New faces and approaches

As Obama breaks new ground by broadcasting his first address on YouTube and indicating that he will support an Israel peace plan that honours the pre-1967 borders, good news was to be had north of the border. British Columbians just voted in their civic elections, every three years, and made some pretty good choices. In these elections the small percent of the populace that actually votes (19 percent in the last election) usually favours incumbents. Whether it was the three elections in as many months (federal, U.S., and municipal), voter turnout was up and a few surprise candidates got into office. In Saanich, the fresh faces are Dean Murdock and Paul Gerrard, two candidates I had voted for last election; both are progressive and support initiatives, such as light rail. Unfortunately, Rob Wickson, the candidate I was campaigning for, didn't make the cut, but like Murdock and Gerrard, a second try in three years may result in success especially when its based on 7,000 votes he received this time around.