8/26/2023 0 Comments Milton township 2018 candidatesThese are people who don’t fit neatly with the status quo or the anti-establishment. Mayoral candidate Anna Remenik along with council challengers Michelle Connerty & Kerri Ross are also obvious anti-establishment candidates who have spoken loudly against the way that the Township is being developed. Incumbent Councillor Petrina Arnason might also be considered a part of this group but could also fit into the next category. Incumbent Councillors Kim Richter & David Davis are strong opponents of the council majority. This group is usually very dissatisfied with pretty much anything the status quo does, especially when it comes to development/density, farmland and environmental concerns. The second group are the “anti-establishment” candidates. Characteristics of this group are generally a pro-development, low tax, developer-friendly stream of thought. Margaret Kunst is another obvious status quo candidate. Both former councillors, Bev Dornan & Steve Ferguson would also fit in this category, looking to fill the seat left by Councillor Fox, who is retiring, and try to take a stronger majority on council. If you are happy with how our Township planning, finances, infrastructure, development, safety, crime, roads, etc are being handled, these are the people you will likely be drawn toward: incumbent Mayor Jack Froese, councillors Bob Long, Angie Quaale, and Blair Whitmarsh. The first category are candidates who support the status quo. Some true “independents” can, in fact, think like other independents and I will not, at least in this post anyway, make any assumptions regarding this notion. There are three recognizable categories of candidates, but I am not (yet) saying these categories represent hidden slates or common resources. Only those in “the know” are privy to most of this information. While perhaps not falling prey to the follies of hyper-partisanship, the disadvantage of not having political associations (or the pejorative, “slates”) is that the average voter doesn’t know that many candidates share the same funding sources, campaign teams, and other resources. Since Langley is obsessed with “independent” candidates (whatever that really means), it can be confusing to know what people actually stand for, especially when platitudes and promises of suburban utopia are the norm. In the first couple of weeks it isn’t always obvious to see who has money and who doesn’t, who really wants this and who is coasting, who is progressive and who is traditional, and more importantly, who is for the status quo and who are the agents of change. While I doubt we will see a serious shake up of council, it only takes one or two changes to really shift how the Township of Langley moves forward. However, in this election we have 8 of the 9 council incumbents running, 2 former multi-term councillors, plus some fairly strong competitors. There are always controversies in any election so there is nothing new here. I want to avoid rumours and gossip and give each candidate a chance to deliver their ideas before I provide my own recommendations and reviews next month. The following comments are as value neutral and brief as possible. While I may just post this to satisfy my ego, pretending you actually care what I think, I am justifying the time I’m taking to write this by my sincere unapologetic love for Langley and my opinion that local government arguably has more impact in our day to day lives than any other level of government. This will be one of just a handful of public posts I will make in this election. You would be surprised how many people tell me they vote based solely on which signs or names they remember yet know nothing about the platforms and ideas. But the real reason is that I’m just a political junkie.Įvery election, especially local elections, I have a decent amount of people asking me who I support, what I think of the candidates and often expressing their confusion over their choices. This is partially because I’m a research-based Realtor who just needs to know everything about my community. Most of those who know me know I either try to stay politically involved or at the very least, do my best to keep informed (the best I can do with my career and father of 4). Yet heading in October some candidates haven’t moved past an announcement & a sign, whereas others have been extremely proactive & aggres sive campaigning. If you haven’t noticed by the thousands of non-real estate related coroplast signs that have littered the streets, we’re well into the 2018 municipal elections.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |