With the provincial election only one month away, it's worrisome that this newspaper has so far been unable to contact one of the three candidates running in Delta North.
Or, more accurately, the North Delta Reporter has not been able to elicit a response from this candidate, or the party he represents, despite numerous attempts across several platforms.
As the paper's editor, I have reached out to Conservative Party of BC hopeful Raj Veauli several times over the past week-and-a-half (by email, Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook), as well as the party's media relations (by email and phone), and to date I haven't heard anything back — not answers to my questions, not even a simple, automated "we have received your message" response.
These were not hard "gotcha" questions either.
Last week, when former BC United candidate Amrit Pal Singh Dhot withdrew from the race and threw his support behind BC NDP incumbent Ravi Kahlon, he said his reasoning came down to Kahlon being, in his words, "the only candidate running to represent the riding [in] which he is a resident."
Dhot further said that he "cannot in good faith" support Veauli due to the Conservative candidate's "lack of residency and community ties to the Delta North riding."
I reached out to Veauli, then to his party, to try and confirm whether that statement was true, and if it was, to ask which city he calls home.
I also asked for Veauli's local campaign contact information so that, a) I could reach him directly when I have questions or would like to schedule an interview, and b) so our sales team could speak to his campaign staff about advertising in the paper (we strive to make sure every candidate has the same opportunity to reach our readers, both via ads and balanced editorial content).
Nine days and counting, more than a half-dozen messages, and as of the Reporter's press time Wednesday... crickets.
(By contrast, when I emailed Manqoosh Khan, Freedom Party of BC's candidate for Delta North, to ask him where he lives, Khan responded in less than an hour to confirmed that he does, in fact, live in North Delta. The message to Khan was sent minutes after my initial email to Veauli.)
In my followup messages to Veauli and his party's media relations, I also asked whether Veauli would be attending the two all-candidates meetings currently scheduled for Delta North on Sept. 28 and Oct. 10.
This question was motivated by my colleagues at other Black Press Media papers learning that their local BC Conservative candidates, including party leader John Rustad, would not be participating in all-candidates meetings in their communities.
The plan would seem to be for Rustad to do the bulk of the talking this campaign through press releases and statements to major media outlets — occasionally flanked by a high-profile candidate like Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko (elected under BC United, now running for the Conservatives in Surrey-Cloverdale), former Surrey mayor Linda Hepner and former Vancouver city councillor Melissa De Genova — rather than risk having local candidates answering questions from their would-be constituents.
It may not look like it from all the campaign ads and rhetoric flying from all sides, and I hope this doesn't actually need to be said, but here in B.C. we do not vote for our favourite party leader to become premier. Votes cast locally are for local representation, and that means it's critically important to understand who your local candidate is and what they personally stand for, not just what their party promises to do.
Whether I like one party’s ideas or simply deplore another’s platform, I, for one, would not feel comfortable voting on Oct. 19 for any candidate whose views I don’t feel I at least have a sense of, or for one who seems content to apply for the job while eschewing an interview with their prospective employers.
Avoiding public accountability during the election doesn't bode well for a candidate's approachability once in office, or their willingness to fight for local concerns or champion their constituents in the legislature.
Which isn't to say Raj Veauli would not make a fine MLA for Delta North. It's not my place to endorse or renounce candidates or parties, and neutrality is an important — really a vital — part of what I do.
But we aren't talking about some fringe candidate here, one running out of their garage on a shoestring budget. We're talking about someone running with a major party that stands a good chance at forming government, one with access to a staff and communications/media relations infrastructure and a war chest to fund their campaign.
All I'm saying is it's hard for North Delta voters to make an informed decision if they don't hear from one-third of the people on the ballot.
Jame Smith is editor of the North Delta Reporter.
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