Get informed

As the countdown to the June 25 county byelection in Division 3 continues to tick along, it’s getting even more crucial that voters know what it is the candidates stand for.

After all, whoever is elected will represent the division until the fall of 2013 when the next round of municipal voting takes place.

By now, all the candidates have clearly outlined their platforms and made their way up and down county roads to make their case why they are the right choice and why the others are not.

Whether you support Cal Busby, Herb Smerychynski or Jim Wiese is fundamentally immaterial.

What is material, however, is that you’re making your choice based on what each man stands for and not simply because he’s your neighbour or your best friend. When it comes to politics, all should matter is that the person voted in to represent their constituents is capable of doing the job they’re called to do.

Nothing more and nothing less should matter.

Now, at this point many people have already cast a ballot in Saturday’s advanced poll. The hope is that these people have made up their minds based on merit and not on favouritism.

For those residents of Division 3 who have not yet voted, or even made up their minds yet, there is one week left.

Use that time to get in touch with the candidates and speak to them about what you want to see in your councillor.

Ask them the hard questions. Ask them where they stand on the issues you want to see addressed by the county. Tell them what you want to see the county do.

Don’t focus solely on your candidate of choice. Speak to all three men. In order to make an informed decision, it’s imperative you have all the information possible. More to the point of being informed, once the election is over, make the trip into Westlock to attend a county council meeting.

At the vast majority of meetings no members of the public are in the gallery. For an enlightened democracy like Canada, this is unacceptable.

In order to know what’s going on, you need to witness what’s going on.