I have to say that I'm pretty let down. A lot of the results lead me to believe that not many voters were making informed choices. I mean, come on, Angela Negrin getting as many votes as she did must have more to do with irritation towards Gary Korpan. Sure, his lawsuit against her is stoopid but so is Angela's continual insistence that "Koruption" has nothing to do with Korpan. Equally stoopid. Yes. Two o's because it's that stoopid.
Seriously, folks. Why would you ever vote for Angela Negrin who adds to our city by making greasy potato chips in a filthy filthy environment to serve to drunk patrons who then go out into the streets and litter and puke her produce back onto the streets increasing disorder to the downtown?! Have you not heard what she thinks are "platform points"? Ward system, ward system, city police (with no understanding to what's entailed), no more red zone (= reconcentration of homeless/addict problems in downtown core. While this may be seen by small minded people as "edgy" this would be to the obvious detriment of everyone.), bring "fun" back (forget a multiplex, we need a private/public funded chuckie cheese, right Ang?), more efficient intersections on the parkway (provincial highways), ward system (for the love of gawd this is redundantly redundant)...
So what's wrong with the ward system? Thanks to the "I hate Gary Korpan Votes" for Angela last night she could have been elected with the ward system and if we all looked seriously at that possibility we'd see what a complete disaster that might have been. Basically our options here in the South End would have been much slimmer with the Ward system. I think before we push the Ward system into place we should focus on increasing voter turnout in our area and shifting the emphasis from the candidate's personalities and back to the issues (good and bad) that affect our city!
John Ruttan is our new mayor and Gary Korpan's numbers were embarrassingly low. I wonder what people think will be different with Ruttan instead of Korpan?
19,663 ballots were cast. It's a damn shame considering we have almost 80,000 residents.
What can we do now to decrease voter apathy? How can we get residents to understand that these elections are important and affect us all?
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6 comments:
Couldn't agree more. Especially in regards to the embarrassing voter turnout. Being new to the city I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of turnout but I'm totally disappointed. I would be interested to see how the turn out stats are represented in different regions of town.
Thanks for the great candidate info and all the other great Nanaimo info!! It's like a little one-stop Nanaimo shop around here!!
Okay so I didn't take the time to talk about the ward system so much as get off track with frustration in voters not being informed.
Thanks for popping by Kait!
I don't think Angela would be any worse than some of the dinosaurs that did get elected. (I am actually surprised at your hostility to her, I was pleased by her courage in running and standing up to the Old Boys.)
I don't feel hostile to Angela but to the idea that there would be any seriousness to her being on council. No matter how anyone feels about her personally, it's the honest truth that she had no serious platform and her ideas weren't coming from a place of considered feasibility. It takes courage to run for council and put yourself up to the scrutiny of those you would represent, certainly. Kudos to Angela for that but it was uncomfortable and embarrassing to sit there at the All Candidates Meeting and hear her lack of thoughtful response. Her intention may have been thoughtful but I'm speaking more literally. If you're looking for a South End hero, you can do a lot better than her.
Was there any part of her "platform" that spoke to you or are you basing your support on your personal feelings about her or the fact that she touts the words "Ward System" which you also support?
No, I am not obsessed with ward systems. There are many other things more important to work on, things that you and I are in full agreement about. Changing political structures is more of a long-term goal, whereas we have more immediate problems to deal with. Nor was Angela a candidate that I worked for. I was just shocked by your attitude toward her, that's all.
And by the way, I believe that just about anybody is fit to be a city councilor if they are honest and listen to the people. I don't want a lot of fancy ideas from councilors, most of our problems are obvious as are most of the solutions. It is a matter of political will to do something to rectify these problems. That is what is lacking.
In case there was confusion, I don't think you're obsessed with the Ward System.
I have to say I was shocked at the number of votes for Angela. It's extremely disheartening because it makes it clear that the few people who did vote in this election weren't informed of the issues at all. Of course, I say this from the perspective of considering candidate's platforms (or lack there of) and what they had to offer the city (and the South End). Angela had zero workable platform. Again, she may be a great gal, good friend or neighbour (?) but that's not enough for me to want to see her elected to council. What's the point in electing someone who has nothing to offer and has no ability to command respect because of it? If anything this is a step backwards because not only will nothing get done but it's wasted the city's time and money to boot.
We must elect someone who understands the issues we care about and has the ability to make the needed changes happen.
(I just wanted to add that this and previous comments have been said with sincerity and not meant to come across as inflammatory.)
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