Election 2008 RIP- Newmarket Aurora

Ok I may as well get this over with and move on to some other distraction until the sourness in my stomach abates. Origami perhaps!

First off I will admit that I did not expect my party to win this seat, I’ve never voted for a single person who has ever represented me and don’t expect that to change any time soon. If there was ever a poster child for orphan votes and electoral reform I’m it.
While I did expect a Conservative win, I did not expect it to be this big locally or nationally, sucks to be us!

Last nights Newmarket Aurora results were no big shock, we live in commuting towns where large houses and multiple cars are the norm, just the kind of people who without any rational investigation would fall hook line and sinker for the “everything tax” fear mongering. The conversations I hear on the Go Train are those with the insight of the Metro and 24 newspapers; No concept is to complex that it can't be simplified into a 100 word side bar, so No, I did not have very high expectations for the riding.

That said 46.7% conservative support for Lois Brown is sickeningly high and makes me want to slap every other person I see on the street. WTF were you thinking?
I can’t even blame the result on vacationing Liberal voters boycotting a leader they could not support since our voter turnout at 62.1% is higher than the national average.

Of course it did not help that the Liberal Tim Jones while well know in the area is not as universally loved as the Liberals tried to make us believe. Jones was mayor over a massively dysfunctional Auroran council and despite his claims otherwise, I’m quite sure it was not just the council members who were dysfunctional; a good leader brings consensus rather than more dysfunction. (The dysfunction of local civic politics may well become a new theme for me as our towns and cities refuse to plan or adapt to the coming low carbon future.)

Jones also brought sprawl and the big box economy to Aurora which in my mind was not progress. Planning under Jones was more large homes with nested streets reinforcing the anti community driving culture of the suburbs.

I have to say I’m disappointed that the Greens did not make our goal of 10%+ in the riding (8.2%), or our goal of displacing the NDP in 3rd place as we did in the most recent Provincial elections. We did however have real gains in both total votes and popular vote from our previous 4.78% to 8.2% while the NDP dropped from 9.6% to 8.5%. I really think the NDP strategy of it all being about Jack while local candidates don’t have signs until the 3rd week is souring some voters, with a growing population Mike Seaward should have at least held his own this time around.

The local Greens still have much work to do in tapping both the financial and volunteer potential of their supporters. Many of us got into this because we did not like what was offered by the other parties but we had little campaign experience and were not accustomed the money grubbing ask, ask, ask, campaigns that are a must in politics. We have however reached a point where we can afford full signage and mailers so our next outing should have more impact and confidence,

The Green campaign party last night ended up sharing the Fox and Fiddle with PC Dorian Baxter who grew his support to just under 2% with 1004 votes this time around. The guy campaigns hard and except for his harping on our marijuana policy is a good sport about it all. I still want to know how he gets more coverage in the local papers than we do!

The foetus fetish crowd of the CHP had 211 votes, which will continue to grow as long as Harper does not have a majority to do what he believes. It give me no comfort that our new MP is stated a pro lifer and while she claims they will not reopen the issue, MP Dean Del Mastro says otherwise.

That's about as much as I can stand for an election roundup at this point. I have to get home, go out and get loot bags for my kids (age 2 and 4) who could not undestand why I kept going to do "Green Party" activities 3-4 nights a week yet never brought home a loot bag. They are not impressed! What kind of party has no loot bags?

I implore all "Progressives" to join Fair Vote Canada now!
wait no longer! and work towards a system that will marginalize the minority who once again holds us captive.Recommend this Post