To the Editor,
An election is like a job interview — except the people applying are
asking us to hire them to represent us in Ottawa. And we, the voters,
are their employers. We pay their salaries. So it’s fair to expect that
they show up to answer our questions.
That’s why I was disappointed to see that, at a recent all-candidates
forum in Terrace, only two out of five candidates bothered to attend. It
wasn’t a packed house — about 70 people, plus some media — but that
shouldn’t matter. It was also streamed online, making it accessible to
many more across the region.
Would you hire someone who didn’t show up to a job interview?
It’s not just about the forum, either. We’re seeing candidates limit
media access, avoid debates, and shy away from direct questions. What
are they afraid of? Or more to the point — what are they trying to hide?
I’ve been attending all-candidates meetings for decades, across all
levels of government. I’ve even run for office myself, both municipally
and provincially. Even during the pandemic election in 2020, all three
candidates showed up in person for two forums. If they could make the
effort then, during COVID, why can’t today’s candidates do the same now?
People across northwest B.C. — from Thornhill to Terrace to the far
reaches of the riding — deserve better.
Martin Holzbauer,
Thornhill, B.C.
