The All-Candidates Meeting
For the most part attending the all-candidates meeting in West Bay last night was a waste of time. The coffee ran out far too early and the doughnuts were not all that good.
This time around we have six candidates here on Manitoulin, or really I should say five and a half candidates.
The NDP is running the same candidate from last time around, who did reasonably well considering the way this area always votes Liberal. Her name is Carol Hughes. She is well-spoken and carries a ton of NDP propaganda material along with her to allow her to quote NDP policy at will.
A new candidate for the Green Party is a woman by the name of Sarah Hutchison. Again, Sarah is well-spoken and she seems well versed in conservation, her party's cornerstone. Forgive me the use of the term treehugger - it seems to me that a vote for the Green Party will not ensure a Green MP in Ottawa, but those wanting to send Paul Martin's Liberals a message may well vote for the treehugging party.
Brent St. Denis is the Liberal incumbent. He was a shoein last time around, but might have a fight of it this election because of Liberal shenanigans of late. Another reason that may factor in is the next candidate.
Will Morin is the candidate for the brand new First Peoples National Party. Manitoulin's native voters just may surprise everyone and swing away from the Liberals and go with this guy. It wouldn't surprise me. From my perspective I thought Mr. Morin might be better suited as a standup comedian or a game show host. He used stage ploys like asking the audience to stand up and look around at the person next to them; take a deep breathe; and raise their hand if they agreed with a given statement. To me this party is just a variation of the Green Party.
Ian West is the candidate for the Conservatives. Mr. West is a well-travelled young man who impressed me as being well-educated and able to speak to a crowd. Not sure if that qualifies him to be a MP, but from where I sit I'd rather have a trained chimp there in Ottawa rather than a Liberal.
The last candidate was an independant and his first name was Don. I never caught his last name as the guy had me hysterical every time he opened his mouth. It's really low to publicly criticize a man for his shortcomings so I won't go any further other than to say, "Somebody should check this guy's oil level."
This time around we have six candidates here on Manitoulin, or really I should say five and a half candidates.
The NDP is running the same candidate from last time around, who did reasonably well considering the way this area always votes Liberal. Her name is Carol Hughes. She is well-spoken and carries a ton of NDP propaganda material along with her to allow her to quote NDP policy at will.
A new candidate for the Green Party is a woman by the name of Sarah Hutchison. Again, Sarah is well-spoken and she seems well versed in conservation, her party's cornerstone. Forgive me the use of the term treehugger - it seems to me that a vote for the Green Party will not ensure a Green MP in Ottawa, but those wanting to send Paul Martin's Liberals a message may well vote for the treehugging party.
Brent St. Denis is the Liberal incumbent. He was a shoein last time around, but might have a fight of it this election because of Liberal shenanigans of late. Another reason that may factor in is the next candidate.
Will Morin is the candidate for the brand new First Peoples National Party. Manitoulin's native voters just may surprise everyone and swing away from the Liberals and go with this guy. It wouldn't surprise me. From my perspective I thought Mr. Morin might be better suited as a standup comedian or a game show host. He used stage ploys like asking the audience to stand up and look around at the person next to them; take a deep breathe; and raise their hand if they agreed with a given statement. To me this party is just a variation of the Green Party.
Ian West is the candidate for the Conservatives. Mr. West is a well-travelled young man who impressed me as being well-educated and able to speak to a crowd. Not sure if that qualifies him to be a MP, but from where I sit I'd rather have a trained chimp there in Ottawa rather than a Liberal.
The last candidate was an independant and his first name was Don. I never caught his last name as the guy had me hysterical every time he opened his mouth. It's really low to publicly criticize a man for his shortcomings so I won't go any further other than to say, "Somebody should check this guy's oil level."