Peter Ryan (pwr197) wrote, @ 2005-12-01 08:42:00

Riding profile #1 and musings
Yesterday, I walked through the riding on my way to buy a TV stand and coffee table for our new apartment. I noted that Jean Lapierre already has signs up, but the idiot must be using the ones from last year, as they all have Team Paul Martin emblazoned across them. Idiot. He is dumber than I thought.

So, apart from insider trading allegations, Harper getting raked over the coals for SSM and an anti-Ukrainian getting the Grit nod in a Toronto seat, not much new today.

Now, for my first profile, I chose the constituency where I had my political baptism, Saskatoon Humboldt. This seat has been very ably represented in the past by members of all parties. In fact, parts of it were once the fiefdom of former PMs King, Laurier and Diefenbaker. In the past 20 years, it has had the honor of being the riding of Otto Lang, Don Ravis and Bob Ogle, all of whom are not just partisan representatives, but also community leaders second to none. Sadly, however, once 1988 rolled around, it has gone through a spiral of medocrity, starting from the nocturnal Stan Hovdebo to the shrill Georgette Sheridan, followed by the obnoxious Jim Pankiw to now where it is represented by Brad Trost, a man who's handshake is an wet and lifeless as is his personality.

Last election, Trost pulled off a narrow win, barely placing ahead of New Democrat Nettie Wiebe and Liberal Pat Wolfe. Wolfe and Wiebe are two people much more qualified to be an MP than Trost. By toadying to pro-lifers and and evangelical Christians, Trost succeeded in winning to Tory nod from a former Mayor, and then managed to squeak in to become the MP. I expect that he will be re-elected easily this year, due to a much weaker slate of opposition candidates as well as the fact that Jim Pankiw is not likely to be on the ballot as a right-wind independent this time. Too bad, but this is the state to which politics has become the last 20 years in my hometown. I have had many people in Saskatoon Humboldt indicate support for the Greens. I guess time will tell....

	Team Martin signs (Anonymous) 2005-12-01 14:52 (link)
	Lapierre is not the only Liberal hoisting those kinds of signs. I was driving thru Ralph Goodale's rifing minutes after the writ was dropped and sure ae heck, Ralph had big signs out, emblazened with Team Martin logos on them. I guess the upside to this is the fact the people running again can claim they are being fiscally conservative. (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous) 2005-12-01 17:27 (link)

Good comments all around. You are likely right about Saskatoon Humboldt going Conservative in a big way this time. yeah, I think the 'Team Martin' signs are bad as well. I probably will not vote Green in this election, but I sure would like to see them win a seat or two in this election. I know it won't happen, but I am not exaggerating when I say I am desperate for more viable voting options in Canada. I find our choice of parties very unsatisfactory. Watching Peter (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous) 2005-12-08 20:37 (link)

The only time I ever voted Green was when I lived in Saskatoon. The Liberal candidate was too slimy. I'd watched him try to hit on an obviously-married woman one too many times at Lydia's. The NDP candidate was too smarmy and lame. I didn't like her at all. I could not vote for her. Didn't like her track record. Saw no reason she could represent me. Well, aside from our shared gender, I guess. The Conservative was too evangelical and message-track. I didn't really warm up to anything he was saying. So I voted Green. Who knows if I ever will again. But at least I felt like I could believe in their guy's ideas. I wonder if they even got their money back for having a certain percentage of the vote, or whatever. Sigh. Please don't take this as a huge Green endorsement. I am immensely frustrated by the uselessness of these candidates and these elections. I don't feel like my vote matters. I sometimes wonder why I bother. Eternally optimistic, I suppose. Jen in Regina (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)