“I don’t want to vote because it is not going to make a difference.”
Does that sound like you or someone you know? The other day in my office I received a delivery from a courier. After a bit of small talk, I asked the woman if she was going to vote. And she said, “Why? There is no point. If I don’t vote, I can complain. Where as if I vote, I can’t complain about the people I have put into office that aren’t doing what they have promised.”
I smiled after hearing this because she is not alone. I have met people throughout my campaign that have said exactly what she did last week.
The political system can be frustrating as promises are made during the campaign trail and not kept.
As I said to her that day and to the people I encounter with a similar point of view is that we live in a country where everyone has the RIGHT to vote. And when we give up that right to vote, we are slowly falling back as a nation.
Instead, we should be looking forward (my whole campaign vision). What we must do is to keep on searching for people that are going to make a difference and will actually follow through and take action.
We should keep on searching until we find what we are looking for. I have learned in my business and life that the moment we stop looking, we will never find what we are looking for.
She then asked “How can we keep on looking forward?”
Whether you vote for me or not, we can be looking forward by talking to the candidates whenever possible, and we also need to have conversations with our friends, family, colleagues, classmates and our networks.
The great thing about Prince George is that it’s small enough of a city that you will be able to find other people in your networks that have either worked with or know of the candidates and their track records in their ordinary lives (outside of politics).
We need to keep on talking, keep on asking and keep the conversations going so that we make truly informed choices. Ask people what they think, who are they going to vote for, why they are going to vote that way and share what your thoughts are too.
I used to think candidates forums were a great way to get informed. But now that I have been a part of a few of them, I realized they are not necessarily the way to get a complete picture about every candidate.
Depending on questions that are asked, to the atmosphere of the night, the amount of time you have to articulate yourself, how polished of a speaker they are, to even the temperature of the room, not everyone is able to operate in a bubble and showcase what they can possibly do.
If you want to find out more about me and what I can do, you can of course read more on my website. I also invite you to get into conversation with people that have seen me take action and deliver on what I say I will do. Talk to people you know who are connected with the following organizations and see what kind of track record I have, not just for showing up – but for taking action and getting things done:
- Prince George Chamber of Commerce
- Yellowhead Rotary Club
- Prince George Symphony Orchestra
- UNBC & CNC
No matter who you vote for on Nov 19th, let’s start having more conversations and change the statement and have more people in Prince George saying: I don’t WANT TO VOTE because it is not going to make a difference
See you at the polls on Nov 19th, 2011 for the civic election in Prince George.
