Where does it say in the official election campaign rule book that slinging mud and accusations at your opponents is mandatory?
It is now day 18 of the federal election campaign, and voters in the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country have seen or heard very little about the issues so far. The candidates have chosen to attack their opponents rather than speak about what really matters to voters.
Coast Reporter has attended two events featuring Conservative candidate John Weston. On both occasions, he delivered almost the identical speech tearing apart Green MP Blair Wilson, calling into question his integrity and leadership capabilities following the recent Elections Canada investigation. News flash, John - everyone already knows about this. And with all due respect to Mr. Wilson, he's dug himself a big enough hole. You don't have to keep throwing dirt on him to make your point. Show some integrity and start telling us what you can do as our MP instead of telling is what the other guy can't do.
The Conservatives went further this week, sending out a media release on Monday saying a person in the riding not associated with the Weston campaign has filed a complaint with Elections Canada because 10 of Wilson's campaign signs did not have the proper identification markings. Are you sensing a pattern here? Again, it's Weston versus Wilson as both camps trade shots back and forth as Elections Canada looks into the matter.
At the end of the day, this is a pretty minor issue. Last time we checked, the residents in this riding were choosing a person to represent them in Ottawa, not an election sign.
Here's some friendly advice to all the candidates -stop the mud slinging. It's only hurting the credibility of this campaign. Many voters are already upset by this election call and playing games in the media isn't helping to urge voters to head to the polls on election night.
Next week is the first of several all-candidates meetings to be held throughout the riding, with Tuesday's session at the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt. Let's hope the candidates focus on what's important -the environment, the economy, watershed protection, our highway system, the 2010 Olympics - instead of petty things like proper identification on election signs.
