In a room full of people and five candidates representing four different parties, the guy who made the most sense was barefoot.
Jon Johnson, the independent candidate for the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding in the upcoming provincial election, cracked a few jokes, seemed genuine and raised valid concerns about the future of the riding.
The only problem is Johnson has about the same chance as me to win on May 14.
If you closed your eyes and listened to what the five candidates actually said during the Squamish all-candidates meeting on Thursday (May 2), I think anyone would be hard pressed to pick who represents which party.
Conservative candidate Ian McLeod claimed after talking to "people" in the riding that "we" are all against an LNG plant going up at the old Woodfibre site and that the Conservative Party listens to the people. Sure, that way of thinking about the plant goes completely against everything his party stands for, but he's a man of the people. And he's not just saying that so he can get elected and then change his mind when his party tells him otherwise. Honest.
The NDP's Ana Santos and Jordan Sturdy of the Liberal Party seemed to agree more than disagree throughout the forum. Both wanted to take a wait-and-see approach with the LNG plant, both agree that tourism and forestry are key industries to the riding and both plan to cut taxes. Much like the race for premier, both the Liberals and the NDP refuse to take a stand on much, but promise to do so after they're voted in.
And why was it absolutely no surprise that when looking around the room during the debate, the only people below the age of 25 were the Howe Sound Secondary School students who helped host the event? I'm predicting a pitiful voter turnout on May 14. Most people I talk to don't trust any party and simply choose to ignore provincial politics.
It's probably the reason Christy Clark and the Liberals are closing the gap in recent polls. The disenfranchised voters are stepping back and Liberal supporters are trying to suck up as much support as possible. Their base is energized and I think the final result will be a lot closer than anyone thinks.
The big parties flipping back and forth on key issues makes me respect a party like the Greens. You know what they stand for and they don't try to bend to appeal to the masses. But as local candidate Richard Warrington seemed to show at the debate, they seem to have a strange obsession with the policies of Denmark.
It should be an interesting final week of discussion but at the end of the day, let's hope that we can find Johnson a pair of shoes. The pavement can get rather heated in the summer.
