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All-candidates meetings. Hate them or love them, they’re a necessary part of the election process and I hope you got out to at least one on the Coast in the past two weeks. Personally I love them, despite the hours spent in a hot room sitting on hard chairs with both overly angry constituents and overly enthusiastic party supporters. Sure, there are some who come to all-candidates meetings completely neutral, but they’re not the loud ones. There’s something about seeing how a candidate reacts to questions in person that helps me solidify who I’m going to vote for. Party platforms are one thing, but hearing how candidates answer specific questions relating to their platforms can be extremely telling. They may mention their party’s plan for health care as if spewing the party line, for example, but get enthusiastic and animated when speaking about a national child care plan. I want a candidate who’s passionate about the things I’m passionate about. I also want to know what they think on a wide variety of topics and all-candidates meetings are the perfect place to find out. In the meetings I covered before press time this week I heard what candidates planned to do about everything from poverty to housing to job creation. While the stories I wrote this week touch on a few of the topics covered at the Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 all-candidates meetings, there isn’t enough space in the entire 64-page paper to write all of it. I’m sure I’d lose most of you by page three anyway. Nothing beats being there to hear it in person. And while I’m listening to what candidates are saying I’m also checking out how they present themselves. I’m not all about fashion (as is obvious if you know me) but if you can’t have a professional, pulled-together look then you’re not the candidate for me. I don’t want someone representing me in Ottawa that’s never picked up an iron before. I also want to see how candidates act under pressure and all-candidates meetings are a pressure cooker for candidates who are basically held captive by constituents for a couple of hours straight. I’d be stressed. So if you’re wishing you’d been to one of the all-candidates meetings now, don’t lose heart. Coast Cable has taped the Thursday evening all-candidates meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and plans to run repeats of it today (Friday, Oct. 9), Sunday, Oct. 11 and Monday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 10 and Tuesday Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.; and on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 10 p.m. So if you missed the meetings, tune in to Coast Cable and see for yourself who deserves your vote on Oct. 19. |
