This post will probably be of limited interest to anyone who doesn’t live within a few blocks of me (though it is, regrettably, rather entertaining in a train-wreck sort of way), but here goes anyway. I wasn’t taking these council elections very seriously until we got a charming flyer from one candidate (Jennifer Jacomb) informing us that only 6 of the 24 candidates in North East Ward consented to police checks and providing not just a BLACK LIST but a REALLY REALLY BLACK LIST, asking IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR, WHY WOULD YOU CALL POLICE CHECKS GRUBBY?
Other highlights of this flyer were the fact that of the people who did agree to police checks, they only endorsed the ones with non-Muslim names. Hmm. Oh, and also, it seems that the Greens candidates would not confirm if they and their fellow Greens would implement an anti-Israel Policy… or whether they would betray their party…
Isn’t it nice to have the concerned citizenry helping us make these decisions? Apparently, this candidate emailed all the other candidates demanding that they provide *her* with their full financial and banking details, as well as police checks and proof of literacy and English skills. Within 24 hours. This is, I understand, not technically illegal, but it is pretty obnoxious.
And then we have the candidate (sadly un-named) who popped into the printer just after another candidate had left, claiming to be with the first candidate and asking him to add a little something to that candidate’s flyer. The little something was a promise of more mosques in Moreland, because heaven forbid we have insufficient racism in our election. The candidate in question wants nothing of the sort, as it happens, but has been fairly classy in response.
Anyway, with all these shenanigans, I am suddenly much more motivated to vote in an intelligent fashion, rather than being somewhat random for once. It’s not so much who I want to get in as who I want to keep out. And with 24 candidates and 55 how to vote cards registered (!!! there are only four seats, for crying out loud!), it’s going to get very confusing tomorrow.
So, below the cut, you may find my brief notes on each of the candidates, as gleaned from my internet researches and studies of their pamphlets. I’ve ordered them as they will appear on the ballot, for your convenience.
