in responding to my questions. I've seen Reynolds take up constituents' causes and work hard for them, and I've also seen him at countless community events listening to everyone.Reynolds does a good job as MP, but I don't support his party.Blair Wilson: no.Wilson is likeable and intelligent, and as a newcomer to the Liberal party he avoids the taint of corruption. But I simply cannot stomach voting Liberal this election. The sponsorship scandal seems to be only the tip of an iceberg of dirty dealings, and I'm not sold on Paul Martin's efforts to disassociate himself from the old regime. The party machinery did not fundamentally change just because Chrétien retired.Nicholas Simons: no.I wrote off the NDP early in the campaign after hearing one too many references to Tommy Douglas founding Medicare. Yeah, but what has the NDP done for us lately? Simons seemed a lacklustre candidate at first, but his public speaking skills improved during the campaign, and I have warmed up to his sense of humour and wholehearted defense of various underdogs. Andrea Goldsmith: no.The Greens are working hard to escape the fringe-party label but still have a lot of holes in their policies. Goldsmith must have amazing PR skills, because she's been on provincial and national media more often than any of the local candidates, including Reynolds. She does a good job articulating her party's views but often seems to be running a provincial campaign, not a federal one. Note to Andrea: Gordon Campbell is not the prime minister of Canada. You've still got a year to work on that campaign.Anne Jamieson: no.The Berlin Wall may be gone, but the Marxist-Leninist party clings like lint to the political fringe. This party has not had a new idea in years.Marc Bombois: no.The Canadian Action Party is a one-trick pony (OK, two tricks: kill NAFTA and empower the Bank of Canada). Bombois does win points for being the most passionate of the local candidates and for using a comic book as campaign literature.You see my problem.Of course, Reynolds is all but certain to win re-election, no matter how I vote. West Van is going to decide the election in this riding.However, there's a change to the election funding rules which adds meaning to an otherwise wasted vote. Funding to parties will be handed out in proportion to how many votes they get, to the tune of $1.75 per vote annually, which could propel also-ran parties like the Greens to the status of contenders (or so they hope).This reform was brought in by none other than Jean Chrétien, though with characteristic wiliness he made sure it would never hurt his own chances at re-election - just like he timed his retirement nanoseconds before the sponsorship scandal broke.Ah, Jean. No one in this election has quite your brand of smooth electoral savvy.I guess I should be grateful for that.
