Yes, I am disappointed in the results of Tuesday night; but are my thoughts sour grapes? I hope not!

I'm back ... after a two and a half month long absence to take on the role of Campaign Manager for Peter Sharp, and BC Conservatives in Kamloops South Thompson. 

I'll start off my first Conservative Thoughts blog post saying I have wrestled with the material for this first one back, as some will say this is sour grapes.  That is NOT my intent however. 

This is just a personal observation, after having previously run as a candidate in a provincial election in 1996 --- and now 17 years later being just as intensely involved. 

People then (1996) indicated that a large concern they had was for government to be more open and accountable to them -- they were also concerned about rising debt -- and respect / integrity by elected representatives to the people of BC.  The turnout of registered voters was 71.5% of the population. 

In 2001 that dropped to 70.95 ... in 2005 it dropped again to 62.36 ... and in 2009 a huge drop to 55.14% again of registered voters occurred.

Tuesdays turnout apparently was 52% but that was likely of those estimated to be eligible to vote -- not of those who were registered.  I think is probably safe to assume that there was no change in voting patterns.  

Given this, I would like you to consider the opening comments of a Royal Commission study of Voter Turnout in Canada (Bakvis, 1991: xvii): 

The act of voting in an election is perhaps the single most important form of political participation in modern democracies. It remains the most direct means available to citizens of signaling their interests and preferences to government and of controlling those who seek to govern them. 

The extent to which citizens exercise this most fundamental right can be seen as an indicator of the health of democracy. 

A low level of voter turnout can be taken as indicative of political alienation among a good proportion of the populace; as a consequence, elected leaders may not be seen as fully legitimate.  

A lack of confidence when manifested through low voter turnout may also affect the legitimacy of basic political institutions. Conversely, high voter turnout can be construed as evidence of both a high level of commitment to the political order and existence of a citizenry interested in the welfare of their nation. 

*** I have added the BOLD font

So now back to the wrestling I have been going through with my thoughts and observations from this campaign, and others, including the one I participated in as a candidate in 1996. 

“X” doesn’t mark the spot however --- so why such a bad turn-out?

This morning on their Facebook page, Integrity BC posted the following comment:

In 2010, both Calgary and Toronto had voter turnout of over 50 per cent in their municipal elections.   We took a look at some of the turnouts in Saturday's local elections: Abbotsford (39.24%), Esquimalt (18%), Fernie (41.5%), Kamloops (29.76%), Nanaimo (27.17%), Prince George (28.5%), Saanich (25.35%), Tumbler Ridge (30.17%), Vancouver (34.57%), Victoria (26.35%) and West Vancouver (24.53%).   These turnouts point to a serious malaise and disengagement in BC's democratic system.

GUESS WHAT?  That brief short note doesn’t even come close to showing how pathetic and abysmal the voting habits of British Columbian’s are becoming.

The WORST voter turn-out?   Esquimalt with UNDER 18% (17.99%) of voters turning out … of 12,872 eligible voters, only a pitiful 2,300 could be bothered to make it to the polling station to cast a ballot.  Running a close second was Port Coquitlam with a turn-out of just over 18%