More on strategic voting
Despite the fact that the Green Party, both Federally and Provincially, have been encouraging people not to vote strategically for decades, it’s time for Liberals and NDP’ers to vote strategically on behalf of Elizabeth May.
For a full disclosure of who I’m voting for, and in which riding, see my last post. The Greens, the NDP and the Liberals have been splitting the progressive vote in the Sidney Saanich Gulf Islands riding for many elections. The result has been the continual re-election of Conservative Gary Lunn. Unless you’re super wealthy and love oil slicks I don’t think you’ll want to vote for this guy. In my humble opinion.
In the last election, I wanted people in Sidney Saanich Gulf Islands to vote for Briony Penn who I thought was an awesome candidate. She was a Liberal. But she had the best chance and she was awesome. But she lost. She lost because voters threw their votes away; more than you might know. Folks voted for the Green candidate and folks even voted for an NDP candidate that wasn’t running.
This election, however, there is another awesome candidate but she just happens to be the leader of the Green Party of Canada. Her name is Elizabeth May.
Which brings me back to strategic voting. Elizabeth May seems to be in a tie with Gary Lunn. And it’s possible that she could be the first member of the Green party ever elected. And more importantly to me, she could beat Gary Lunn. This author has a nice way of putting it.
Many business owners, farmers and retirees are voting for Elizabeth May this election. And many are voting ABC. Good post.
I lived in this riding for 11 years. As much as Elizabeth May is great, I think she’ll have a very hard time in this riding. Why? The riding has an ideological split. There are virtually no young families in Sidney because the senior population and developers have tried to turn the town into a retirement village. In the years I lived there, I saw substantial changes to the town. There’s also a lot of money there, in the form of wealthy retirees and developing condos for said wealthy retirees to live in. That’s the reason Gary Lunn is entrenched. Vote-splitting has something to do with it, but there’s also a hell of a lot of money in that riding, and seniors who tend to be more conservative.
On the other hand, you have the Gulf Islands. It’s nicknamed the ‘hippie islands’ by some locals. The islands are full of a different kind of aging population – aging draft dodgers and hippies. There are artist communes and farmers, artists and poets. This is the reason Elizabeth May feels she has a chance in this riding. But even if she overcomes the vote-split, the question will be whether there is enough of a progressive voting population to choose her.
This riding is very unique and more ideologically split than a lot of other ridings in this country. Something to consider when looking at SGI and the potential for May to make a breakthrough there.
Don’t get me wrong – I hope the hippies win (and I use the term affectionately.) I just have my doubts as a former resident. Sidney is full of seniors who resist any kind of change and complain there aren’t enough young people to work in their stores when they offer no affordable housing anywhere near the town because they want a senior’s village. They can’t have it both ways.
Hi Robin. You have equated Elizabeth May with the hippy vote. I think that’s a fairly obvious obvious oversimplification. But I understand your concerns. Hey, what’s SGI?
SGI: Saanich Gulf Islands. Just got it. :)