I hate the party system. Well, more specifically, I hate what it has done to our political system. We now live in a time where everything revolves around the party.<\/p>\n
We cannot discuss politics without others assuming we belong to one party or another. Politicians represent their party to us instead of us to their party. The Senate has lost its way and is nothing more than an extension of the Parliament.<\/p>\n
Anyone who knows me well, knows I am a non-partisan voter. I vote based on candidates, not the party they represent. It\u2019s tough though because no one ever sees that; all they see is the party of the person I vote for. No one party ascribes to all principles that are important to me; each major party stands for things I believe in, but when I try to say such-and-such party stands for so-and-so, I am painted automatically\u00a0as a supporter of that party. And that frustrates me.<\/p>\n
After all, if I stand for gay rights, it doesn\u2019t make me gay. If I defend women, it doesn\u2019t make me a woman. If I try to speak for black people, it doesn\u2019t make me black.<\/p>\n
Until today, I have been undecided regarding who I would vote for, and I have struggled trying to make a decision. Some candidates made it easy. One candidate removed me as a friend on Facebook when I questioned one of his posts. Two candidates use the MLA position as a stepping stone to advance their political career. Two of the candidates, when asked what assurances they could give me that they would represent me over representing their parties, sent me to their parties\u2019 websites for their stance on the issue.<\/p>\n
That being said, it was still a tough decision, but here is why I finally buckled down today and made the decision to vote for Shannon Phillips.<\/p>\n
First, Shannon was the only candidate who sought me out. She contacted me personally early in her campaign to actually sit down with me and discuss politics. No other candidate did that. I received no unsolicited, personal emails from any other candidates. I received no unsolicited, personal emails from any other candidates. No other candidates came to my door. Shannon was the only candidate who made me feel that my vote was actually important to her.<\/p>\n
Second, when asked whether she would represent the constituency over the party, she said she would. Unlike some of the other candidates, who tried to slide out of answering the question by sending me to their parties\u2019s websites, she actually outlined not only why she would do so, but why an environment exists to allow her to do so.<\/p>\n
Third, her background in politics and policy means she is intimately familiar with the political process and how the Legislature works. She doesn\u2019t need training. She is ready to hit the ground running. She isn\u2019t using this opportunity to advance from alderman, to mayor, to MLA, to minister.<\/p>\n
Fourth, last night, after the Chamber of Commerce forum ended, Shannon was the only one of 9 candidates who left the stage immediately to be at her table to meet with\u00a0constituents. Everyone else stayed behind to chat with one another, as if it were an old boys club or something.<\/p>\n
Fifth, she is intelligent,\u00a0knowledgeable, and well-spoken.<\/p>\n
Lastly, she is feisty. She is determined, and she has shown that she has real passion and a willingness to stand up for people. She works very hard and doesn\u2019t expect to assume she has votes. She has a tenacity that assures me she will stand up for her constituents.<\/p>\n
It took me a long time to decide who to vote for, and I nearly ran out of time, but I am confident I\u2019m making the right choice for Lethbridge West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I hate the party system. Well, more specifically, I hate what it has done to our political system. We now live in a time where everything revolves around the party. We cannot discuss politics without others assuming we belong to one party or another. Politicians represent their party to us instead of us to their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30],"tags":[77,80],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-lethbridge","tag-ndp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NkW7-g3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":814,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2010\/08\/12\/thats-it-i-quit\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":0},"title":"That\u2019s it. I quit.","author":"Kim Siever","date":"12 August 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Something I have prided myself on over the last few years has been my non-partisan involvement in politics. I don\u201dt adhere to a specific political party in provincial or federal politics, and I don\u2019t put all my eggs in one municipal basket. Per se. Well, I ruined that. Sort of.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lethbridge"","block_context":{"text":"Lethbridge","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/lethbridge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4405,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/02\/the-real-story-behind-the-taber-crown-land-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":1},"title":"The real story behind the Taber Crown land deal","author":"Kim Siever","date":"2 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"What the media isn\u2019t covering in their stories about the Taber Crown land auction","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/potato-1628500_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/potato-1628500_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/potato-1628500_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/potato-1628500_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/potato-1628500_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3924,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/10\/15\/liberals-should-stop-splitting-the-vote\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":2},"title":"Liberals should stop splitting the vote","author":"Kim Siever","date":"15 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Liberals scare left-leaning voters to get behind them, saying that if people vote NDP, they will split the vote. But it takes two to tango.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/shutterstock_797688190.jpg?fit=1000%2C459&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/shutterstock_797688190.jpg?fit=1000%2C459&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/shutterstock_797688190.jpg?fit=1000%2C459&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/shutterstock_797688190.jpg?fit=1000%2C459&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4654,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/04\/17\/new-board-announced-for-agriculture-financial-services-corporation\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":3},"title":"New board announced for Agriculture Financial Services Corporation","author":"Kim Siever","date":"17 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, the provincial government announced new appointments to the board of directors for the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation: Mabel Hamilton, board chair \u2013 primary producer, InnisfailRodney Bradshaw \u2013 primary producer, Red Deer CountyRenata Colic \u2013 finance and investor relations, CalgaryTrevor MacLean \u2013 agriculture business consultant, OkotoksChioma Ufodike \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cow-2436354_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cow-2436354_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cow-2436354_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cow-2436354_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/cow-2436354_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3726,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/08\/27\/blaine-hyggen-doesnt-care-about-auditing-arches\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":4},"title":"Blaine Hyggen doesn\u2019t care about auditing Arches","author":"Kim Siever","date":"27 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u202aAt city council meeting last week, City Councillor \u202cBlaine Hyggen suggested that a third party independently audit the numbers claimed by Arches in their report to city council. Except Hyggen doesn\u2019t actually care whether Arches gets audited. Hyggen operates on confirmation bias: he seeks out frontline cops and paramedics whose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lethbridge"","block_context":{"text":"Lethbridge","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/lethbridge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-08-27-at-05.11.40.png?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-08-27-at-05.11.40.png?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-08-27-at-05.11.40.png?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-08-27-at-05.11.40.png?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Screen-Shot-2019-08-27-at-05.11.40.png?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4186,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/02\/21\/my-response-closing-scs-is-key-to-a-healthier-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":995,"position":5},"title":"My response: \u201cClosing SCS is key to a healthier community\u201d","author":"Kim Siever","date":"21 February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Closing the SCS will worsen the situation. And then people will finally realize how much of a difference the SCS is actually making.","rel":"","context":"In "SCS"","block_context":{"text":"SCS","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/scs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prison-553836_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prison-553836_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prison-553836_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prison-553836_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prison-553836_1920-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4468,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/4468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}