They have known the provincial election falls on Oct. 6 for nearly four years – so many candidates were quick off the mark when the campaign officially began.
Some were even faster. Carol Mitchell, Liberal MPP for Huron-Bruce, already had election signs up on the long weekend. We saw them while driving through Walkerton. Not to be outdone, Progressive Conservative candidate Randy Pettapiece, had signs out in Listowel in advance of the official Sept. 7 campaign kick-off.
And in Guelph, the Progressive Conservative candidate and his Liberal counterpart not only were early with their signs, they were arguing with Elections Ontario officials about whether early signs were legal or not. To date, nothing definitive has been announced.
Meanwhile, other candidates were also busy.
In Wellington Halton Hills, MPP Ted Arnott had a plethora of signs out on the day the campaign officially began. We did not notice any from any of the candidates opposing him.
But that does not mean there was no campaigning going on.
The NDP’s Dale Hamilton had people distributing literature in Elora on the night of the first campaign day.
And Liberal Moya Johnson decided to count on technology to get her name out. She had automatic dialers phoning residents in Elora and Fergus to announce her candidacy.
We’re not sure about that last one as a campaign tactic, although it is legal and gets her name out. One person who received a call said it was “too impersonal. It’s like spam.”
Different campaign
Many of the voters in Wellington Halton Hills faced a conundrum in the May 2 federal election.
NDP candidate Anastasia Zavarella was a complete non-entity.
In over 30 years of covering elections, it was the first time we failed to meet or interview a candidate because she did not return calls and did not attend any all candidates meetings in the riding.
Which made us wonder just a little how many of the 7,146 votes the Invisible Woman received were actually for party leader Jack Layton. We also wonder how many of her supporters actually knew her. She did not live in the riding, either.
But we will make one safe bet, as Progressive Conservative Arnott did when he noted that he expects a spirited campaign from the NDP’s Dale Hamilton in this election.
She ran in 1990 when Arnott was first elected and she put on a heck of a campaign then. Expect the same this time around from her. We also suspect Johnson will also be out and about with a strong campaign.
The tactics for wooing voters might be different, but all three will be in there trying.
War rooms
In years of covering elections we have seldom seen the attacks and vitriol coming from the three main parties as we have this time around. Most people see only the published and paid for attack advertising, while media outlets get all the other minor garbage sent as well.
People tell pollsters they do not like nasty advertising and campaigns, but when the campaigners using them see their approval numbers go up, they are going to keep right on using those attacks until they stop working.
Most of the nonsense is coming from party headquarters and aides in Toronto.
We suggest that every candidate, before stepping out the door to campaign, should check to make sure all buttons are buttoned and zippers zipped, and that collars are whiter than white – because if they are not, nasty emails about their fashion faux pas will be on their way to media outlets across the province – probably before they reach the street.
The real campaign is bad enough. What doesn’t get printed and aired is beyond that. It is almost a brainwash technique for reporters and editors: send enough nasty things around, and maybe some of it will eventually get used.
For a campaign of ideas, we suggest people consider asking the local candidates for their views.
We hope they will be able to answer intelligibly without taking cheap shots at the opposition.
