Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Here Come Da Judge ...and it is you":
I have something quite silly - I think
This morning , out of the blue [ we had never discussed politics ], a neighbour announced that Jane Twinney was going to win that election.
Puzzled, I asked why he was so certain.
He looked at me as if I was a bit dim.
" She has a great picture on her signs ! Haven't you seen them ? "
I would like to think he might be correct, but cannot fathom the thinking.
Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 18 May 2014 13:14
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Nit at all silly. Your neighbor is right on the money.
A campaign needs a business plan. An organization needs expertise.
Funds need to be raised. Rules understood. Priorities must be set.
Spending is limited by regulations. Best practice employed.
Planning may be private but a campaign is a very public affair.
Voters with experience perhaps subconsciously, notice a campaign. They expect a campaign.
They rate the campaign.
Voters who may not think they have expertise have more than they think.
Far more than would-be if they could-be-politicians think they do.
How do they judge ? By what they see.
First they saw Liberal lawn signs on major corners.My daughter says they were council campaign signs. I'm not sure about that. But they were small signs.
Jane Twinney's Conservative signs appeared at the week-end. .They were conservative dark blue , two and a half times larger and right size. Strategically placed alongside small Liberal signs they offered comparison and choice.
This week-end, Liberal corner signs are larger but poorly designed.
Blank white space fills a corner.
Blank space suggests empty. Empty white space conveys nothing .
A large handsome portrait of Jane Twinney took up at least a third of new Conservative signs.
The gaze is straightforward ,the smile confident.
The signs are distributed further afield.
Signs with photos cost more. In a campaign with sufficient resources, it's the best.
The impression is superior style and content.
Signs with empty, white space are not impressive.
It bespeaks a lack of expertise, resources, good management and support.
Both candidates are one=term Councillors in Newmarket and Aurora.
My impression is Councillor Twinney has acquitted herself well. If she has enemies within Council they are not obvious. Whether or not she writes a Blog or tweets,I am not aware.
Councillor Ballard on the other hand tweets and writes a blog. His profession is journalism.
He regularly tweets uncomplimentary comments about various colleagues.
His latest faux pas is to inform residents,if they need help in his absence, they should contact
Councillors Gaertner and Gallo.
Pointed dis-respect for the Council to which he was elected almost four years ago.And by
extrapolation ,of the people who elected them.
I believe most colleagues are Liberals.
It's fair to say neither major party is enjoying public confidence.
There is anger and despair abroad.
In the circumstance, this race is between two candidates.
A good-looking woman's picture on a sign is important. It endorses the campaign and the candidate There's nothing silly here.
It's a biggie.
There was one thing from the last municipal campaign that I hope we will not see in any election again. It was the removal of many signs under cover of night. Somewhere there must have been a pile of time costing a lot of time & effort from those who put them up, So far this race seems clean - let's keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteI am keeping this election entirely personal because none of the parties rate my vote. Petty for sure but it seems to be my only option. There is an internal driver that insists I vote even if it gives me no pleasure.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe Liberal candidate continues to show extremely poor judgement by directing the public to two of the former's Gang of Six.
His attitude is negative and ignorant.
Unfortunately if he loses the provincial grab at a seat in the legislature he will get another crack at us by running for council where he hopes to join one of the gang members seeking the mayoralty.
This bugs the hell out of me
I, unfortunately, was one who pulled a sign off our lawn this year. Not sure who authorized the planting of it, but I quickly removed it the minute it went up. I have been a die-hard Liberal for 40 years, but I can't for the life of me support the current candidate for Newmarket/Aurora in the upcoming provincial election because of his behavior at council in the last 4 years. Mr. Ballards fear mongering, bullish style grandstanding, lack of decision making, constant habit of trying to stall or send back to review any major projects, and his constant support of special interest groups has not helped to contribute to the betterment of this town. His staunch support of the past mayor in her lawsuit against Aurora citizens does not leave me feeling warm and fuzzy. I do not know much about our PC candidate except for her fathers long history with Newmarket. Such a quandry!
ReplyDelete10:35
ReplyDeleteLet us not jump the gun here. One step at a time. Confound it. The 12th is so far away.
You are right about the costs of an election, Evelyn. After the last municipal one, when the expenses were filed, I was astonished by the amount spent by the top three running to be mayor. There was one thing in the stuff explaining what was ok or not that confused me. It was that if there was a surplus that amount had to be paid to the town or school board. I could not figure out how there could be a surplus. Would a candidate not just pay back some sponsors?
ReplyDelete@11:06 Good morning
ReplyDeleteYou will get no absolution from me. You might not have seen what Dalton was up to but you have heard Kathleen Wynne loud and clear. Cllr Ballard has been quite open about his beliefs and intransigence. You are on your own with your dilemma,
I have a suggestion for 11:06 but it is going to cost. Pony up $100 for Ballard's event. Attend, watch & listen to how many times you hear buzz words. You know the ones I mean so I won"t list them.
ReplyDeleteIt would be neat if you reported back........?