Thursday, 9 October 2014

The $64,000 Question

The sign was picked up at the Regional Depot yesterday and the full story revealed.

It was removed because only one  sign. is permitted in the space. The ?athurst and Wellington corner had ,two signs placed facing both directions.

The Region politely removed only one and safely stored it.

Stacks of signs  at the depot when Heather and Andy went  there.

It  almost seems this election is  all about signs.  Knowing the cost I am not surprised candidates are upset.

At the same time, the amount being spent on one aspect of a campaign is really amazing.

And difficult to comprehend.

Both candidates for the Mayor's Office are incumbents. The current Mayor  has a four year record of performance and the challenger six years.

Council meetings are televised . Committee meetings are streamed. Names should be household familiar among the politically conscious. And I believe they are.

So why the proliferation of signs ?

A well financed campaign and strong organization ? Both  apparently have that.

What are we missing?

What do you think?

14 comments:

  1. It was a really bad day for signs - that wind was having a lovely time with them.

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  2. The town used to have the expenses from the last election but they finally got rid of it just when I was trying to remember who spent the most. He who must remain nameless so as not to provoke the troll worked out the cost per vote achieved. Some candidates had not managed their expenses well.

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  3. We seem to have lost the troll. It is now safe to mess play with grammar & punctuation. Once in a while there is a minor shot but not too often.

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  4. I can sort of understand the 2 candidates for mayor going at each other. But it is still bizarre. I came in on Wellington today & you could not see the grass for the signs in some areas. Some of those contenders have set themselves up as being totally committed to being environmentally friendly.
    Nope.

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  5. What is "mess play," 18:56?

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  6. There are far too many candidates for council.

    Voters are NOT going to be able to make an educated choice.

    It's kind of like a crap game.

    We are being ill served.

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  7. 21:43
    Since when do voters make an educated choice?

    We deserve what we get.

    Are you advocating a limit on candidates? How do you cull the herd? Sounds like democracy to me.

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  8. 21:43 I have to agree. Many votes will be just guesses. Further, the vote is going to be so fragmented with so many candidates.

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  9. Right now, it's easier to figure out who not to vote for.

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  10. A former councillor and mayor candidate wrote an amazingly stupid letter to the editor of the Auroran.

    I quote:
    "Although the ballot says that you can vote for UP TO eight councillors, you do not have to. You can vote for as few as one and can vote for up to eight."


    Does he work for the Department of Redundacy Department?

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  11. @ 11:11
    That letter was truly embarrassing. Its author has not approved of the way the town was run for several councils and every four years he comes out with a load of criticism. Where is he the rest of the time ? Committees ? Organizations ? Volunteering ?

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  12. 7:30

    I like the system in the US where a third of senators are up for election every two years.

    This provides some consistency and continuity of experience.

    We could do the same thing here. Half the council members are elected every two years.

    Our system is far from perfect and democracy is simply the best of a bunch of bad choices.

    Possibly Winston Churchill said something to this affect.

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  13. I think there should be a term limit of two (or maybe three) consecutive terms. You would have to sit one out before being able to run again.

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  14. 15:21
    What was all that nonsense about missed meetings ? I cannot think of ANY councillor who missed meetings. They were ALL there for most meetings even if they were fighting some bug.

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