DURHAM RIDING

The official list

Monday marked the final day for candidates to register, so we now have a semi-official list. Elections Canada will provide the full, complete list by tomorrow, according to to their website.

I live in the riding and have noticed something unusual this election: I've yet to have a single candidate or candidate's representative ring my doorbell when I was home, or drop off material when I was not. Unheard of -- I live in one of those subdivisions candidates usually dig coming to, because they can hit so many houses in such a short time.

Have any of them been to your door?

Claiming the right to the left

After yesterday's blog post, I received an email, berating me for having the audacity to refer to the Liberal party as being left of centre, saying that the only party who could claim any part of the left was the NDP.

I strongly beg to differ. In fact, if anything, I'd say the Liberals, in choosing Stephane Dion as leader, have shifted a little to the left. And I'd say under Jack Layton, the NDP has been inching slightly right.

Admittedly, the political spectrum has shifted some since my last politics class in university, which was just slightly after the dawn of time. Used to be, the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals shared the centre, on each side of that imaginary middle mark. That was in the early days of the Reform party, and they had the far right pretty much all to themselves -- of course, that was before the Conservatives decided not to be Progressive. Then, the NDP was pretty far out to the left, largely appealing to unionists and students. The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were, with a few policy exceptions, virtually indistinguishable centrists.

Then, the right united and the left did not, and we had an election in 2006 that made it pretty clear that might be a bit of an issue for the approximately two-thirds of Canadians who identify with the Liberal, NDP or Green parties.

Under Stephane Dion, the Liberals have possibly committed political suicide with the Green Shift, which those who believe conservation ought to be the domain of the left could see as being the most left-wing policy the Liberals have announced in years.

Though a sound policy, the right has exploited it as being a frightening tax grab -- which those who have actually read the policy know is really an overstatement. (That's not above the Tories at this point, though. Consider the ads in which they talk about their so-called "Child Care Credit." In that ad, they say parents will say goodbye to that under Dion. Uh, yeah, they will. And they'll say hello to a $200 cheque aimed at helping with child care, since Dion hasn't said he'll end it --- he's said he'll double it.)

At the same time, Jack Layton has raised the idea of forming a coalition with the Liberals, should the Conservatives win next month. Not only that, but it could be argued he's running the most populist campaign the NDP has ever waged. And there are ways in which the current platforms of the Liberals and NDP are almost indistinguishable. Take this note from Toronto Star columnist David Olive in a column that ran Saturday :

On Thursday, the leader of a centre-left federal political party was in Kitchener to unveil a $1.25-billion-year program to create 165,000 child-care spaces. The same day, the leader of another centre-left party was at an east-end Toronto day-care centre pledging a $1.45-billion-a-year plan to create a minimum of 150,000 child-care spaces.

A tweak here, a minor adjustment there, and the competing campaign pledges would be indistinguishable. The most salient thing the promises by Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton have in common is that neither will see fruition, at least not under a government formed by Dion or Layton, respectively, after voters cast their ballots Oct. 14. So far, at least, polls show Stephen Harper's Tories heading for a renewed minority government or perhaps even a majority that day.

We appear set for a replay of the 2000 election, when then-PM Jean Chrétien, against the wishes of a fretful Liberal caucus he memorably dubbed "Nervous Nellies," exploited a divided right and was vindicated with a renewed majority in what was initially derided as an unnecessary snap election.

Eight years later, the Tories are poised to return the favour, exploiting a split among no fewer than four opposition parties vying for centrist and left-of-centre votes, and coast to a renewed minority or even a majority in another snap election also widely seen as unnecessary.

I tend to agree with Mr. Olive, to an extent. As much as I don't like the idea of a two-party system, it would appear that the Unite the Right movement worked, and there is a need to unite the left. Otherwise, there are three (arguably four --- the Bloc is pretty left-wing in a lot of its policies) parties out there, with very similar agendas, essentially working against each other.

An interesting shade of orangey-red

I didn't see the actual interview in question, so I don't know if Jack Layton was wearing his orangey-red tie on Canada AM this morning.

But it kind of seemed like he must have been, judging by media reports indicating the NDP leader was waxing poetic about the possibility of joining forces with the others on the left, to form a coalition government, if that's the only way to oust Stephen Harper.

I thought he was applying for the job of PM . . . this sounds like he's not so sure he'll get it. A Plan B, if you will. It's probably a good idea to have one, given polls are suggesting the Tories may be on track for a majority.

Though a coalition government is technically possible, it should be noted that we haven't had one since 1917. Then, Robert Borden pulled in some pro-conscription Liberals, and they formed the Union government.

It does raise an interesting issue: how to best represent the majority of the population. If you look, for example, at the 2006 election results, you see that the Conservatives, in winning their 124 seats for a minority government, only took in 36.3% of the popular vote. By comparison, the Liberals took 30.2 per cent, with the Bloc Quebecois, the NDP and the Green parties taking 10.5 %, 17.5% and 4.5 % respectively. So, it could easily be argued that almost 63% of Canadians voted against the Conservatives. Yet Stephen still got the nice house and the big title.

It could also be argued that 63% of Canadians, at that juncture in history, best identified with parties considered left of centre. Yet arguably the most right-wing Conservatives in Canadian history wound up at the helm. Go figure.

What do you think? Would a lefty coalition work? Should we be looking what it means to win? Is it time for some sort of proportional representation? And is there any way to implement such a system that isn't so complicated it makes even the most politically interested glaze over?

Quiet out there

I'd love to hear from people, to let me know why this federal election, locally, is so very quiet.

There's a dearth of events --- I've yet to hear of a single all-candidates' meeting locally (are you planning one? Email me at jstone@durhamregion.com to let me know --- maybe we can get you a little publicity for your event.) I'm not hearing of candidates holding press conferences, as occasionally happens during campaigns. I haven't even received many news releases from candidates, which is highly unusual during a campaign.

Is it that people don't care? Were the people who said it was a rotten time for an election right? Are you paying attention? Or is this election being fought exclusively at the leaders' level?

You tell me . . . why is this one such a snoozer?

A full set

It would appear Durham riding now has five candidates.

Last night, the local arm of the NDP nominated a candidate. Andrew McKeever's biography arrived via e-mail this morning. Here's how he describes himself:

My name is Andrew McKeever, I am a 34-year-old resident of Bowmanville.  I am a recent University Graduate, and the Candidate for the NDP in Durham Riding.

I was born in Oshawa.  I currently live with my parents, in Bowmanville where I have lived since 1997 (I lived in Toronto for 4 years, Peterborough for 4 years).  In that time I have worked in a variety of capacities, I was a Camp Counselor for 4 summers, and was a member of the Armed Forces Reserves for 3 years.  I have also spent several years working in a variety of deadend, lowpaying, and temporary jobs.  I am now, and always have been, a hard worker.  I am also now, and always have been, interested in politics. 

I am running for the NDP simply because for too long, I have felt hopeless, unrepresented, and removed from forces and trends that shape this country.  My experience is not unique.  In Durham Riding hundreds of people have not been able to realize their true potential; people live in fear; people have no hope.  This is wrong.  We live in what should be the greatest country in the world, but policies of the established parties have created a sense of helplessness and hopelessness amongst the people in this Country.

I cannot sit back, idly, and watch any longer.  I have decided to take action.  I firmly believe that the policies of the New Democratic Party, under Jack Layton, can turn this country around, and make people feel comfortable and free once again.  Please, follow the election, listen to and watch debates, read all that you can.  Please support me, and the NDP.  Together we can create a better present, and an even better future.

Signs have also popped up for Christian Heritage Party candidate Henry Zekveld, who also ran last time. He received 1.1 per cent of the vote, or 612 votes. Doesn't seem like much, but, hey --- that's almost exactly how many votes Sarah Palin received to propel her to victory as mayor in Wasilla, Alaska . . . and now, she's a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. And, somehow I suspect that's not all the two have in common . . .

So, after asking everyone I could think of . . .

. . . with the local NDP and with the provincial NDP campaign office, I finally got an e-mail this morning, telling me when and where the Durham group will hold its nomination meeting.

But strangely, I got it from a member of another party (who shall remain nameless, unless he sends me a note to let me know he's cool with being identified), who tells me the nomination meeting is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at the Village Inn, a pub in Bowmanville.

This, after e-mailing the local arm of the party over and over, only to finally receive a terse reply that the nomination meeting would be held Tuesday. No time, no place, just Tuesday.

I also called the provincial campaign office, when it became clear I wasn't going to find anything out locally, and they had the same answer -- Tuesday.

I've asked them to let me know who is chosen . . .

So much for the "Democrat" part

I always thought one of the major talking points of the NDP was equality.

That is, until I called the NPD's national campaign office this morning, in my quest to find out why on earth the party is lagging behind in getting a candidate in place here in Durham.

I mean, we're more than a week in, and after many, many attempts, I have FINALLY heard back from the riding association. But the news was minimal --- the local group will hold a nomination meeting this Tuesday. Absolutely no further information was offered, including an excuse for why they're seemingly unprepared for an election most have been preparing for since Harper's minority was elected in January 2006.

But I digress . . .

So, I called the national office and a recording answered (I'm soooooo not a fan of that.) The recorded voice thanked me for calling "Jack Layton's NDP."

Huh?

Here I was thinking Tommy Douglas had started the modern NDP. Has my Canadian Studies degree failed me?????

I recognize leadership is a HUGE issue in this election. I would argue it's far more of an issue than is policy . . . which I find really unsettling. And clearly, Jack thinks he's a leader --- after all, he's been saying he's applying for the prime minister's job.

But how does a party disregard one of its cornerstones, just in the name of strategy?

Does this seem counterintuitive to you?

And then there were three

Blue, red and green . . . but still no orange.

That's how Durham's ballot looks right now.

Thursday night, the Durham Greens elected a candidate. Stephen Leahy, described as an environmental journalist, got the nod from the group gathered at the party's local nomination meeting in Courtice.

According to a media release,  he's an Uxbridge resident who has been reporting on environmental topics in Canada and overseas for 15 years. He's also written about agriculture for the Port Perry Star and then for national and international publications.

So, only one of the majors has no declared candidate as yet in Durham -- leading one to wonder if the ballot will ever look like this:

What we're doing, and the challenges we're facing

We at the Metroland Durham Region media group are working hard to provide you the most extensive local election coverage we can. We have these blogs, and beyond that, we are constantly updating the news found at newsdurhamregion.com, and we have an extensive in-paper coverage plan.

One interesting feature we've come up with this time around is to have candidates answer issues questions; then, a panel of average voters will receive the answers, from which we will have removed anything identifying which candidate has provided it, and those voters will get to vote and comment on the responses. It's a way, we think, of gauging public opinion without people just voting along partisan lines.

Given the short duration of the election period --- we only have until early next month --- we needed to get started right away. We sent the first question out yesterday morning, asking for the candidates to answer by 4:30 p.m.

At 11:56 a.m., we received Liberal Bryan Ransom's reply. Just one minute before that, we heard back from a member of the local Green party, indicating that since they don't currently have a candidate (their nomination meeting is tonight and I'm told, unofficially, there are two potential candidates), could they simply provide a statement from the party platform. No problem, we said. It's their 250 words --- they can do with it what they like. Obviously, it's not ideal, but it could be worse.

By 9:15 p.m., we had received Bev Oda's reply --- that's not bad, because we had said in future, we'll be asking for a 12-hour turn-around. She definitely met that.

Still no response from the Durham NDP contact listed on the federal NDP's website. In fact, I've made numerous attempts to contact the listed contact, by phone and by e-mail, since before the election writ dropped, to absolutely no avail. We're fairly sure they don't have a candidate yet (though they said there was "expressed interest" a week ago), but firming that up is . . . well, impossible, since no one from the local organization will call back. Last word from the federal office was that there was neither a candidate nor a nomination meeting date set, but they would let us know as soon as either happened. So far, no news. But we'll let you know as soon as --- or, if --- there is.

So, if you're sensing gaps in coverage, please know that it's not for lack of trying. But it's starting to seem like some of the parties were caught off-guard by this election, despite the rather blatent hints dropped all summer.

Looks like she's in

News stories are indicating that Jack Layton and Stephen Harper have bowed to the criticism over their decision not to allow Green leader Elizabeth May participate in the leaders' debate. So far, the consortium of networks hasn't altered the stance, but what was standing in its way --- Harper and Layton's refusal to take part if May does --- has moved.

One has to wonder: What were they so scared of? Harper had said he was concerned it would be like having two Liberals in the debate --- except, given the format of the debates, that wouldn't really be an issue. It's really no different from having the Bloc and the NDP, two parties with socialist leanings, in the debate --- and that's certainly happened.

Maybe they were scared of May. I've heard her speak. She gives good debate. I don't always agree with her, but I wouldn't want to debate her, that's for sure.