Why vote? Here’s why

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/10/2010 (5535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the end of a civic election campaign, some voters feel fatigue. Some may not bother to even vote, believing their ballot doesn’t matter.

In one of the most open societies in the world, this sort of apathy is unfortunate. At least 116,000 Canadians have died in the name of preserving this society.

OK, so that’s a heavy guilt trip. But there are many less weighty motivations for exercising your democratic right.

Just in case you weren’t planning to visit a polling station, here are 10 reasons why you should go out and cast a vote in today’s civic election:

1. To elect new faces

Up until 2006, when four incumbents were defeated, getting elected to Winnipeg’s city council almost guaranteed a job for life. That’s no longer the case. A spate of retirements and one sudden death have created four wide-open races, in Mynarski, Charleswood-Tuxedo, Old Kildonan and Elmwood-East Kildonan. And at least two incumbents — John Orlikow in River Heights-Fort Garry and Harvey Smith in Daniel McIntyre — are fighting for their political lives. Other upsets are also possible. Don’t waste this once-in-a-generation chance to make your vote count.

2. To find more money

City hall needs to spend three or four times what it currently does to make the city’s roads markedly better. The civic election didn’t produce many creative ways to find that kind of cash, short of asking the province for a point of PST or the right to levy its own sales tax. Incumbent Mayor Sam Katz says he can pressure Broadway to cough up cash during next year’s provincial election. Challenger Judy Wasylycia-Leis has said her links with the NDP and her willingness to raise property taxes to match inflation will give her extra leverage. You have the chance to choose the best strategy.

 3. To get serious about crime

There are no easy answers to the cycle of poverty, misery and crime that plagues Winnipeg. Hiring more police helps, but the police themselves insist they are not social workers. And social programs don’t arrest criminals. Voters have heard candidates say more about crime than about any other issue. It’s time to choose a plan.

 4. To send a message about transit

Winnipeggers have been agonizing over rapid transit since former mayor Steve Juba tried and failed to build a monorail. Glen Murray created a bus rapid-transit plan. Sam Katz cancelled it, approved a new one and now wants to pursue light rail. Judy Wasylycia-Leis wants to complete the bus corridor first. Your vote will determine which way the city goes.

5. To overhaul community clubs

The way Winnipeg manages dozens of community clubs is as complex as it is ineffective. Reports, task forces and special funds have failed to solve the real problem — community clubs are crumbling, programming is spotty and volunteer boards are overworked. Volunteers made community clubs a real issue in this campaign, especially as candidates linked crime reduction with proper recreational programs for kids and youths. Your vote will help determine the city’s reinvestment strategy.

6. To provide bike-trail direction

People cheered when the city decided to spend millions of dollars on new bike-and-pedestrian routes. They didn’t cheer as much when they saw what the money bought. Toronto mayor -elect Rob Ford made “no more cycling routes” an election promise. Most Winnipeg candidates say the opposite. Vote for the one whose platform aligns with yours.

7. To make city hall more transparent

Wasylycia-Leis claims Katz has created a shadow around city hall. Katz has dismissed this as character assassination. Aside from the mayoral side show, city hall does not make expenses, reports and other documents as public as it should. When you vote, consider the commitment of your candidate to be accountable to you between elections.

8. To fix downtown

As it has for years, Winnipeg’s downtown is a two-steps-forward, 1.89-steps-backward sort of deal. The dilapidated Avenue Building is finally getting a makeover but there’s been little progress on surface parking lots. A weekend street party on Broadway this fall lured thousands downtown, but most still decry panhandlers and drunks.

9. To make your move in chess game

On a grand scale, the civic election is a race to see who controls city council. It might remain the domain of Katz and his centre-right allies. It could be Wasylycia-Leis and a centre-left majority. Or it could be a more interesting chamber with a mayor and council at ideological odds. Your vote will determine the direction of the city for the next four years, so cast it wisely.

10. Because you should

For a city with loud opinions on everything from roundabouts to stabbings, turnout in civic elections is more embarrassing than the Bombers’ Grey Cup drought. In 2006, more than 60 per cent of voters didn’t bother to exercise their most basic right. City election officials are hoping, even with today’s stormy weather, turnout will reach 60 per cent. Interest in a civic race has rarely been so high. So suck it up, brave the rain and get to the polls, if only so you can complain legitimately.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca  maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca