Accusations, name calling, innuendo and gossip all seem to be a part of this election. The municipal council candidates have had ample opportunity to tell the electorate what they stand for and who they are. Two all-candidate meetings and two mayoral candidate meetings should be enough to get their messages across. The Juan de Fuca is another story.
The two candidates running for regional director in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area are in for a nasty fight. With the three-year fight to save the Juan de Fuca Trail from development, the forces have been rallied and they still want to fight what they perceive to be favouritism, bias and profiteering. The “green” forces won that war in the woods and they want one of their own sitting in the director’s chair and they are not letting up.
What needs to be remembered is that many of those who fought against the development are not residents of the Juan de Fuca, they can’t vote here. It is up to the people in East Sooke, Shirley, Jordan River and Port Renfrew to decide who they want representing them based on the candidate’s performance. This is the electorate’s opportunity to speak out without having to go before a microphone at a public meeting. Those quiet voices who had something to say can now say it with their X on the ballot.
Both candidates are worthy and both have strong opinions and while they might not see eye-to-eye, this creates an opportunity for each to listen to the other and see where they are coming from and perhaps come up with some ideas of how to encompass other views.