VICTORIA Municipal Election Update.............14 days to go to polls closing! As we get closer to voting day, different aspects of the nuts & bolts of the election process, come into prominence. People are becoming more aware that there is, in fact, an election and are trying to do their homework. One of the impacts is that there is a dramatic increase in phone calls, e-mails (& even letters!) asking for candidates perspectives on a range of issues. In the last week, Ive received 32 such communications (up from 11 the week before) & am looking forward to a greater number over the next week. Finding time to answer becomes an issue (most often it is achieved in that period between 10:30 pm & 1:30 am!) While many of these inquiries are of a broad scope, some are of a very specific nature. All are important to the petitioner,....... but often have some detail that must be researched/validated before a responsible response can be given. Questions range from the very local (traffic on my street), through the regional (increased opportunities in the region, for leash-optional areas to exercise my dog), to the national (why dont we have a National Housing Programme?) & even unto the global (reducing Childhood Poverty is a goal recognized by the United Nations. ....what is Victoria doing about it?). Answering these inquiries on the doorstep is time-consuming but rewarding, in that you can judge if you are actually addressing the stated concern. Not so with specific written questions/questionnaires where the petitioners response to your answer is unknown. It therefore requires a much greater resolve to respond in an honest fashion, knowing that the answer may displease the listener (and, therefore, puts at risk potential support). To not answer in a forthright manner, however, will surely come back to bite one in the future......& it is a sure path for one to move from elected official to politician! There is, however, some humour to be gleaned from this process: I received a phone message to my posted campaign number 2 days ago from an obviously younger woman asking (seriously, I believe) if I was really the contact person for the band, One Direction! I suspect her friends had spun a good story to get her to call.....she really wanted tickets! 14 days to go..........still engaging (but finding humour in the process!)
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:18:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015